Somatic EMDR Training

Advanced Trauma Therapy Practitioner Program

Trainer: Alison Leslie, LCSW, SEP

On-Demand: Available with lifetime access for asynchronous learning. | This course was recorded on May 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, June 4, 2026. | This course also has recorded live Q&A sessions recorded on May 13th and May 27th, 2026.

EMDR reprocessing works. But for many clients, the trauma isn't just stored in memory networks. It's held in the body, in the freeze that shows up the moment you approach a target, in the flooding that follows sessions no matter how carefully you pace, in the shutdown that keeps them "fine" while nothing underneath actually shifts.

When that's happening, the client doesn't need a different protocol. They need somatic interventions that build enough regulation and stability for the EMDR protocol to do what it's designed to do: metabolize the trauma as it's reactivated, not just stir it up.

If you're ready to bring somatic trauma therapy into your EMDR work with interventions that honor EMDR fidelity and the lived wisdom of the body, this advanced Somatic EMDR Training for EMDR therapists is for you.

In this experiential, EMDRIA-approved training with Alison Leslie, LCSW, SEP, you'll learn how to integrate somatic trauma therapy principles into every phase of EMDR. You'll leave with concrete maps, scripts, and somatic interventions you can immediately use with trauma clients on your caseload.

Count me in for Somatic EMDR Training

Alison Leslie Trainer Trauma Therapist Institute

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

By the end of this somatic EMDR practitioner training, you’ll be able to:

Pendulate autonomic activation and safety so clients can process trauma without flooding, shutdown, or dissociation.
Stabilize dysregulated clients in real time using somatic orienting and grounding when sessions start to unravel.
Unblock stuck EMDR processing with targeted somatic interweaves when reprocessing stalls.
Track subtle body cues (breath, posture, tension, micro-movements) to guide moment-to-moment clinical decisions.
Access implicit trauma memory through felt sense work when clients can’t verbalize what’s happening.
Build true dual awareness so clients stay present while engaging traumatic material.
Design individualized Phase 2 preparation plans using body-based regulation tools.
Read autonomic state shifts to confidently adjust pacing, set length, and intervention choice.
Support completion of unfinished fight/flight/freeze responses without retraumatizing clients.
Integrate somatic interventions within EMDR fidelity so your work stays creative, ethical, and evidence-aligned.

These are not add‑ons or “nice extras”. They’re practical, repeatable tools you can bring into your EMDR sessions with children, adolescents, and adults starting this week.

What You Get

What's Waiting for You Inside This Training

Somatic interventions across all 8 phases

Apply somatic trauma therapy principles to history taking, preparation, reprocessing, closure, and re-evaluation.

Pendulation and titration

Move clients between activation and safety so they can process trauma without flooding, shutdown, or dissociation.

Body-based Phase 2 preparation

Design individualized Phase 2 plans using orienting, self-touch, micro-movement, and felt-sense language.

Somatic interweaves for stuck processing

Unblock stalled EMDR processing with targeted somatic interweaves when reprocessing freezes or loops.

Working with implicit trauma memory

Access pre-verbal, medical, and attachment wounds through felt sense work when clients cannot verbalize what is happening.

Tracking autonomic state shifts

Read subtle body cues like breath, posture, tension, and micro-movements to guide pacing and intervention choice.

Live training with on-demand access

Join the five-week live virtual training, plus two live Q&A sessions, with lifetime on-demand access afterward.

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 advanced EMDR therapist training is designed for:

EMDR-trained clinicians who sense that their clients' bodies are holding more than the standard protocol is currently reaching
Trauma therapists who want to integrate somatic work into EMDR without abandoning fidelity to the 8-phase model
Clinicians working with developmental and attachment trauma, complex PTSD, dissociation, and chronic threat
Practitioners whose clients go numb, freeze, flood after sessions, or carry implicit, pre-verbal, or body-based trauma memories
Therapists who want a more embodied, polyvagal-informed way to pace EMDR with children, adolescents, and adults
EMDR consultants and supervisors seeking a stronger somatic framework to support consultees with hard-to-move cases

Meet Your Trainer

About Your Trainer

Alison Leslie

LCSW, SEP

Alison Leslie, LCSW, SEP is a trauma-informed clinician, trainer, and consultant in Bloomington, IN. Alison owns the private practice Empower Healing Counseling and Consultation and is known for creating safe spaces where clients and therapists feel seen, supported, and empowered. She specializes in EMDR, somatic therapy, and the healing power of the human-animal bond, one of the few practitioners blending these modalities at an expert level. Known for her warm, curiosity-based teaching approach, Alison helps mental health professionals reconnect with their clinical confidence and trust their own intuitive wisdom, especially when working with complex cases.

Investment

Flexible Payment Options

Pay in Full

$297

In-house financing at 0% interest

Not Ready Yet? Take This With You.

intro-somatic-emdr-survival-to-flourishing-alison-leslie-tti

Try Somatic EMDR Before You Commit

Not sure if somatic EMDR is the right next step for your practice? Start with our free introductory course, Introduction to Somatic EMDR: From Survival to Flourishing. Get a feel for the framework, the teaching style, and the kind of clinical depth you can expect inside the full program. No cost, no catch.

Get Free Access

Additional Information

Course Details

Agenda

Day 1

Foundations of Somatic EMDR, Somatic Channels, Conceptualization with Compassion, The Nest Metaphor, Defining Trauma, EMDR Phase 1 through a somatic lens
Experiences of Trauma, Introduction to Autonomic Nervous System states, Overview of regulation and dysregulation
Wrap-up, key takeaways, and Q&A

Day 2

Ventral Vagal, Sympathetic, and Dorsal states; Mixed states; Faux Window of Tolerance; Experiential autonomic state activity
Phase 2 Preparation, Creating Adaptive Neural Networks, Exteroception/Interoception/Neuroception, Predictive Model, Menu of Safety
Wrap-up, key takeaways, and Q&A

Day 3

Healing in attuned spaces, Presence and Co-Regulation, Joining vs. Merging, Therapeutic Nest, Orientation systems
Orienting practice, Felt Sense, Language of Sensation, Invitational Language, Small-group skill practice
Wrap-up, key takeaways, and Q&A

Day 4

Pendulation and Titration, Experiential practice, Finding the Whispers, Somatic preparation skills
Witnessing the Body (posture, language, facial expression, physiology), Self-of-the-therapist awareness, Tracking skills
Wrap-up, key takeaways, and Q&A

Day 5

Supportive Experience protocol, Experiential practice, Interweaving Phase 1 and Phase 2
Exploring the Nests of Our Lives, Well-built vs. poorly built nests, Capabilities Approach, Integration, and case application
Final wrap-up, key takeaways, and Q&A

Learning Objectives

Evaluate the empirical strengths, clinical benefits, methodological limitations, and current gaps in the evidence base for integrating somatic-informed interventions within EMDR therapy for trauma treatment.
Analyze how somatic channels of experience (sensation, imagery, affect, behavior, and meaning) inform clinical decision-making for target selection and pacing during EMDR desensitization, consistent with treatment fidelity.
Apply somatic-informed preparation strategies to enhance client readiness, stabilization, and dual awareness prior to trauma reprocessing.
Implement orienting and grounding interventions to support present-moment awareness and maintain dual attention during EMDR processing.
Integrate felt sense tracking to facilitate access to implicit memory material and inform adaptive cognition development during EMDR processing.
Utilize structured sensory language to improve accuracy in somatic tracking and enhance emotional and interoceptive awareness during trauma treatment.
Apply principles of graded exposure, titration, and attentional modulation to reduce overwhelm while supporting sustained trauma processing.
Analyze autonomic nervous system cues to guide clinical pacing, set length, and selection of somatic interweaves during EMDR desensitization.
Facilitate adaptive completion of defensive and orienting responses through somatic inquiry and movement-based interventions when clinically indicated.
Apply time-orientation and environmental anchoring techniques to support neuroceptive safety and reduce dysregulation during stalled trauma processing.
Integrate vocalization, imagery, and sensorimotor strategies to support autonomic regulation and processing flow when clinically appropriate.
Summarize current empirical evidence supporting EMDR efficacy while articulating how somatic-informed adaptations remain consistent with treatment fidelity.
Examine biopsychosocial and cultural factors within the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model to guide EMDR case conceptualization and treatment planning.
Analyze implicit and explicit memory processes within maladaptively stored memory networks as conceptualized in the AIP model.
Develop individualized Phase Two preparation plans incorporating somatic and interoceptive techniques based on client history and capacity.

Prerequisites

EMDR Basic Training
You can enroll in this course if you are still in Basic Training, but have completed all lecture and practicum hours.

Continuing Education

15 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 15 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.

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).

Take The Next Step

Ready to Begin?

When the Body Is Holding More Than the Protocol Can Reach

Some clients freeze the moment you approach a target. Some flood after every session. Some go quiet in ways that look like progress until nothing actually shifts. This training gives you the somatic interventions, the autonomic tracking skills, and the body-based preparation tools to help the EMDR protocol do what it is designed to do.