If you wish to charge for EMDR then you should meet the criteria as set out for each country, certainly you would need to be insured for which you would require a professional qualification. In the US only members of the EMDRIA can practice as professional therapists, even though EMDR is very simple. As long as you are not charging for your services and you do not advertise or make any claim to be a professional YES you can freely practice EASY EMDR at Home.

Thankfully in the UK you do not need to be a member of the EMDRIA, there are many excellent therapists who are not as it’s simply not necessary and the entry requirements to the EMDRIA are so high they prevent very skilled and experienced therapists from practising EMDR – which is why there are no where near enough EMDR therapists in the world.

The guidelines recommend EMDR for unresolved trauma beyond 3 months, that said there is a growing base since of evidence since 2018 to support the use of EMDR as an Emergency (even same day) Early Intervention, remember you cannot do any harm with EMDR so use EMDR as soon as practically possible.

Children from aged 5 may be suitable to undergo EMDR dependent on mental age and ability of the child to process thoughts.

It is indeed possible to use these methods to FIND, FEEL and FOLLOW your OWN fingers to FORGET trauma. The difficulty comes with breaking state, as you will not be able to ask yourself any confusing questions – as you will know what you’re going to ask! Once you are proficient with EASY EMDR you can choose to tap your own knees which is easier than focusing on your own fingers. Visit www.EASY EMDR.com (not .org) for a self-help application.

You can also move your own fingers and FOLLOW these instead. It is even possible to close your eyes and imagine following your own fingers while you think of a traumatic memory. This is very helpful in bed of a night time if you cannot sleep – I do this often!

This is quite common don’t worry, when your hand reaches far left simply raise the other hand with your fingers extended allow them to meet, drop the arm you’ve been using and change arms. When that one becomes tired do the same in reverse – keep swapping arms.

This is very common, just refer to the additional methods of stimulating the senses which is tapping on the knees and ask the person your helping to relax and close their eyes – the EMDR works exactly the same – in some cases even quicker!

This is quite usual as the EMDR will make it harder for a subject to focus on the memory as it fades in importance. Keep reminding your subject to keep focusing on the memory, you can also ask them to describe what they are feeling when the number has come down by two or three points – ask then what’s changed for the number to now be at an 8 or a 5 etc? Carry on with the memory until fully resolved.

It is always advisable to leave at least 48 hours between each EMDR session. Keep each session to a maximum of 2 hours for best effect.

This section will continue to grow as more questions are posed and answered. If you cant see the answer to your question then please email us and we will respond within 2 – 24 hours and post your question and answer here helping to grow the EMDR Hub.