Menopause, Trauma and EMDR:
An Integrative Approach
A 2-Part Program

Program Description

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The menopausal transition can significantly impact mental health, contributing to anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, sleep disturbance, and the re-emergence of unresolved trauma. This workshop will explore the interaction between hormonal changes, trauma, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and how these factors influence menopausal presentations.

Participants will learn how to apply a trauma-informed, EMDR-centred framework to conceptualise and treat menopause-related distress, including body changes, identity shifts, relational challenges, and negative beliefs such as "I am broken" or "I can't cope." The presentation will also introduce an integrated treatment approach combining EMDR, cognitive strategies, skill building, and lifestyle interventions to reduce distress, improve body trust and interoceptive awareness, and enhance symptom management and patient agency.

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Learning Objectives 

Participants will be able to:​

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✔ Explain the neuroendocrine and psychological impact of menopause, including the interaction between hormonal changes and mental health symptoms.

✔ Identify how trauma and high Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) influence menopausal presentations, including increased vulnerability to anxiety, depression and emotional dysregulation.

✔ Identify the mechanisms through which trauma may resurface during menopause, including heightened stress reactivity and reduced emotional regulation.

✔ Apply a trauma informed, EMDR centred framework to conceptualise and treat menopausal clients presenting with distress related to body changes, identity shifts and relational challenges.

✔ Explain how EMDR can be used to target menopause related triggers, including negative cognitions such as “I am broken” or “I can’t cope”

✔ Apply a tri model treatment approach (EMDR, skill building, cognitive strategies and lifestyle interventions) to enhance treatment outcomes.

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Who should attend

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✔ Psychologists, Social Workers, Psychotherapists, MFTs, LPCs, graduate-level Counselors, other mental health professionals *Completion of part 1 of an EMDRIA approved Basic EMDR training is required to attend this program

✔ Therapists wanting to deepen their understanding of how hormonal changes can interact with trauma, adverse childhood experiences, sleep disruption, anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation.

✔ Therapists wanting clinical tools to assess menopause-related distress through an EMDR-centred framework that considers body changes, identity shifts, relational difficulties, unresolved trauma, and negative core beliefs.