Final Week: Consultations, Visits, and Networking

Who knew that this trip would also mark the start of my career in radio? One of our EMDR students asked Woiny and I to appear on his nightly radio show where he combines music with psychological information and a chance for Ethiopians to call in with questions. We discussed trauma, EMDR, addictions and many other topics.

The next day I visited one of my students who counsels students and teaches at Unity University, a privately funded university in the outskirts of Addis Ababa. UU is beautiful, modern and well equipped. 

She and I discussed EMDR with several members of the administration, and they were very interested in finding out more about how EMDR is taught at universities in the US and other countries.

On another day, at the invitation of two more of my students, I met with faculty members of Addis Ababa University. Four of our Part 1 students are in AAU's Master of Psychology program and one is both a lecturer and a candidate in the Ph.D. program of the  Special Needs Department of Education. Again, there was a lot of interest in getting clinical skills, especially EMDR, to a greater number of students.

And throughout the week I met with students for consultation sessions, both at their places of work throughout Addis and at the meeting room generously donated to us by the Addis Regency Hotel. It was both exhausting and inspiring.

The impact of these therapists is going to be quite far reaching. Their work is more diverse than I imagined and includes working with adolescent street children, impoverished women, AIDS-orphaned children, hospitalized mental health patients, and troubled school children. Each therapist we train has the potential of reducing trauma in countless clients each year!