EMDR Advanced Training
Safe Enough to Heal: Integrating Play and Polyvagal Wisdom in EMDR with Children
Trainer:Â Jackie Flynn EdS, LMHC-S, RPT-S
Live Virtual Training: October 23rd | 10 am AM Central |Â Available for synchronous, live learning
On-Demand: Available one week after the live event
Unlock transformative healing for children in trauma with an approach that’s as playful as it is powerful. In this live, experiential workshop, you’ll discover how to weave EMDR’s proven eight-phase model with the nervous system wisdom of polyvagal theory and the creative spark of play therapy. Designed for EMDR-trained clinicians, this hands-on training offers ready-to-use, polyvagal-informed interventions, rooted in safety, connection, and co-regulation, to help children process trauma, express themselves symbolically, and build lasting resilience. Through practical activities, case examples, and therapist-friendly tools, you’ll learn how to assess readiness, cultivate neuroception, and turn every EMDR session into a safe enough space for genuine healing and change.
Meet the Polyvagal Ladder
A guide to help you guide children through emotions.
What You’ll Learn in This EMDRIA Approved Advanced Training
Discover powerful, practical tools to help kids move from “just coping” to truly healing. In this course, you’ll learn how to:
- Incorporate playful, child-friendly EMDR interventions that nurture safety and connection.
- Apply polyvagal-informed techniques to regulate the nervous system during every EMDR phase.
- Build trust and foster resilience - even with the most hesitant or wounded children.
- Structure EMDR sessions for kids using proven games, art, movement, and story.
- Navigate complex trauma, attachment wounding, and nervous system shutdown with confidence.
- Translate clinical polyvagal concepts into relatable, use-right-away activities for kids and parents.
- Tailor EMDR strategies to honor diverse family stories and backgrounds.
- Harness right-brain engagement for lasting transformation beyond cognitive approaches.
- Access a rich toolkit of scripts, handouts, and creative resources for immediate implementation.
Every skill and strategy shared is rooted in real client work and designed for results with “kids who need the safest spaces.”
Schedule - Central Time
- 10:00 am - 10:10 am: Welcome, objectives, and presenter introduction
- 10:10 am - 11:00 am: Foundations
- Overview of Polyvagal Theory
- Nervous system states and co-regulation
- Introduction to the therapeutic powers of play
- Child development principles relevant to trauma and EMDR
- 11:00 am - 11:10 am: Break
- 11:10 am - 12:10 pm:Â Polyvagal-Informed Play in Phases 1 and 2
- History taking and treatment planning through non-directive play
- Assessing readiness and regulation
- Â Building safety and trust through playful relational rhythms
- 12:10 pm - 12:20 pm: Break
- 12:20 pm - 1:30 pm:Â Targeting and Resourcing in Phase 3
- Integrating cues of safety into assessment
- Using symbolic play and nervous system signals in target selection
- 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm: Lunch
- 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm:Â Desensitization and Installation in Phases 4 and 5
- Supporting dual attention with play-based strategies
- Maintaining connection during trauma processing
- Integrating play materials for child-led installation
- 3:30 pm - 3:40 pm: Break
- 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm:Â Body Scan and Closure
- Developmentally appropriate adaptations of body awareness
- Creative somatic interventions
- Rituals of safety and symbolic containment
- 4:30 pm - 4:40 pm: Break
- 4:40 pm - 5:15 pm:Â Reevaluation and Integration & Supervision, Fidelity, and Clinical Application
- Using expressive play to assess progress
- Adjusting case formulation through the lens of play and polyvagal insight
- Consultation and ethical considerations
- Navigating fidelity with creativity
- Clinical decision-making and therapist regulation
- 5:15 pm - 5:30 pm: Wrap-up, key takeaways, and Q&A
Learning Objectives
- Identify key tenets of polyvagal theory and how they apply to nervous system regulation and co-regulation within the play therapy process.
- Describe core principles of child development and their relevance to safety, attachment, and therapeutic pacing in play therapy.
- Apply play-based strategies that support safe and attuned history-taking (Phase One) and preparation (Phase Two) when working with children in EMDR.
- Demonstrate ways to integrate safety cues and co-regulatory play in Phase Three (Assessment) to support target selection and dual attention.
- Utilize polyvagal-informed play-based techniques during Phase Four (Desensitization) and Phase Five (Installation) to facilitate trauma processing while maintaining connection.
- Evaluate client progress and safety using child-centered play therapy approaches during Phase Eight (Reevaluation) within the EMDR framework.
About Your Trainer, Jackie Flynn, EdS, LMHC-S, RPT-S
Jackie Flynn is a passionate advocate for healing through play, EMDR, and nature. As the owner of Counseling in Brevard in Cocoa Beach, Florida, she supports individuals of all ages using play therapy, expressive therapies, and EMDR. Her work centers on compassion, creativity, and nervous system regulation, offering clients a safe space to heal and grow.
With a background as a teacher, school counselor, and school-based clinician, Jackie holds an Education Specialist degree and brings decades of experience to her practice. She specializes in trauma, anxiety, and emotional regulation, tailoring evidence-based approaches to meet the unique needs of each client—from children to adults and families.
Jackie is also a leader in the clinical training space. She’s the founder of EMDR and Play Therapy Integration Support and creator of ReWilding EMDR™, teaching therapists how to integrate play and nature into all phases of EMDR. An EMDRIA-approved trainer and APT-approved provider, Jackie is the author of EMDR with Kids Flip Chart and the forthcoming Play is the Therapy. Through training, consulting, and her podcast, she empowers therapists to create transformative healing experiences.
Who is this course for?Â
This course is designed for EMDR-trained clinicians who want to:
- Confidently adapt EMDR to the unique needs and nervous system responses of children.
- Build a bridge between trauma-focused work and playful, nervous-system-safe interventions.
- Move past protocol-based limitations to reach children who are stuck or struggling.
- Transform sessions into safe, engaging, and creative spaces where children feel truly seen.
- Support children living with complex trauma, attachment disruptions, or dissociation.
- Equip themselves with tools to explain polyvagal theory and EMDR simply to kids and caregivers.
- Stand out as a therapist who blends creativity, neuroscience, and deep empathy in their EMDR practice.
Whether you work in private practice, schools, clinics, or community settings, if you strive to change the narrative for young survivors, this training will give you what you need.
