EMDR Advanced Training
EMDR For Grief and LossÂ
Trainer: Crystal Wildes
Available on-demand
This advanced training is crafted for therapists ready to navigate the profound complexities of grief and loss using the power of EMDR. Grief is deeply personal and often layered with emotions that can seem overwhelming for clients. This course delves into how EMDR can offer a structured yet compassionate approach to guide clients through the sorrow, unresolved pain, and trauma that accompany loss. Through focused training, you’ll gain essential skills for helping clients move toward healing while honoring their unique journeys.
In this program, you’ll explore the foundational elements of grief work, integrated with EMDR’s adaptive information processing model. We cover specific protocols that adapt EMDR techniques for grief, equipping you to work sensitively and effectively within clients’ windows of tolerance. You’ll learn to identify the complexities of grief responses—like persistent sadness, guilt, or anger—and how to navigate these emotions in a therapeutic setting without overwhelming clients.
Understanding grief from an EMDR perspective also involves recognizing its physical and cognitive impacts. This training dives into the physiological and psychological aspects of grief, addressing how it disrupts clients’ nervous systems and sense of stability. By learning to recognize these effects, you’ll be better prepared to offer a holistic healing path that encompasses both mind and body, creating space for clients to process and integrate their loss.
This course is designed to enhance your skills in handling the delicate balance between empathy and EMDR’s structured approach, allowing clients to confront and process their grief safely. By combining EMDR techniques with grief therapy essentials, you’ll leave with a refined, nuanced toolkit to help clients reclaim resilience and rediscover connection after loss. Join us, and expand your capacity to support clients through one of life’s most challenging experiences.
COURSE DETAILS
This advanced training provides a comprehensive exploration of how EMDR can be uniquely applied to grief and loss therapy, empowering therapists to address complex layers of pain and sorrow that traditional approaches may not reach. We begin with an in-depth look at the intersection of EMDR and grief therapy, guiding you through the adaptive information processing (AIP) model and specific protocols designed to honor the grieving process. By incorporating EMDR, you’ll gain powerful tools to help clients process memories and emotions in ways that move them toward acceptance and healing.
The training also emphasizes the importance of pacing in grief work, recognizing that grief often comes in waves and can feel chaotic or overwhelming for clients. We cover techniques to help clients stay within their window of tolerance, including adaptations to standard EMDR protocols that allow clients to safely engage with painful memories. Through these approaches, you’ll learn to create a balanced environment that respects each client’s unique grieving process while gently facilitating movement through grief.
Grief impacts clients on multiple levels—emotionally, physically, and cognitively. This training addresses how grief affects the nervous system, often leading to symptoms like hypervigilance, fatigue, and cognitive fog. You’ll learn how to recognize these responses and integrate somatic techniques alongside EMDR to support clients holistically. By the end, you’ll be equipped to help clients process grief not only as an emotional experience but as a full-body response, encouraging deeper healing and integration.
Our advanced training combines theory with experiential practice, ensuring you leave with actionable skills that enhance your confidence in treating grief and loss. Throughout the course, you’ll have opportunities to observe, practice, and receive feedback on EMDR techniques tailored for grief work. This experience allows you to refine your approach and connect with a supportive community of therapists, all committed to deepening their expertise in grief therapy. Join us, and discover new, compassionate ways to support clients as they navigate the journey of loss.
AGENDA
- Welcome, Intro, & Getting Oriented
- Foundations of Grief, Loss, & Mourning
- EMDR Research & AIP Model with Grief & Loss
- Case Conceptualization
- Case Conceptualization continued
- Resources Development + Treatment Planning
- Three Stage Model + Protocol for Excessive Grief
- Integrating EMDR with Rando’s 6 R’s of Processing Mourning
- Q&A and wrap up
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- List symptoms associated with grief, loss, and mourning as well as differences between these three presentations.
- Describe cultural variances in grief and loss presentations, and the importance of cultural identity as it relates to case conceptualization.Â
- Explain the usefulness of EMDR with grief and loss presentations, as well as contraindications.Â
- Describe phases one and two of EMDR therapy with grief, loss and mourning.
- Identify at least three potential areas for reprocessing with grief, loss and mourning presentations.
- List 2 techniques to work with stuck processing of grief and loss targets.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Prerequisites
Continuing Education
Course Completion
Cancellation Policy
ABOUT YOUR TRAINER, CRYSTAL WILDES
Dr. Crystal Wildes is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 20 years experience working, training, and providing supervision/consultation in a variety of settings. She’s a Trauma Therapist Institute trainer and senior faculty member, and an expert EMDR clinician. Crystal has worked with individuals and families of all ages, including adjudicated youth, at-risk teens, families involved with social services, and victims of crime. Crystal is committed to providing compassionate and effective mental health care with a focus on healing complex trauma. Specializing in EMDR therapy, she brings a wealth of expertise to her practice, offering a unique and evidence-based approach to support individuals on their journey to recovery. In addition to her clinical work, Crystal is a dedicated educator and trainer. She shares her expertise with fellow clinicians through workshops, seminars, and training programs focused on trauma-informed care and the implementation of EMDR therapy. Crystal is committed to equipping mental health professionals with the tools and knowledge necessary to navigate the intricate landscape of trauma treatment. She prides herself in being authentic and genuine in her approach to facilitating the learning experience.