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EMDR Advanced Training
Introduction to Polyvagal Informed EMDR
A Neuro-Informed Training for Trauma Therapists
You have heard the language. Ventral, sympathetic, dorsal. Neuroception. The vagal brake. Maybe you have taken a polyvagal training or two, or maybe you have only caught fragments in consultation and wondered whether the model even holds up anymore. Either way, knowing about Polyvagal Theory is not the same as knowing how to use it inside EMDR. The gap shows up fast: a client who looks resourced on paper floods the moment reprocessing starts, a client with a full toolbox of regulation skills stays stuck because the memory itself never gets metabolized, and you quietly narrow the range of clients you feel confident offering EMDR to at all.
Memory storage and autonomic functioning have a bidirectional, interdependent relationship. How a memory is stored shapes how the nervous system responds, and the state of the nervous system shapes whether a memory can be reprocessed at all. Treat one without accounting for the other and you get looping, flooding, or coping skills with a ceiling.
In this three-hour live training, Rebecca Kase, LCSW, author of Polyvagal-Informed EMDR: A Neuro-Informed Approach to Healing, introduces the PV-EMDR model and walks you through how physiological state informs every stage of EMDR therapy: assessment, preparation, intervention, and outcome. You will learn it directly from the clinician who developed it.
Practical Skills
Practical Interventions You'll Learn
In this Polyvagal Informed EMDR training, you will learn how to:
- Scan for cues of safety, orienting a client's attention toward neutral or appealing sensory cues and using this as a pendulation strategy during moments of activation
- Guide Surfing Imagery, a sensory-rich imagery exercise that strengthens interoceptive awareness and helps clients recognize the physiological signals of pleasant and neutral experiences
- Build vagal tone and autonomic flexibility in Phase 2 so clients can shift out of protective states and more accurately re-appraise cues of safety and danger
- Apply the Preparation Hierarchy, moving from Safe Enough to Feel through Notice and Name, Feel and Flex, and Trust the Process to gauge readiness for reprocessing and select the right intervention at the right time
- Use social engagement interventions during Phase 4, including breath, facial expression, head position, vocal tone, and choice-based language that supports processing without unnecessarily directing it
What You Get
What's Waiting for You Inside This Training
Describe the primary components of Polyvagal Theory
Autonomic states, neuroception, the vagus nerve, vagal tone, heart rate variability, and the social engagement system
Explain how EMDR's Adaptive Information Processing model and Polyvagal Theory intersect
Why memory networks and autonomic processes influence each other in both directions
Evaluate current criticisms and limitations of Polyvagal Theory
What they mean for responsible, evidence-informed clinical application
Apply at least two Polyvagal-informed interventions to Phase 2 Preparation
Support interoceptive awareness and autonomic flexibility
Use the Preparation Hierarchy
Align your interventions with a client's neurophysiological capacity instead of pushing past it
Learn on your schedule
On-demand access means you go at your own pace. Lifetime access is included, so you can return whenever you need it.
Integrate attention to autonomic functioning across the eight phases
With particular emphasis on preparation and reprocessing
Free community membership
Join TTI's shame-free community of practitioners for ongoing conversations, support, and resources. No cost, no catch.
Meet Your Trainer
About Your Trainer
Rebecca Kase
MSW, LCSW, RYT
Rebecca Kase, LCSW, is a psychotherapist, EMDR trainer, author, and founder and CEO of the Trauma Therapist Institute. She is an EMDRIA-Approved Trainer and Consultant and the author of Polyvagal-Informed EMDR: A Neuro-Informed Approach to Healing.
Rebecca specializes in trauma treatment and the integration of neuroscience into clinical practice. She has trained thousands of clinicians in EMDR therapy and trauma treatment and is known for translating complex clinical and scientific concepts into practical, accessible approaches for clinicians. Her work emphasizes clinical rigor, critical thinking, and evidence-informed practice.
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Work With the Nervous System, Not Around It
When clients flood the moment reprocessing starts, loop on targets, or build regulation skills that never translate into resolved memories, the answer isn't more preparation. Skills for regulating will only get you so far. This three hour training gives you the PV-EMDR model, a neuro-informed framework for reading autonomic state, gauging readiness with the Preparation Hierarchy, and bringing the nervous system into every phase of EMDR therapy.
I'm Building Autonomic Resiliency Into My EMDR Practice
When clients flood the moment reprocessing starts, loop on targets, or build regulation skills that never translate into resolved memories, the answer isn't more preparation. Skills for regulating will only get you so far. This three hour training gives you the PV-EMDR model, a neuro-informed framework for reading autonomic state, gauging readiness with the Preparation Hierarchy, and bringing the nervous system into every phase of EMDR therapy.