Vermont Center for Responder Wellness

09/21/2025

To launch the expanded edition, my editor/publisher is offering a 30% discount using code ADC25 at checkout. Use the QR code below to place your order.

09/16/2025

08/02/2025

Excited to share that I’ll be co-presenting at the 2025 EMDRIA Conference in Anaheim on September 12th at the Research Symposium (Session 223A) alongside two remarkable leaders in trauma research—Dr. Derek Farrell, Ph.D., MBE and Prof. Paul Miller, M.D..

🔬 Session Title: Group EMDR & Compassion Focused Treatment for PTSD/CPTSD & Moral Injury

Our presentation will spotlight new research exploring the integration of Group EMDR, specifically the Acute Stress Adaptive Protocol (ASAP), with Compassion-Focused Therapy as an intervention for PTSD, complex trauma, and moral injury in law enforcement and frontline workers.

🧠 These populations operate in what we call "toxic trauma environments"—where repeated exposure to human suffering is compounded by organizational pressures that can lead to moral injury. Understanding the distinction between PTSD/CPTSD and moral injury is essential for developing effective interventions—and this research seeks to do just that.

ASAP, developed to be peer-delivered and EMDR-informed, is changing the way we approach early intervention, regulation, and support for those on the frontlines.

📍If you're attending EMDRIA, please join us for this important conversation on trauma, compassion, and the power of peer-led group EMDR.

07/18/2025

What happens when you pair innovation with integrity?
The Acute Stress Adaptive Protocol (ASAP) continues to gain global traction—now backed by published research showing an average 58.5% reduction in distress, and actively being utilized in over 200 first responder organizations worldwide.

Built on the foundational principles of EMDR , the ASAP is now part of an exciting and growing partnership with world organizations, underscoring the importance of early, safe, and peer-delivered trauma interventions.

It’s being used in real-time—after officer-involved shootings, in group settings, by trained chaplains, and by peers who understand the value of showing up quietly, skillfully, and without forcing anyone to speak.

This is what bridging the gap between need and access looks like.

07/16/2025

This is more than a retreat—it’s a rare opportunity to be seen, heard, and supported by some of the world’s leading trauma therapists.
Join us for four days of compassionate care and quiet transformation at the ASAP Trauma Retreat Intensive. Designed for individuals living with the weight of trauma and moral injury, this retreat offers access to renowned experts in the field of trauma recovery—clinicians who not only understand the science of healing but the lived experience of suffering. Through the EMDR-informed Acute Stress Adaptive Protocol (ASAP), you’ll be gently guided toward regulation, reflection, and renewal—without the pressure to relive or retell your trauma.

06/30/2025

The 4th Annual ASAP Trauma (Research) Retreat is happening this November in Burlington, Vermont
🗓️ November 4–7, 2025

We’re bringing together a powerhouse lineup of global trauma experts and peer support leaders to explore and deepen the work of the Acute Stress Adaptive Protocol (ASAP)—an EMDR-informed, peer-led intervention making waves in responder wellness.

Joining us:
🔹 Professor Paul William Miller GOTJ MD DMH MRCPsych FRSA. – Integrative trauma psychiatrist
🔹 Derek Farrell MBE, MBE – International EMDR pioneer
🔹 Sonny Provetto, LICSW – Clinical Director, Vermont Center for Responder Wellness, former police officer
🔹 And the incredible ASAP Team

Over four days, attendees will experience the healing power of EMDR alongside compassion-focused psychoeducation. This real hands-on learning, live facilitation, and real connection—with a focus on healing trauma for the first responder and helping professions has transformed lives.

Come and be part of this groundbreaking experience and help us build the research on the Acute Stress Adaptive Protocol -ASAP!

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05/20/2025

Healing trauma’s moral injury requires more than time—it demands compassion toward oneself.

For many first responders and frontline professionals, the deepest wounds aren’t just from what happened—but from what they had to do, what they couldn’t do, or what they carry in silence. These moments cut into one’s sense of identity, purpose, and worth. That’s the essence of moral injury.

True healing begins when we allow space for **self-compassion**, not self-judgment. When we stop asking “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking “What happened to me—and how can I care for that part of myself?”

At the Vermont Center for Responder Wellness and through the ASAP protocol, we’ve seen how peer support, guided interventions, and permission to feel without shame can make all the difference.

You are not broken. You are human. And healing starts with how you speak to yourself.

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05/17/2025

A few weeks ago, the Center was honored to be invited to speak at the Arizona Summit in sunny Tucson, Arizona. While there, we had the opportunity to tour the Tucson Fire Museum and connect with some truly remarkable firefighters from the department.

No matter if your color is blue, red, gold, green, or grey—we are all one family. United in service, strength, and the commitment to take care of one another.

05/17/2025

Very Cool!

🚔💙 This National Police Week, we stand proudly with our brothers and sisters of the Portland Maine Police Department. Your courage, commitment, and compassion make our city safer every day, and we’re honored to serve alongside you.

From all of us here at Portland Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 740, thank you for your service and sacrifice. We’ve got your back — always. 💙👮‍♂️👩‍🚒



📸: Station lit blue in honor of our law enforcement family

05/17/2025

Francine Shapiro’s 2018 keynote at the **EMDR Early Intervention and Crisis Response Global Summit** in Boston emphasized not only the global reach of EMDR but also the **importance of expanding its use beyond licensed clinicians**—specifically **highlighting the role of trained paraprofessionals** in delivering early interventions:

> **“We welcome you to our joint commitment to bring healing wherever it is needed worldwide... As a helping profession, we must take help to where it is most needed… We join together in a commitment to do our best to ensure that no one is left behind.”**
> — *Francine Shapiro, Boston 2018*

This call to action reflects Shapiro’s visionary stance:

* **Trauma-informed care must be scalable and accessible**, especially in crisis zones or underserved communities.
* **Trained paraprofessionals**, including peer supporters and community responders, can play a critical role in delivering EMDR-informed early interventions under structured protocols (like G-TEP and now ASAP).
* Her vision directly supports **task-shifting** models, where well-trained non-licensed individuals extend the reach of trauma care—an idea embodied in the design and research behind the **Acute Stress Adaptive Protocol (ASAP)**.

05/14/2025

Celebrating seven years in the making, three years of research, thousands of new relationships, and countless lives changed.

Grateful for the incredible people who helped make this vision a reality:
– Prof. Derek Farrell, lead researcher
– Michael Bowers, Executive Director of EMDRIA
– Elan Shapiro, creator of the G-TEP
– Dr. Stephanie Conn, for her unwavering support and collaboration

Thank you all for believing in the work, the mission, and the responders we serve.

05/11/2025