Advanced EMDR Therapy Training: PTSD and Clinical Practice

Explore emdr therapy, a structured eight-phase treatment that uses bilateral stimulation—visual, auditory, or kinesthetic—to help the brain reprocess trauma, including PTSD and other issues, and restore emotional health.

The AIP model and trauma neurobiology form EMDR's core, using bilateral stimulation to unlock and reprocess distressing memories, reducing emotional charge and fostering adaptive integration.

Explore the neurobiology of trauma and how EMDR's bilateral stimulation rebalances the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex to reprocess memories and build resilience.

Translating DSM-5 PTSD criteria into EMDR targets, the lecture explains how processing trauma guides a diagnosis-to-recovery phase-based treatment plan.

Use bilateral stimulation to alternately engage the left and right brain hemispheres, guiding clients to maintain dual awareness for safe, controlled reprocessing and adaptive insights.

Learn how dual awareness blends memory recall with present safety using bilateral stimulation to reprocess distressing memories without overwhelm, anchoring attention to here and now for healing in EMDR.

Use eye movements as bilateral stimulation to desensitize trauma and integrate memories. Guide the client to recall the memory while following your fingers, then assess SUD changes.

Utilize bilateral stimulation through taps as a tactile alternative to eye movements, guiding self-tapping on shoulders or knees in 30–40 second sets to calm the body and resolve distress.

Explore auditory bilateral stimulation with tones delivered via headphones, ideal for online and teletherapy settings; adjust speed and volume, typically 1–2 tones per second, while monitoring client cues.

Explore hybrid bilateral stimulation, combining two or more BLS methods with multi-sensory modalities to enhance EMDR. Tailor to client needs and monitor SUD and body cues while maintaining dual attention.

Explore phase 1 of EMDR therapy: history-taking and treatment planning, building rapport, collecting trauma history, current symptoms, and life experiences, creating timeline, and setting SMART, collaborative goals with open-ended questions.

Explore history taking and treatment planning in an EMDR therapy session, addressing trauma history, symptoms, coping resources, support systems, and therapy goals to tailor an effective PTSD-focused plan.

Establish client-centered SMART goals in phase 1 of EMDR therapy by clarifying expectations, concerns, and distressing memories, then set measurable, achievable, time-bound objectives and track progress.

Educate the client about EMDR therapy, its process and outcomes, explain with visuals or handouts, and teach self-soothing techniques while establishing a safe space for processing trauma.

Educate clients about the EMDR process, duration, and experiences, clarify therapist and client roles, teach grounding techniques to ensure safety and engagement, and encourage open communication and pausing when needed.

Master the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise to stay present and reduce worry by naming five things you see, four you touch, three you hear, two you smell, and one emotion.

Explore phase 2 breathing exercise 4-7-8 within advanced EMDR therapy training for PTSD. Apply this breathing technique to inform clinical practice in PTSD care.

Engage in phase 2 relaxing exercise strategies within advanced EMDR therapy for PTSD, supporting clinical practice by applying a focused, calming approach.

Explore phase 2 of EMDR therapy with client-centered questions on information gathering, coping strategies, relaxation techniques for distress, expectations, safety, boundaries, and collaboration to prepare and support clients.

Identify the target memory, assess negative beliefs, emotions, and physical sensations; apply the float back technique to vividly recall it, and assess SUD and VOC to target most distressing aspects.

Establish a safe environment and alliance to invite open communication, guide self-reflection on symptoms and distressing memories, and collaborate to identify clear targets based on disturbance and readiness for reprocessing.

Phase 3 guides therapists to identify distressing memories by asking about triggers, beliefs, sensations, and details, prioritize targets, confirm readiness, and document targets for EMDR processing.

Emphasizes desensitization in phase 4 of EMDR therapy, guiding bilateral stimulation—eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones—to process distressing memories and observe shifts in emotions, sensations, or beliefs.

Guide phase 4 EMDR therapy by preparing desensitization with bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones), targeting memory and beliefs, guiding processing, and managing distress with grounding techniques.

Learn how bilateral stimulation eye movements in EMDR therapy help process traumatic memories by engaging working memory, reducing emotional charge, and decreasing intrusions to improve mood and future outlook.

Guide clients through step-by-step bilateral stimulation in EMDR therapy, including preparation, explaining purpose, and selecting eye movements, tactile pulses, or auditory tones. Focus on the target memory during stimulation.

In phase 4, therapists guide clients through desensitization with bilateral stimulation, asking about the memory, thoughts, images, emotions, and sensations, using a 0–10 distress scale while monitoring progress and safety.

Phase 5 installation strengthens positive beliefs and adaptive coping for the processed memory using positive imagery or affirmations, and guides clients to integrate these beliefs into daily life.

Identify the positive belief to strengthen, reinforce it with bilateral stimulation, and assess SUD, monitor comfort and integration, ensuring a calm phase 5 closure of EMDR therapy.

Guide phase 5 of EMDR therapy through installation, reinforcing a positive belief via bilateral stimulation, assessing validity on a 0–7 scale, and ensuring comfort, integration, and closure.

Guide clients through phase six of EMDR therapy, the body scan, using mindfulness and body awareness exercises and relaxation techniques to release residual physical tension related to the processed memory.

Master phase 6 EMDR therapy with body scan that builds safety, focuses on sensations and breath, begins at neutral point, and observes without judgment to connect sensations to targeted memory.

In phase 6 of EMDR, use a body scan to notice sensations, tension, and emotions, connect them to targeted memory, and adapt to client readiness to foster awareness and integration.