Why your EMDR training is failing you (sometimes)

I have a guess about you.

You're probably one of the most highly trained people in your circle.

You have the certifications. You've done the EMDR weekends. You've studied IFS. Maybe you're even trained in Somatic Experiencing or sensorimotor work.

You have incredible tools. 

A whole garage full of them.

But sometimes... when you try to use those tools with a specific type of client... something stalls.

You wave the finger (EMDR). 

You ask the "parts" to step back (IFS). 

You track the sensation (SE).

And the client just... stares at you. Or they dissociate. Or they get defensive and push back.

Does that mean the tool is broken?

No. The tools are beautiful. They work.

The challenge is that you might be trying to use a processing tool on a nervous system that isn't ready to process yet.

You're trying to use an "Insight" or "Processing" intervention on a client whose Character Strategy is blocking it from landing.

Here's what I mean...

If you try to use EMDR on a client with a Tough Generous (someone who needs to control the narrative to feel safe), they'll unconsciously fight the process... because "letting go" feels threatening to their system. It's not resistance. It's protection.

If you try to do Parts Work with a Sensitive Emotional client (someone who performs wellness, who wants to be "good" at therapy), they'll give you all the "right" answers to please you... but nothing deep actually shifts. They're managing the session, not surrendering to it.

Your tools aren't the problem. 

It's about how the nervous system is receiving them.

Sometimes you need a way to prep the system first... so it can actually take in the EMDR or the IFS or whatever modality you're using.

That's what we're doing in the "Working with Treatment Barriers and Character Strategies" workshop.

I'm not teaching you a new modality to replace what you already know. You've already invested so much in your training.

I'm teaching you what I think of as the Interface.

How to identify and unlock the Character Strategy first... so that the tools you already have can actually land the way they're meant to.

Here's what it looks like:

Working with Treatment Barriers and Character Strategies (Live Workshop) 

If you've ever felt like your tools should be working but something keeps blocking them... this might be the missing piece.

Grab your guest pass here: Working with Treatment Barriers And Character Strategies with Advanced Somatic Skills

I'd love to see you there.

Esther