Free Course

The EMDR Approach to Trauma

A Free Intro to Adaptive Processing

Trainer: Crystal Wildes
Live Training: June 24th | 1:00 PM Central Time | Available for synchronous, live learning
On-Demand: Available one week after the live event

A 1-hour training to rethink trauma through EMDR’s core framework, even if you’re not EMDR-trained (yet).

Curious how EMDR therapists conceptualize trauma? In this free, live 1-hour training, you'll learn the foundational model behind EMDR therapy, the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, and how it transforms the way we understand and treat trauma. Whether you’re EMDR-trained or just EMDR-curious, you’ll walk away with a fresh clinical lens you can start applying right away.

Crystal Wildes BT Facilitator

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.

What You'll Learn in This Free Training

The Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model
Learn the foundational model behind EMDR therapy, how it explains the way trauma is stored, and how to align with neurobiology to support integration. You’ll discover how AIP can transform your clinical lens, even if you never pick up bilateral stimulation.

Memory Networks: Adaptive vs. Maladaptive
Explore how the brain organizes experience through memory networks, and what happens when trauma creates disconnection, looping, or shutdown. You’ll learn how these networks shape client symptoms, reactions, and triggers.

How Unhealed Memories Drive Present-Day Symptoms
Understand how trauma shows up in the now. We’ll look at real-life examples of how unresolved past experiences hijack the present, so you can start tracing symptoms back to their roots.

The Floatback Technique
Get an introduction to this EMDR-based strategy that helps uncover the earlier experiences behind current distress. You’ll walk away with a simple, neuro-informed method to use in conceptualization or session work.

How to Use AIP in Your Practice With Any Client
You don’t have to be EMDR-trained to start applying AIP principles. We’ll show you how to use this framework to map client cases more clearly, avoid therapeutic misfires, and plan interventions that align with the brain’s natural drive to heal.

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FACT: EMDR is a full therapy model based on the neurobiology of memory. It uses evidence-based techniques to rewire how trauma is stored in the brain, promoting healing through neuroplasticity.

Crystal Wildes BT Facilitator

About Your Trainer, Crystal Wildes

Dr. Crystal Wildes is a licensed psychologist and the owner of Insight Psychology, LLC in Evergreen, Colorado. She has over 20 years of experience providing therapy, training, and supervision across diverse clinical settings. She is a senior faculty member and trainer with the Trauma Therapist Institute and an EMDRIA-approved consultant and trainer.
Crystal has extensive experience working with individuals and families across the lifespan, including adjudicated youth, at-risk teens, families involved with social services, and survivors of crime. She specializes in working with underserved populations and is deeply committed to providing compassionate, effective care for complex trauma, with EMDR therapy as her primary approach to fostering healing and resilience.

In addition to her clinical practice, Crystal directs a trauma-informed clinical training program at Insight Psychology, where she supervises graduate trainees and early-career clinicians in the practice of EMDR and trauma-focused care. She also trains and consults with clinicians nationwide, offering workshops and advanced trainings in trauma-informed care and the integration of EMDR therapy. Known for her authenticity and approachable teaching style, she creates shame-free learning environments that equip clinicians with the tools, confidence, and knowledge to navigate the complexities of trauma treatment.

Additional Information

Schedule - Central

  • 1:00 - 11:10 pm: What is the adaptive information processing model?

  • 1:10 - 1:20 pm: What’s stuck that’s causing yuck? The role of memory storage on symptoms.

  • 1:20 - 1:30 pm: Adaptive vs. Maladaptively Stored Memories

  • 1:30 - 1:40 pm: The Floatback Technique

  • 1:40 - 1:50 pm: How AIP & EMDR help clients heal

  • 1:50 - 2:00 pm: Q&A

Learning Objectives

  • Describe the core principles of the Adaptive Information Processing model and explain how it guides case conceptualization.
  • Analyze the use of EMDR techniques to identify maladaptively stored memories leading to present-day symptoms.

Prerequisites

  • None

Continuing Education

1 CE is available upon completion of all course material.

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

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 6 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. Kase & CO is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

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).

FREE!

  • Lifetime access to the course - Refresh your skills anytime at your own pace. Get on-demand access after the live date.
  • Immediate clinical application - Walk away with tools you can use in your next session.
  • CEs - Earn ASWB and NBCC CEs.