Derek Farrell
PROF DEREK FARRELL MBE IS A PROFESSOR IN TRAUMA PSYCHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHUMBRIA (NEWCASTLE)
Prof Derek Farrell MBE is a Professor in Trauma Psychology at the University of Northumbria (Newcastle), University of Worcester, and Queen’s University Belfast. Derek is President of Trauma Aid Europe and the Trauma Response Network Ireland. He is also Co-Editor of the Journal of EMDR Practice & Research.  He has been involved in several Humanitarian Trauma capacity-building programmes, including Pakistan, Turkey, India, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Lebanon, Poland, Philippines, Palestine, and Iraq. Derek has authored over 50 academic peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters and is the Co-Editor of the Oxford Handbook of EMDR.
Workshop Five - Derek Farrell Compassion-Focussed EMDR therapy in the treatment of Moral Injury and Shame-based Trauma
Many of the symptoms experienced by traumatised individuals are insufficiently captured by the existing
ICD-11/DSM 5 criterion for PTSD, particularly those symptoms include feelings of shame/ guilt, loneliness, social
isolation, fear of recrimination, and moral injury. Addressing these specific elements, particularly regarding
moral injury/ is increasingly important. Moral injury refers to the psychological distress resulting from events
that transgress an individual's moral or ethical beliefs. Compassion Focused Eye Movement Desensitization and
Reprocessing (EMDR) is an emerging treatment approach for individuals experiencing moral injury. The approach
integrates EMDR with compassion-focused techniques to target the shame, guilt, and self-criticism often
associated with moral injury/ trauma. This presentation explores the core components of moral injury and
shame-based trauma using both individual and political case studies, through the lens of Adaptive Information
Processing (AIP). Specific skills within Compassion-Focussed EMDR therapy (CF-EMDR), will include CF EMDR
informed case conceptualisation, psychoeducational frameworks, trauma regulation, strategies, compassion
focussed interweaves, and addressing vicarious traumatisation and self-care.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will consider the core components of Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) and how this
applies to vulnerable & complex populations with a specific focus on moral injury and shame-based trauma
2. Participants will explore various theoretical frameworks to explicate the trauma landscape of the client’s
lived experience through a moral, and compassion-focussed lens
3. Theoretical, empirical, and clinical case examples to underpin knowledge, understanding and application
