Stephanie Conn, PhD, ABPP, Police/Public Safety Psychology

EMDR is powerful work. And in the therapy room, knowing the protocol is not the same as knowing what to do next. Many clinicians tell me this quietly: ↳ “I know the 8 phases… but sessions don’t always follow the book.” ↳ “What if dissociation shows up?” ↳ “Should I continue, pause, or stabilise?” That’s exactly why the EMDR Therapy Cheat Sheet was created. This is a session-ready, trauma-informed clinical guide designed to support therapists, trainees, students, and supervisors in making safe, ethical, and confident decisions in real time—especially when processing becomes complex. ✨ What this cheat sheet supports you with ↳ Knowing when to proceed vs pause ↳ Responding to dissociation, overwhelm, or stuck processing ↳ Maintaining pacing, titration, and safety ↳ Staying within the window of tolerance ↳ Supporting clients during and between sessions ↳ Practising EMDR with clarity instead of urgency 🧠 What’s inside (evidence-based & session-useful) ✔ Clear sequencing of the 8 EMDR phases with therapist cues ✔ IF–THEN clinical decision guidance ✔ Proceed vs Stabilise-First rules ✔ Dissociation screening & in-session adaptations ✔ Interweaves, pacing, and titration support ✔ Between-session aftercare protocols ✔ Therapist scripts + senior clinician insights Grounded in: • Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) • Trauma neuroscience & memory reconsolidation • Window of Tolerance principles • EMDRIA-aligned, trauma-informed standards 🌿 Who this is for ↳ EMDR-trained therapists ↳ EMDR trainees & students ↳ Clinical supervisors ↳ Trauma-informed practitioners working with complexity Many clinicians say: “This feels like supervision on one page.” 📄 Format • 8-page PDF • Print-friendly, digital-ready • Easy to keep open during sessions EMDR helps the brain finish what trauma interrupted. This guide helps you know how to support that process—safely. 🔗 Download the EMDR Therapy Cheat Sheet here: https://lnkd.in/gfyTf6EW

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I saw this post and she provided the distinction of being trauma informed and trauma therapy. I agree, we can all be trauma informed no matter your role in providing care for clients, friends and loved ones. We should not provide trauma therapy without specialist training, reflective practice and supervision. What are your thoughts??

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I’m delighted to share that my article, “Attachment-Focused EMDR: Repairing the Wounds that Form in Relationship,” is featured in the latest issue of the Trauma Therapist Institute's professional journal. The piece explores how EMDR, when grounded in attachment theory, can help clients heal the early relational ruptures that continue to shape how they connect, trust, and repair. Because this is a paid publication, I’m unable to share a direct link — but I highly encourage colleagues interested in EMDR and trauma work to explore the Institute’s journal and trainings. They’re doing such thoughtful work at the intersection of trauma science and relational healing. Learn more about their work here: https://lnkd.in/giHvgBcR #traumatherapy #EMDR #attachment #traumainformedcare #psychotherapy

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How do CBT and EMDR work together? I sometimes describe the integration using a simple analogy. Think of it as a sandwich. EMDR often addresses the “filling”, the core traumatic memories, the stuck processing, and the emotional charge that continues to drive present-day symptoms. But trauma processing alone is rarely the whole story. CBT can provide the “bread”. It lays the clinical foundation before trauma work begins, helping clients understand patterns of avoidance, identify maintaining factors, and build stabilisation strategies. It also supports the period after processing, when clients begin to re-engage with life. Following EMDR, clients may need structured support to test new beliefs, rebuild routines, reduce avoidance, and strengthen healthier relational patterns. CBT tools can help translate insight and emotional shift into behavioural change. In this way, EMDR may reduce the intensity of the trauma memory, while CBT helps clients consolidate gains and move forward in practical terms, reconnecting with values, relationships, and everyday functioning. Integration is not about choosing one model over the other. It is about understanding what each approach offers at different stages of therapy. For those who integrate CBT and EMDR in their work, how do you think about that balance? #EMDR #CBT #TraumaTherapy #ClinicalPsychology #TherapistDevelopment

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EMDR Therapy uses #BilateralStimulation to engage both hemispheres of the brain using different sensory inputs. Here are some common techniques... https://lnkd.in/giQQnYE7 #PTSD #Anxiety

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Carrie Purbeck Trunzo, co-developer of the NCTSN trauma-informed organizational assessment, discusses how the TIOA measures trauma-informed practices. The TIOA is a no-cost, practical, validated measure for assessing organizational trauma-informed practices, identifying strengths and opportunities to grow, and creating actionable plans for improvement. To learn more, view: https://bit.ly/4cVD8O0 #MHAM2026

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If you’re trained in EMDR but still find yourself thinking… “Am I doing this right?” “Why did processing stall?” “Is this resistance, dissociation, or am I missing something?” You’re not alone. EMDR is powerful. It’s nuanced. And it can feel exposing to practise in isolation. That’s exactly why consultation matters. My EMDR consultation groups are not tick-the-box hours. They’re a space to think deeply, sharpen your formulation, and build clinical confidence that actually transfers into the room with your clients. Here’s what you can expect: • Thoughtful, structured case discussion • Support with stuck processing and complex presentations • Clear guidance on protocol fidelity without rigidity • Integration of attachment, parts, and nervous system understanding • A warm, grounded space where you can say, “I’m not sure” Whether you’re newly trained or refining advanced skills, you deserve a consultation space that is intelligent, relational, and clinically robust. If you’re ready to deepen your EMDR work and feel more steady behind the protocol, I’d love to have you in the group. Spaces are Limited https://lnkd.in/gRR9iwVW

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📖 Psychology Today has interviewed EMDR therapist and trainer Lizy Wiggins. In a wide-ranging piece, Lizy says that - like many other therapists who have seen the limitations of purely cognitive work when it comes to trauma - she craved new tools: "It just felt like we weren't getting to the core of things. We were reframing thoughts, reinforcing good decisions and healthy behaviours, and teaching coping skills, but it felt like the trauma was still there" You can read Lizy’s full interview with psychotherapist Jennifer Gerlach here: https://lnkd.in/eJWp_fEU #Trauma #EMDR

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I am incredibly proud of my mother, Dr. Kalyani Gopal! Her career as a clinical psychologist has been devoted to supporting survivors of trauma with extraordinary warmth and depth. Her new book, Strong Roots, Safe Wings, offers deeply informed and nuanced insights into disrupting patterns of intergenerational trauma. The writing is clear, grounded, accessible, and through compassion, meets readers exactly where they are. I will certainly be recommending this powerful, practical guide to anyone struggling with trauma.

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Child welfare system contact was linked to more frequent identification and treatment of developmental delays, reflecting both increased clinical scrutiny and enhanced service facilitation. https://ja.ma/3JpDK2k

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Ever feel stuck when a client is technically ready for EMDR, but their system says “nope”? That’s where Polyvagal Theory and IFS come in. Before we dive into memory work, we have to understand how the protective parts are showing up—are they angry, avoidant, shut down, overactivated? Each state (dorsal, sympathetic, ventral) calls for a different clinical approach. EMDR doesn’t work in a vacuum—when we track the nervous system and honor the parts, it becomes so much more effective. This is the nuance that helps your clients actually stay in the room and integrate the work. #EMDRTherapist #PolyvagalTheory #InternalFamilySystems #TraumaTherapy #DissociationWork

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Now available on-demand: #Ethics and Standards of Care for #EMDR and #Dissociation, presented by Jennifer Madere, MA, LPC-S and myself. It is available for CE credit for Master's-level practitioners and EMDRIA credit for *all* registrants. This four-part, six-hour course takes a deep dive into a topic that often has been marginalized or ignored: The implications of using EMDR therapy in the face of dissociation, both diagnosed and un(der)diagnosed. In Part 1, we discuss several aspects of the development of the practitioner, including building proficiency and competence in EMDR therapy and developing a specialization in treating dissociative disorders using EMDR therapy. In Part 2, we explore the standards of care for using EMDR to treat dissociation through the eyes of a 'newbie' EMDR therapist stumbling into dissociation with a client in their community health setting, and learning how they navigated an ethical dilemma. In Part 3, we examine reality-based case examples that illustrate the pitfalls of inadequate screening, assessment, and thinking we know more than we do. In Part 4, we discuss the implications of all that preceded in Part 1 -3 for clinical practice, training, and consultation, then look to an imagined future where different areas of practice - EMDR, the dissociative disorders, and even clinical hypnosis - are less siloed than they are to-date. We cover a lot of ground in this session. The feedback we received for the live version of this session were quite enthusiastic, so we hope you'll find it of value in a convenient, on-demand version, as well. #complextrauma #dissociativedisorders #counselors #socialworkers #therapy https://lnkd.in/gZ9CPjtK

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EMDR Intensives Are Not Just for Trauma Many people think EMDR is only for PTSD. But EMDR can also help with: ✨ anxiety ✨ panic ✨ performance pressure ✨ intrusive thoughts ✨ childhood wounds ✨ perfectionism ✨ relationship triggers And intensives provide a focused way to work through it quickly. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gNbkjZTS #EMDR #AnxietyHelp #PerfectionismRecovery #HealingJourney #TherapyIntensive #MentalHealthMatters | https://lnkd.in/gNbkjZTS

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