EMDR Therapy for PTSD: Therapy Course Module 8

What the module teaches

Module 8 of the PsychoPharmRef therapy course is a practical guide to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for trauma and PTSD. The Learn tab covers the Adaptive Information Processing model, the evidence base, and the eight phases: history and treatment planning, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation. It also covers the three-pronged protocol (past, present, and future targets) and adaptations for complex or dissociative trauma, children and adolescents, recent traumatic events, and choice of bilateral stimulation.

The module states that EMDR is recommended for PTSD in adults by the VA/DoD guideline (2023), the WHO, NICE, and ISTSS. It is also direct about the mechanism debate: dismantling studies have questioned whether the eye movements add benefit, and the APA guideline rated the evidence more conservatively than trauma-focused CBT.

Sections and worksheets

• Target Plan (Phase 1): presenting problem, core negative cognition, and a three-pronged target sequence of past touchstone memories, present triggers, and future templates, with floatback guidance.
• Prepare (Phase 2): a readiness and dissociation checklist, plus Calm/Safe Place, Container, and Resource Development and Installation worksheets.
• Assess (Phase 3): target image, negative and positive cognition (with standard cognition menus), VOC 1–7, emotion, SUDS 0–10, and body location.
• Reprocess (Phases 4–6): a set-by-set log tracking SUDS toward 0, VOC before and after installation, any interweave used, and the body scan.
• Goals and Outcomes: a functioning goal and a per-session measure log (for example PCL-5 total, 0–80) with change from baseline.

Each worksheet copies to plain text, and blank worksheets are available as a PDF.

Who it is for

The module is aimed at trainees and advanced students and takes about 4–6 contact hours. It is an adjunct to formal EMDR training and consultation and does not confer certification. The worksheets are teaching aids, not validated instruments.

Safety cautions

Reprocessing can surface intense affect. The module directs clinicians to screen for dissociation and establish stabilization before Phases 3–6, and to address active suicidality, unstable substance use, or ongoing danger before reprocessing. Its main reference is Shapiro's EMDR text (3rd edition, 2018).