Why Are We Updating These Standards?
- EMDRIA Approved Consultants™ play an essential educator role in the EMDR community, impacting everything from basic training to certification to guiding CITs in becoming EMDRIA Approved Consultants™
- Consultants have expressed the need for more structure, guidance, resources, direction and support from EMDRIA
- It is essential to have a common language to measure and evaluate performance for the different roles that EMDRIA Approved Consultants™ might fulfill
- To include best practices in consultation that highlight quality, a developmental approach, and following ethical guidelines
Informational Sessions
EMDRIA hosted a series of informational sessions to introduced the Updated Consultant Standards and explain how the changes impact consultants, consultants in training and the consultation process.
News & Updates
- Understanding the Updated Consultant Standards: What It Means for You
- Updated Consultant Standards: Impact on the Consultation Process
- Consultant Standards Deep Dive: Understanding the Evaluation Framework
- Consultant Standards: Resources to Support Your Work
EMDRIA is hosting a series of informational sessions to introduce the Updated Consultant Standards and explain how the changes impact consultants, consultants in training, and the consultation process.
Each session will focus on a specific topic, including:
- What the updated standards mean for your role
- Changes to the consultation process
- A closer look at the evaluation framework
- Resources available to support implementation
Participants are welcome to attend any sessions that align with their role or areas of interest. Sessions are limited to 280 participants.
All sessions will be recorded and available on demand for those who are unable to attend live.
EMDRIA sent an email to its credential holders and membership about the published consultant standards document. The email included access to the consultant standards document, the key components summary pages, and information about the next steps.
EMDRIA Approved Consultant™ Standards
Key Components
The published standards introduce four important updates that directly impact consultant expectations and processes. Below is a high-level summary of the key components:
- Educational Programming: Structured training program with courses for current and aspiring consultants.
- Evaluation Framework: Tools and resources to assess competence and adherence to the standards.
- Supported Resources: Resources to promote the adoption and consistent application of these standards throughout the EMDRIA™ community. The creation of supported resources will be ongoing.
- Updated Application Requirements: Revised procedures, forms, and recommendation criteria aligned with these standards.
Now What?
Here’s what to expect next:
- Review the Standards: Please take time to carefully review the full document and begin assessing what these standards mean for your current role.
- Informational Sessions: We will be hosting upcoming sessions to review the standards in detail, answer questions, and provide implementation guidance. Registration details will be shared soon.
- CIT Declaration Form: The CIT declaration form will be opening soon. Additional instructions and timelines will be communicated separately.
EMDRIA sent the draft version of the consultant standards to the pilot reviewers where they are to review the document and provide feedback through the feedback survey. The pilot reviewers have until January 30, 2026 to submit any feedback regarding the standards document.
Please note that while the update consultant standards are being rolled out, the CIT Declaration Form will be frozen between January 1 – March 31, 2026. This means any current EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ who wants to start the process for applying for the EMDRIA Approved Consultant™ credential, will need to wait until the CIT Declaration Form has opened back up. Any consultation of consultation hours completed prior to submitting the CIT Declaration Form will not count towards the consultation requirement.
For those of you who have already completed the CIT declaration form prior to January 1, 2026 and are a current CIT, you can continue to work on the requirements for the EMDRIA Approved Consultant™ application. You can reach out to us via email if you need to confirm your CIT status.
EMDRIA sent out emails to all current consultants, consultants in training, and certified therapists to highlight the key points from the consultant standards that will affect everyone.
Current Consultants:
- You do not need to complete the initial consultant application again. Your current consultant credential remains valid.
- Renewal application updates are coming. We’ll share guidance on these changes before they take effect.
- Informational Sessions. We’ll be hosting sessions to help you understand the updated standards, your role in this process, and answer any questions you may have.
Current Consultants in Training:
- You can still submit your consultant application under the current standards. The existing requirements remain valid for those applying within their current five-year time frame.
- Applying under the new standards. If you choose to apply under the new standards, the updated requirements will apply to you. The new application will be available later in 2026, so you will need to wait until the new application process is available. No decision on your choice is needed at this time.
- Informational Sessions. We’ll be hosting sessions to help you understand the updated standards, your role in this process, and answer any questions you may have.
Current Certified Therapists:
- Important: Any certified therapist who successfully completes the CIT Declaration Form by December 31, 2025 (by 11:59pm CT), will be able to apply under the current standards.
- CIT Declaration Form: While we roll out the updated consultant standards, the CIT declaration form will be frozen between January 1 – March 31, 2026. We will reopen the CIT declaration form on April 1, 2026.
EMDRIA provided an update to the membership about the upcoming consultant standards and a timeline for 2026.
EMDRIA conducted virtual focus groups to hear directly from our consultants and CITs about updating the consultant standards. These sessions were based on the feedback collected through the survey distributed in April 2025. These insights were invaluable as EMDRIA continues working to strengthen our programs and community.
EMDRIA sent out a registration email for the upcoming virtual focus groups to consultants and consultants in training. These virtual focus groups are being held to elaborate on the responses received from the survey that went out in April regarding the consultant standards.
Each session is limited to 15 participants and will run for approximately 90 minutes. Please register for only one session and note that spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration link is in the email that went out. Please reach out to info@emdria.org if you need access to the registration page or have any questions.
EMDRIA sent out a second survey reminder email to consultants and consultants in training to share their experiences and perspectives about skills, knowledge, and expertise that are necessary for an EMDRIA Approved Consultant™. This survey will close on April 30, 2025.
Please reach out to us at info@emdria.org if you need access to the survey or have any questions.
EMDRIA sent out a survey reminder email to consultants and consultants in training to share their experiences and perspectives about skills, knowledge, and expertise that are necessary for an EMDRIA Approved Consultant™. This survey will close on April 30, 2025.
Please reach out to us at info@emdria.org if you need access to the survey or have any questions.
EMDRIA sent out a survey to consultants and consultants in training to share their experiences and perspectives about skills, knowledge, and expertise that are necessary for an EMDRIA Approved Consultant™. The feedback will help guide upcoming virtual focus groups and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of EMDR consultation practices. This survey will close on April 30, 2025.
Please reach out to us at info@emdria.org if you need access to the survey or have any questions.
Consultants and CITs received an email from EMDRIA, informing them of the updates to the consultant standards and what is happening next.
It is essential to engage with each other and gather the collective wisdom from the consultant community. These insights from the following will inform the new standards, process, and expectations:
- Initial Survey – We will start by sending out a survey to gather information on the various types of consultation our EMDRIA Approved Consultants™ provide. We will send the survey out in early April.
- Virtual Focus Groups – Following the survey, we will host virtual focus groups. Responses collected from the survey will inform the topic of conversation for these groups. We will host the virtual focus groups in May.
Sarah Tolino, Director of Professional Standards at EMDRIA, ™ provided an overview of why the EMDRIA Approved Consultant™ Standards need to be updated and the process for these updates, including how the consultant community is key throughout this process.
Data Collection
- Winter 2022 Consultation Survey to EMDRIA Approved Consultants™
- CIT listening Sessions
- Track trends in the EMDRIA Approved Consultant™ Online Communities to identify issues or problems that we can help solve
Consultant Day Events begin in 2022
Revised Consultation Packet (2020) includes:
- Initial definition of key terms/definitions
- Steps for successful consultation relationship
- Sample forms
FAQs
Based on the feedback from EMDRIA Approved Consultants™ collective wisdom, previous data, and current literature about consultant needs and wants, we anticipate changes to the standards which may include the following: defining and clarifying terminology, evaluation of consultation skills, updating consultation requirements, guidelines and best practices, specific educational needs and requirements, and continuing education opportunities for consultants. Other changes will be made accordingly based on the additional data collected throughout 2025.
The standards are expected to be put into place in early 2026. Current Consultants in Training will continue with the current process. No changes will be implemented in 2025.
We will spend the first half of 2025 gathering insights (i.e., surveys, virtual focus groups, current applicable literature) and drafting the updated standards. Drafting, piloting and refining the updated standards will occur in second half of 2025. The implementation of the updated standards is set for early 2026.
No. If you currently hold the EMDRIA Approved Consultant™ credential with us, you will not have to complete the initial application again. We will send out communication about the new renewal process in advance so that you have time to review the renewal requirements and ask any questions. We anticipate that we will implement this process in 2027.
Consultants in Training who are already on track to become consultants before the change of standards will be able to continue their process based on the standards in place when they became CITs. More information about what the new path will look like will be available in the second half of 2025.
Consultants in Training who are already on track to become consultants before the change of standards will be able to continue their process based on the standards in place when they became CITs. More information about what the new path will look like will be available in the second half of 2025. We strive to have a transparent and open communication about this process.