EMDR Advanced Training

The Art of EMDR Preparation

Case Conceptualization and Readiness

Trainer: Crystal Wildes, PsyD, LP

On-Demand: Available with lifetime access for asynchronous learning. | This course was recorded on June 12th & 13th, 2025.

Getting your clients ready for EMDR is an art, and a science. Without the right preparation, reprocessing can stall, or worse, retraumatize. The Art of EMDR: Preparation, Case Conceptualization, and Readiness gives you the skills to confidently assess readiness, tailor preparation strategies, and build a strong therapeutic foundation before reprocessing begins.

In this course, you’ll refine your ability to conceptualize cases, strengthen your clients’ emotional resources, and troubleshoot common challenges in early EMDR phases. Whether you’re working with complex trauma, dissociation, or clients who struggle with affect tolerance, you’ll walk away with practical tools to ensure they’re truly prepared.

Master the essential, but often overlooked, phases of EMDR so you can set your clients up for success. Join us and take your EMDR practice to the next level.

I'm Ready to Conceptualize Cases With Confidence

Why TTI

Built for Learning. Designed for Belonging.

Shame-Free Space for Learning™

Because the best learning happens when you feel safe. Ask freely, show up fully, and learn in a relational, non-judgmental environment built for practitioners like you.

Expert Clinical Training

Expect real case examples, clear guidance, and a teaching style that makes even complex topics feel approachable so you can confidently use what you learn in session right away.

Where Learning Meets Community

Join a community of clinicians learning side by side, sharing real case insights and peer support so you can grow your skills with confidence alongside your peers in meaningful connection.

Practical Skills

Practical Interventions You'll Learn

Phases 1 and 2 are where EMDR succeeds or stalls. When preparation is rushed or under-conceptualized, reprocessing can flood the client, loop endlessly, or grind to a halt. When it is done well, your client arrives at Phase 3 with the resources, regulation, and trust they need to actually move.

This on-demand training with Dr. Crystal Wildes gives you the structured frameworks, clinical tools, and decision-making skills to make Phases 1 and 2 the foundation your most complex cases deserve.

By the end of this training, you will learn how to:

Apply the 7 P's of Case Conceptualization to assess presenting concerns, trauma history, attachment patterns, and overall readiness for EMDR reprocessing.
Use the Polyvagal-Informed EMDR Preparation Hierarchy to match your preparation strategies to your client's nervous system state, instead of defaulting to a one-size-fits-all approach.
Track autonomic nervous system states in session and adjust pacing, language, and interventions based on whether your client is in ventral, sympathetic, or dorsal activation.
Build Phase 2 resourcing that actually holds, including Polyvagal-informed regulation strategies, somatic anchoring, and nervous system-attuned safe place and container work.
Recognize and address dissociation and avoidance early, before they derail reprocessing, with concrete language and interventions for the most common presentations.
Choose between comprehensive, symptom-focused, and fractionated treatment planning based on where your client actually is, rather than where you wish they were.
Troubleshoot stalled treatment by returning to the 7 P's and the Preparation Hierarchy to identify what was missed, what needs more work, and what to adjust before moving forward.
Apply structured clinical decision-making across Phase 1 history-taking, Phase 2 preparation, and treatment planning, so you stop guessing and start working from a clear, repeatable framework.

What You Get

What's Waiting for You Inside This Training

7 P's of case conceptualization

Apply a structured framework to assess presenting concerns, trauma history, and treatment readiness.

Polyvagal-Informed Preparation Hierarchy

Make pacing and intervention decisions based on your client's nervous system state, not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Resourcing and stabilization toolkit

Build Phase 2 resourcing that actually holds, including somatic anchoring and nervous system-attuned safe place work.

Tracking autonomic states in session

Recognize ventral, sympathetic, and dorsal activation and adjust pacing, language, and interventions in real time.

Treatment planning options

Choose between comprehensive, fractionated, and symptom-focused treatment plans based on where your client actually is.

Early-phase troubleshooting

Recognize and address dissociation and avoidance before they derail reprocessing, with concrete language for common presentations.

Lifetime on-demand access

Go at your own pace and return to the material whenever a client's preparation calls for it.

Free community membership

Join TTI's shame-free community of practitioners for ongoing conversations, support, and resources. No cost, no catch.

Is This For You?

Who Is This Training For

This training is for EMDR-trained clinicians who are ready to take the preparation phases seriously and want a structured, nervous system-informed framework for doing so.

This is for you if:

You have completed EMDR Basic Training and want to deepen your skills in the phases that often get rushed.
You have had EMDR cases stall, loop, or flood, and you suspect the issue lives in conceptualization or preparation, not in the reprocessing itself.
You work with complex trauma, dissociation, or attachment wounds and need a more structured way to assess readiness before approaching targets.
You want a clinical framework you can apply consistently, instead of relying on intuition alone to decide whether a client is ready to reprocess.
You are looking for Polyvagal-informed strategies that go beyond psychoeducation and give you concrete tools for working with nervous system states in session.
You want CE credit while strengthening the foundational skills that determine whether your EMDR work succeeds or stalls.

Meet Your Trainer

About Your Trainer

Crystal Wildes

PsyD, LP

Dr. Crystal Wildes is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, EMDR-certified clinician, and EMDRIA-Approved Consultant and Trainer with extensive experience in trauma treatment, clinician development, and EMDR training. She specializes in working with complex trauma and has a strong passion for training students and new clinicians, equipping them with the skills and confidence needed to become effective trauma therapists.

Dr. Wildes currently works in private practice, where she provides trauma-focused therapy, consultation, and supervision. She has a 20-year history of working in community settings, serving underserved populations, and remains committed to increasing access to high-quality trauma care. Her background in both private and community-based practice allows her to offer a comprehensive perspective on trauma treatment, case conceptualization, and clinician training.

As a leader in the field of EMDR training and consultation, Dr. Wildes integrates Polyvagal Theory, advanced EMDR strategies, and structured case conceptualization models to help clinicians develop a nervous system-informed approach to treatment. She has worked extensively with dissociation, attachment wounds, and nervous system dysregulation, ensuring that both clients and clinicians have the tools necessary for successful trauma processing.

Additional Information

Course Details

Agenda

DAY 1:

The Science Behind EMDR: AIP, Polyvagal Theory, & the 8
Phases
EMDR Phases One & Two
- Why Phases 1 & 2 are Critical for EMDR Success
- Role of Case Conceptualization
7 P’s of Case Conceptualization
- Overview of the 7 P’s Framework
- Application of 7 P’s Clinical Tool
Assessing Readiness for Reprocessing

DAY 2:

Welcome Back & Review
Preparation Techniques
- Polyvagal-Informed Preparation & Resourcing
Preparation Techniques
- Recognizing and Addressing Dissociation & Avoidance
EMDR Treatment Planning Techniques
- The Role of Phases 1 & 2 in Treatment Planning
- Comprehensive Treatment Planning
EMDR Treatment Planning cont.
- Symptom-Focused Treatment Planning
- Laying the Foundation for EMDR Success: Key Strategies for Conceptualization, Preparation, & Treatment Planning in Phase 1 & 2
- Fractionated Treatment Planning
Treatment Barriers
- Applying the 7 P’s & Preparation Hierarchy when Therapy is Not Progressing
- Troubleshooting Activity

Learning Objectives

Describe the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, Polyvagal Theory, and the eight phases of EMDR, with a focus on their relevance to Phases 1 and 2.
Analyze the role of case conceptualization in EMDR treatment and apply the 7 P’s framework to assess a client’s trauma history, treatment needs, and readiness for reprocessing.
Assess client readiness for EMDR reprocessing using the Polyvagal-Informed EMDR Preparation Hierarchy and the 7 P’s of Case Conceptualization to determine appropriate treatment pacing and interventions.
Demonstrate Polyvagal-informed preparation techniques and integrate nervous system regulation strategies to enhance Phase 2 resourcing.
Apply EMDR treatment planning techniques that align with client presentation, conceptualization, and readiness for reprocessing, incorporating comprehensive, fractionated, and symptom-focused approaches.
Evaluate common challenges in early-phase EMDR, such as dissociation, avoidance, and autonomic dysregulation, and implement strategies to address these barriers effectively.
Apply problem-solving techniques when treatment is not progressing, using case conceptualization to troubleshoot obstacles and adapt treatment strategies accordingly.
Integrate the principles of case conceptualization, nervous system regulation, and treatment planning to enhance EMDR therapy outcomes in clinical practice.

Prerequisites

EMDR Basic Training

Continuing Education

8 CEs are available upon completion of all course material.

Trauma Therapist Institute is an approved continuing education provider. ACE, NBCC, and EMDRIA CEs are available for this course. APA CEs are not available for this course.

Participants must complete the full training to receive credit.

ACE Approved Provider

Trauma Therapist Institute, #1869, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 1/16/25 - 1/16/28. Social workers completing this course receive 8 clinical continuing education credits.

NBCC Approved Provider

Trauma Therapist Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7033. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Trauma Therapist Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

EMDRIA Approved Provider

Trauma Therapist Institute is an EMDRIA Approved Training Provider. TTI courses are individually approved. CE Certificate will contain course approval number.

Course Completion

To receive a CE certificate, participants must complete the entire course, complete the post-test with a score of 80% or above, and complete the course evaluation. You may retake the post-test as needed. Once completed, a CE certificate will auto-populate to your online account.

Cancellation Policy

Please reference our cancellation policy here (bottom section of this page).