An accredited Basic Training in EMDR consists of three components: 20 hours of didactic instruction, 20 hours of experiential practice, and 10 hours of Case Consultation. Because it is necessary to have some clinical experience with the standard EMDR protocol before earning more advanced variations, all trainings divide the didactic and experiential practice into two components. Therapist Training calls its components Introductory and Advanced; other trainers use the term Weekend One / Two or Part One / Two. Typically, face-to-face trainings combined didactic instruction and experiential practice concentrated over two or three days. All Australian EMDR trainings, with the exception of Therapist Training, do NOT include the 10 hours of Case Consultation as part of the training fee. You have to source this consultation yourself from any of the EMDRAA Accredited Consultants, and that can come at a considerable extra cost, up to $2000.

All Therapist Training EMDR trainings have been online since the start of Covid. In fact this training was accredited before we had ever heard of Covid. It was the first online EMDR training accredited by any EMDR Association anywhere in the world, and we have advised overseas EMDR associations on developing standards for online training.

Now that we are in the post-Covid era we are often asked when we will return to face to face (F2F) training. The answer is, we won’t. Evaluations show the online format produces superior training outcomes compared to F2F training, and so although it may cost us commercially, we think that it would be unethical to revert to a face-to-face training format. That may surprise you, so why? There are many reasons.
Because we don’t have huge overheads for travel, venue, catering, etc. we can keep the numbers small, so the training is much more immersive and interactive.
The didactic component of the training is largely covered through a structured self-paced program of readings, videos, and a workbook. You need to allow 15 hours for this, the equivalent of two days traditional lecture-based training. This means that the live online training component can be largely devoted to experiential practice. You will spend several hours in supervised experiential practice, much more so than in a F2F training, so after training your skill level and confidence will be higher. “Learn by doing” is way more effective than “learn by listening”.

If you live outside a major city you save on travel and accommodation costs.

With online training we can spread out the training over a longer time (currently the 4 day Introductory training is spread over 4 weeks so that you absorb the material in smaller chunks, and have time to practice new skills with clients. Our Introductory level training is FOUR days (28 hours), spread over 4 weeks. Most other Introductory level trainings are TWO days.

We teach many things that are not in included in the official curriculum. The curriculum used worldwide is US-based where practitioners have minimum of a Masters level qualification and an internship, so it assumes a certain level of knowledge and skills in the area of assessment, case conceptualisation, resourcing and stabilisation. This is not the case in Australia and New Zealand, and yet these skills form the foundation for good EMDR therapy. The finger moving (processing) part of EMDR is the part that everyone thinks about when they hear about EMDR. This is actually the easy part of EMDR, and it is also the part of EMDR where things can happen very quickly. But working out what you are actually going to process, and how to prepare the client for processing – that is actually the foundation of effective EMDR therapy. We don’t get to the finger moving part of EMDR until Day Three.
We include a Peer Support Group component where you do additional practice exercises with fellow trainees. This was introduced in 2021, and has been such a useful addition that it has become a routine part for all trainings. You will have more interaction with your fellow trainees than any face-to-face training.

Compared to the face-to-face trainings there are many more live demonstrations and small group exercises (N = 2 – 4). These activities comprise the majority of the time in training – see the detailed outline below.
If you prefer a more traditional “workshop” (where you passively listen and don’t actually do much work) with lots of Powerpoint and lectures, email us. We are happy to steer you to such trainings.
We use Zoom as our training platform, which allows the creation of “virtual rooms” in which two or three trainees meet to do the experiential exercises. As with a face-to-face workshop, trainees can call the Trainer to come to their “room” or the trainer can join your room at any time. This is exactly the same as in face-to-face trainings. And your practicum is in a quiet and private space, not in a noisy crowded venue.