Stay Tuned! We are launching our EMDR Phase 2 toolkit soon and while preparing it, we wanted to get EMDRIA member input and share the love. We asked EMDRIA members for video or written responses to the following question regarding Phase 2 of EMDR therapy: Preparation.
*** Drionne Arney, LICSW, Florida, USA – “In my experience, a common indicator that a client is ready to shift from Phase 2 to Phase 3 is when they enthusiastically share, without prompting, their experience using internal resources between sessions to manage identified stressors and triggers (in at least 2-3 consecutive sessions). It often reflects a significant increase in feelings of empowerment, confidence, and trust (and buy-in) in their ability to tolerate distress, problem solve, and actively participate in managing symptoms.”
*** Jenn Bovee, LCSW, Illinois, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant™ – “[Among other things, consider] the therapeutic relationship. Do they trust you enough to go there? Because Phase 3 opens the door to the trauma material, and if that alliance isn’t solid, you don’t want to set them up to destabilize.”
*** Justina Dodge, LCSW, Montana, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant™ Note for subtitles on the videos, play the video and click on the ‘CC’ icon in the lower right-hand corner for closed captioning.
*** Kim Feeney, LISW, Iowa, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant™ – “An EMDR Phase 2 best practice I share with play and sandtray therapists is to prioritize regulation and resourcing through experiential, symbolic, and developmentally attuned methods before any trauma processing begins. Rather than relying primarily on verbal coping skills, I use play, sensory experiences, and sandtray imagery to help clients build a felt sense of safety and support. Clients may create trays representing safe places, nurturing or protective figures, and coping strengths, which we revisit and strengthen across sessions, sometimes paired with gentle bilateral stimulation. This approach allows regulation resources to become embodied and symbolically anchored, so clients can reliably return to calm when activated. When Phase 2 resourcing is grounded in play, relationship, and symbolic expression, children and adults alike enter reprocessing with greater stability, agency, and emotional tolerance, supporting safer and more effective EMDR processing.”
*** Dr. Steven Halady, LCSW, New York, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant-in-Training™ – “One of the best things I learned from one of my consultants is: don’t ask if the client is ready to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3. Ask if there are any reasons why they are not ready to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3. The first question is nearly impossible to answer to a satisfying degree of certitude. The second question can decisively rule out moving into the next phase.”
*** Julie Homrich, LPC, Georgia, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant-in-Training™ – “I don’t move from Phase 2 to Phase 3 with my clients just because they can list their resources. I move when I see that they can actually use them. I’ve found that readiness isn’t about perfect regulation—it’s about flexible regulation. The client can feel activation rise and stay connected to me. They can hold dual awareness: “This is hard” and “I’m here, and I’m okay enough.” Their window of tolerance is sturdy enough that approaching the target feels challenging but not destabilizing. I’m also watching for consistency— steady attendance, environmental stability, and a therapeutic relationship that can tolerate intensity without rupture. If we can lean toward the material without it feeling like we’re stepping off a cliff, that’s usually my cue that we’re ready to begin reprocessing.”
*** Jillian Hosey, LICSW, Ontario, Canada, EMDRIA Certified Therapist,™ Approved Consultant™ and Approved Trainer™ – “A shift from Phase 2 to Phase 3 is not driven by time or therapist eagerness, but by indicators emerging from careful Phase 1 history taking and how we have come to understand and conceptualize symptoms, triggers, resources, capacities, and access to adaptive information and experience. Decision-making rests on whether the client’s system demonstrates sufficient organization, differentiation, and dual awareness to identify and assess how a target presently exists within them without destabilization or detachment. In addition to a readiness checklist, consistent affect tolerance within the window of tolerance, the capacity to track internal experience, and evidence that protective strategies are understood rather than shamed or bypassed are essential. The client can access at least one reliable (co)regulatory strategy and return to baseline. Therapists differentiate clearly defined targets linked to present symptoms and future templates from more diffuse, attachment-derived material requiring further preparation or adapted EMDR procedures. We move to Phase 3 when the nervous system shows readiness for adaptive information processing, not merely cognitive consent.”
*** Oksana Khmil, Gatne, Ukraine, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant-in-Training™ – “I look for stability in three domains before shifting from Phase 2 to Phase 3. First, the client demonstrates reliable affect regulation, not only describing a resource cognitively, but showing observable physiological shifts when accessing it. Second, they can maintain dual attention while discussing moderately disturbing material without dissociating, becoming overwhelmed, or losing present orientation. Third, there is sufficient therapeutic alliance and predictability in session structure, so the client understands what to expect from reprocessing. When regulation is consistent across sessions not just on a “good day” and the client can tolerate activation with recovery, I consider them ready to proceed.”
*** Stella Kimbrough, LCSW, Pennsylvania, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ – “I generally feel that a client is ready to shift from Phase 2 to Phase 3 when they have at least 2-3 strong resources that they can effectively use to find calmness in their bodies. If an EMDR client has an especially complex history or if they easily decompensate, I like them to have 4 or more resources that we have created together and that are readily accessible and effective for the client.”
*** Paula Merucci, LCSW, Illinois, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist,™ Approved Consultant,™ and Trainer™
*** Eslia Yesenia Pérez Pernillo, Psych, Guatemala City, Guatemala – “When you have the preparation, time, and opportunity to start reprocessing sessions. Considering that the person continues to meet the selection criteria to do EMDR Therapy, they know that they can take care of themselves between sessions and that reprocessing is what will have the greatest impact on their history and their daily functioning, to achieve the goal of the therapy they have proposed.”
*** Dr. Amber Quaranta-Leech, LPC-S, Texas, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist,™ Approved Consultant™ and Approved Trainer™ – “My brain often thinks in pictures, so I want to answer this with an analogy. Years ago, I had a young horse who broke her leg. For those who are horses people, it was a compound fracture of the cannon bone. We contacted a fantastic orthopedic surgeon at a local university who was willing to take on this case. When Nike came out of surgery with her full cast on, I asked how long she would need to be in the cast. The answer was “As long as needed, as short as possible.” If the support is removed too soon, the body will not be prepared to support the weight of healing. If kept too long, the body will not complete healing as it will expect the support to always be there. How do I know when to move from Phase 2? When the nervous system is showing that it can support the weight of the memories we will be addressing through reprocessing. This is when clients come in and say that they did not become upset at situations that would usually frustrate them, or they did not follow a common spiral. Overall, how long do we stay in Phase 2? As long as needed, as Short as Possible. P.S. Nike is coming 4 years old and is still a beautiful, clumsy character.”
*** Megan Quigley, LCSW, Oregon, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant™ – “I feel ready to move into reprocessing when a client can reliably access what they call a “positive affect state” during a resourcing exercise. This means a client can experience pleasant emotions or positive body sensations during a resourcing exercise, such as feelings of calm, warmth, steadiness, or relief. This capacity tells me my client has at least a minimal internal anchor for regulation, which allows me to proceed with greater safety and confidence.”
*** Amanda Roberson, LPC, Oregon, USA
*** Rebekah Taylor, LCSW, LICSW, Arizona, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant-in-Training™ – “I look for functional markers of readiness rather than relying on time in treatment. Indicators include:
“What indicators help you know when to shift from Phase 2 to Phase 3?”
*** Drionne Arney, LICSW, Florida, USA – “In my experience, a common indicator that a client is ready to shift from Phase 2 to Phase 3 is when they enthusiastically share, without prompting, their experience using internal resources between sessions to manage identified stressors and triggers (in at least 2-3 consecutive sessions). It often reflects a significant increase in feelings of empowerment, confidence, and trust (and buy-in) in their ability to tolerate distress, problem solve, and actively participate in managing symptoms.”
*** Jenn Bovee, LCSW, Illinois, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant™ – “[Among other things, consider] the therapeutic relationship. Do they trust you enough to go there? Because Phase 3 opens the door to the trauma material, and if that alliance isn’t solid, you don’t want to set them up to destabilize.”
*** Justina Dodge, LCSW, Montana, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant™ Note for subtitles on the videos, play the video and click on the ‘CC’ icon in the lower right-hand corner for closed captioning.
*** Kim Feeney, LISW, Iowa, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant™ – “An EMDR Phase 2 best practice I share with play and sandtray therapists is to prioritize regulation and resourcing through experiential, symbolic, and developmentally attuned methods before any trauma processing begins. Rather than relying primarily on verbal coping skills, I use play, sensory experiences, and sandtray imagery to help clients build a felt sense of safety and support. Clients may create trays representing safe places, nurturing or protective figures, and coping strengths, which we revisit and strengthen across sessions, sometimes paired with gentle bilateral stimulation. This approach allows regulation resources to become embodied and symbolically anchored, so clients can reliably return to calm when activated. When Phase 2 resourcing is grounded in play, relationship, and symbolic expression, children and adults alike enter reprocessing with greater stability, agency, and emotional tolerance, supporting safer and more effective EMDR processing.”
*** Dr. Steven Halady, LCSW, New York, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant-in-Training™ – “One of the best things I learned from one of my consultants is: don’t ask if the client is ready to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3. Ask if there are any reasons why they are not ready to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3. The first question is nearly impossible to answer to a satisfying degree of certitude. The second question can decisively rule out moving into the next phase.”
*** Julie Homrich, LPC, Georgia, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant-in-Training™ – “I don’t move from Phase 2 to Phase 3 with my clients just because they can list their resources. I move when I see that they can actually use them. I’ve found that readiness isn’t about perfect regulation—it’s about flexible regulation. The client can feel activation rise and stay connected to me. They can hold dual awareness: “This is hard” and “I’m here, and I’m okay enough.” Their window of tolerance is sturdy enough that approaching the target feels challenging but not destabilizing. I’m also watching for consistency— steady attendance, environmental stability, and a therapeutic relationship that can tolerate intensity without rupture. If we can lean toward the material without it feeling like we’re stepping off a cliff, that’s usually my cue that we’re ready to begin reprocessing.”
*** Jillian Hosey, LICSW, Ontario, Canada, EMDRIA Certified Therapist,™ Approved Consultant™ and Approved Trainer™ – “A shift from Phase 2 to Phase 3 is not driven by time or therapist eagerness, but by indicators emerging from careful Phase 1 history taking and how we have come to understand and conceptualize symptoms, triggers, resources, capacities, and access to adaptive information and experience. Decision-making rests on whether the client’s system demonstrates sufficient organization, differentiation, and dual awareness to identify and assess how a target presently exists within them without destabilization or detachment. In addition to a readiness checklist, consistent affect tolerance within the window of tolerance, the capacity to track internal experience, and evidence that protective strategies are understood rather than shamed or bypassed are essential. The client can access at least one reliable (co)regulatory strategy and return to baseline. Therapists differentiate clearly defined targets linked to present symptoms and future templates from more diffuse, attachment-derived material requiring further preparation or adapted EMDR procedures. We move to Phase 3 when the nervous system shows readiness for adaptive information processing, not merely cognitive consent.”
*** Oksana Khmil, Gatne, Ukraine, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant-in-Training™ – “I look for stability in three domains before shifting from Phase 2 to Phase 3. First, the client demonstrates reliable affect regulation, not only describing a resource cognitively, but showing observable physiological shifts when accessing it. Second, they can maintain dual attention while discussing moderately disturbing material without dissociating, becoming overwhelmed, or losing present orientation. Third, there is sufficient therapeutic alliance and predictability in session structure, so the client understands what to expect from reprocessing. When regulation is consistent across sessions not just on a “good day” and the client can tolerate activation with recovery, I consider them ready to proceed.”
*** Stella Kimbrough, LCSW, Pennsylvania, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ – “I generally feel that a client is ready to shift from Phase 2 to Phase 3 when they have at least 2-3 strong resources that they can effectively use to find calmness in their bodies. If an EMDR client has an especially complex history or if they easily decompensate, I like them to have 4 or more resources that we have created together and that are readily accessible and effective for the client.”
*** Paula Merucci, LCSW, Illinois, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist,™ Approved Consultant,™ and Trainer™
*** Eslia Yesenia Pérez Pernillo, Psych, Guatemala City, Guatemala – “When you have the preparation, time, and opportunity to start reprocessing sessions. Considering that the person continues to meet the selection criteria to do EMDR Therapy, they know that they can take care of themselves between sessions and that reprocessing is what will have the greatest impact on their history and their daily functioning, to achieve the goal of the therapy they have proposed.”
*** Dr. Amber Quaranta-Leech, LPC-S, Texas, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist,™ Approved Consultant™ and Approved Trainer™ – “My brain often thinks in pictures, so I want to answer this with an analogy. Years ago, I had a young horse who broke her leg. For those who are horses people, it was a compound fracture of the cannon bone. We contacted a fantastic orthopedic surgeon at a local university who was willing to take on this case. When Nike came out of surgery with her full cast on, I asked how long she would need to be in the cast. The answer was “As long as needed, as short as possible.” If the support is removed too soon, the body will not be prepared to support the weight of healing. If kept too long, the body will not complete healing as it will expect the support to always be there. How do I know when to move from Phase 2? When the nervous system is showing that it can support the weight of the memories we will be addressing through reprocessing. This is when clients come in and say that they did not become upset at situations that would usually frustrate them, or they did not follow a common spiral. Overall, how long do we stay in Phase 2? As long as needed, as Short as Possible. P.S. Nike is coming 4 years old and is still a beautiful, clumsy character.”
*** Megan Quigley, LCSW, Oregon, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant™ – “I feel ready to move into reprocessing when a client can reliably access what they call a “positive affect state” during a resourcing exercise. This means a client can experience pleasant emotions or positive body sensations during a resourcing exercise, such as feelings of calm, warmth, steadiness, or relief. This capacity tells me my client has at least a minimal internal anchor for regulation, which allows me to proceed with greater safety and confidence.”
*** Amanda Roberson, LPC, Oregon, USA
*** Rebekah Taylor, LCSW, LICSW, Arizona, USA, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Approved Consultant-in-Training™ – “I look for functional markers of readiness rather than relying on time in treatment. Indicators include:
- The client can maintain dual awareness while experiencing moderate affect. One foot in here and now and one foot in past.
- They demonstrate consistent use of at least one regulation or grounding strategy between sessions.
- There is no significant unmanaged dissociation interfering with present-moment orientation.
- The therapeutic alliance feels stable and collaborative.
- The client expresses informed readiness and curiosity rather than urgency or avoidance.
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Additional Resources
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- Learn more about EMDR Training
- Search for an EMDR Training Provider
- Check out our EMDR Training FAQ
Date
March 30, 2026
Practice & Methods
Your EMDR Practice
