How to Best Train Clinicians in EMDR

As a group practice owner, one of the most common questions I receive from other practice owners is: "How should I get my clinicians trained in EMDR?" It is a deceptively simple question with a critically important answer — because not all EMDR trainings are created equal, and the quality of the training directly impacts the quality of care your clinicians will provide.

Not All EMDR Trainings Are Equal

The market for EMDR training has expanded significantly in recent years, and with that expansion has come variability in quality. Some programs offer rigorous, comprehensive, EMDRIA-approved training that prepares clinicians for the complexities of real-world trauma treatment. Others offer abbreviated or modified versions that may teach the mechanics of EMDR without the depth of understanding needed to apply it safely and effectively.

When evaluating training programs for your clinicians, look for EMDRIA approval, qualified trainers with extensive clinical experience, and a curriculum that covers not just the eight-phase protocol but the theoretical foundations (AIP model) and the clinical judgment needed to adapt EMDR to diverse presentations.

The Importance of Relational Learning Environments

EMDR is a relational modality — the therapeutic relationship is central to the work. It follows, then, that the training environment should also be relational. Relational learning environments are those in which trainees feel safe to be vulnerable, to make mistakes, to ask questions, and to grow at their own pace. They are environments where the trainer models the same attunement, respect, and responsiveness that clinicians are expected to bring to their clients.

In contrast, trainings that are purely didactic — delivering information without engagement — may produce clinicians who know the steps of the protocol but struggle to implement them with the warmth, flexibility, and clinical sensitivity that effective EMDR requires.

Multiple Learning Modalities

Effective EMDR training incorporates multiple learning modalities to meet the diverse needs of adult learners:

• Didactic instruction: Lecture and presentation of theoretical concepts, research evidence, and protocol details
• Visual learning: Live demonstrations, recorded session examples, and visual aids that show clinicians what effective EMDR looks like in practice
• Experiential learning: Hands-on practice with peers, including serving as both therapist and client — the single most powerful component of EMDR training

The experiential component deserves particular emphasis. Clinicians who have experienced EMDR from the client's perspective develop a depth of empathy and understanding that cannot be achieved through lecture alone. They know what bilateral stimulation feels like, what it is like to access a distressing memory in the presence of a trusted other, and what resolution feels like in their own nervous system.

The Need for Ongoing Clinical Application

A training weekend — even an excellent one — is just the beginning. Clinicians need approximately one year of clinical application, supported by consultation, to develop true competence with EMDR. During this year, they encounter the real-world complexities that no training can fully prepare them for: clients who block on processing, unexpected abreactions, complex presentations, and the moment-to-moment clinical decisions that distinguish competent EMDR practice from mechanical protocol adherence.

The Questions That Led to the EMDR Circle

Two questions kept arising in my conversations with clinicians and practice owners that ultimately led to the creation of the EMDR Circle:

"What if clinicians had 24/7 access to learning resources?" — Not just during the training weekend, but throughout their development as EMDR clinicians. A library of demonstrations, protocols, scripts, and clinical guidance available whenever they needed it.

"What if we could create a community of learners?" — A space where newly trained clinicians could ask questions without judgment, share their challenges, celebrate their successes, and learn from colleagues who were a few steps ahead of them on the same path.

These questions became the foundation of a platform designed to extend the training experience from a weekend event into an ongoing professional home — a place where learning, community, and clinical growth are available to every clinician, at every stage of their EMDR journey.

The quality of EMDR training directly impacts the quality of care clients receive. Investing in relational, comprehensive, EMDRIA-approved training is not just a professional development decision — it is an ethical one.