What I Wish More Therapists Understood about EMDR Training

Full Disclosure:  I am a Head Trainer and Facilitator of the EMDR Basic Training at the Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy, so many of my thoughts below are based on our EMDRIA-approved Basic Training. Basic Trainings can be taught in different formats and over different spans of time, so I want to clarify that I am largely referring to the Center’s approach to teaching EMDR therapy.

Don’t wait

I spent nearly 10 years as a licensed therapist before taking my EMDR Basic Training in 2018. I’d been hearing about EMDR for years from colleagues, clients, and even friends, but I could never quite justify the time or expense. But here’s my dark and dirty secret – I wasn’t sure I “believed” in it. How exactly does waving fingers in front of someone’s eyes create such significant symptom relief and even transformation? Why couldn’t the neurological mechanism of change be pinpointed exactly and explained? (Spoiler alert: You will learn about these mechanisms on Day 1 of the Basic Training.)

I was complaining to my husband that I was feeling stagnant in my clinical work and really stuck with some of my clients with trauma histories, but I was still unsure that I wanted to invest my time and energy in EMDR training. My husband is a research scientist, so I assumed he’d side with my desire for more information and need for answers. Instead, he questioned my resistance! He challenged me to consider: If EMDR is evidence-based, do I need to know exactly how it works to trust that it’s effective? Well, I didn’t expect that! So, off to the Basic Training I finally went, still skeptical but more open. And now, of course, I wish I had done it 10 years earlier! 

Basic Training is different

Before taking EMDR Basic Training, I was a continuing education “dabbler”. You know the kind: a nice light touch in everything. My therapeutic approach was “eclectic,” and I learned a little bit about a lot. A training that promised to build from the big picture into the details felt like a natural next step.

Basic Training is structured to give an overview and then progressively dive deeper over the course of 3 parts. But even the “overview” of the first part was completely eye-opening and compelling for me, particularly in considering how to conceptualize cases from an AIP (Adaptive Information Processing Model) perspective.

Each day of the training involves an in-depth teaching of the eight-phase protocol with scripts. This prepares therapists to practice it with each other and try it with clients. The afternoon practicum allows practicing and fumbling through the process with other therapists who are just as new to this protocol. As an old dog learning new tricks, this entire process was incredibly humbling for me. My anxiety was alleviated, however, by warm facilitators and fellow learners who were kind and patient.

Opportunity to do your own work

Okay, here’s where I put my Head Trainer hat on. In the Basic Training practicum, which occurs every afternoon of training, participants rotate through the roles of client, therapist, and observer. For participants in the client role, you have an incredible opportunity to bring something you might want to work on. Perhaps you are:

• Nervous about learning something new.

• Recognizing your own anxiety about doing this correctly.

• Afraid to use EMDR therapy with your own clients.

• Struggling with something outside of the training such as a relationship or pattern of behavior. (Anyone else procrastinating on those notes? Having trouble saying no? Not setting appropriate boundaries around self-care?, etc.)

As the client, you are fully empowered to decide what you want to work on in the EMDR training, but I always encourage participants to bring something real and meaningful. Why? Well, for one, in the client role, you will likely experience genuine relief in regard to your presenting issue. Secondly, you will undoubtedly be surprised by how the process works and where things go (as will your practicum therapist). And finally, and most importantly, we can only go as far with our own clients as we are willing to go ourselves. We need to sit on the same couch, so to speak, so we can understand our clients’ experiences with EMDR. 

Learn from the best

Here is where I get to toot the horn of the esteemed facilitators who create the safe environment that allows for a productive and meaningful experience in the practicum portion of the Basic Training. At the Center, the facilitators work with the smaller groups in the practicum to ensure that all participants are learning and experiencing moment by moment the power of this incredible approach. Not only do they come in and work their magic as new EMDR therapists are struggling to understand what is happening, but they are teaching, encouraging, and supporting every step of the way. I am not exaggerating when I say I would seek out consultation on my own cases from every faculty member that we have actively facilitating. They are simply the best of the best, and they are your go-to person during Basic (and for some even beyond). Oh, and did I mention that they will help you with consultation in your own caseload as you start to use EMDR with your clients? 

You will be prepared

Speaking of consultation, one of the biggest hesitations I hear from Basic Training participants is that they are not sure they are ready to try EMDR or that they have the “right client”. You will have support from Part 1 to assess if a client is appropriate, with feedback from your facilitator and colleagues. Over the entire Basic Training, you will have a head trainer who will encourage you to talk about your experiences, fears, and stuck points. As the Basic Training progresses, you will start talking more specifically about cases. And you will have the opportunity to do an in-depth case presentation over the course of your subsequent consultation groups. So not only do you have plenty of opportunities to hear about your colleagues’ experiences and struggles, you will have space and time to address your own specific challenges with clients!

You are not alone

So much of our practice involves sitting in a room alone with our clients, which can feel quite isolating when you are learning a new form of psychotherapy and protocol. Basic Training will undoubtedly provide you with a learning community. You will have a head trainer who invites your questions and observations in the learning process and a facilitator who will work with you in a smaller group to put concepts into action and who is available for any questions.

There’s also a monthly Q&A if questions come up between training parts, and you will have a small practicum group of fellow learners – those connections often last long after Basic Training ends. And if you’d like to keep learning, you can pursue consultation or additional training afterward.

And that’s not to mention the larger EMDR community that is accessible to you through EMDRIA – the EMDR International Association! One of my favorite parts of working with the Center for Excellence in EMDR therapy is that I am in the midst of a group of true lifelong learners. That’s my kind of community!