EMDR Phases: What to ask yourself during Phase 4

We know that every experience has feelings attached to it. And, as therapists, we’re apt to listen to and validate those feelings for our clients and (hopefully) for ourselves.

And learning, just like all of the other experiences in life, has feelings attached to it. And while we would typically create space for the feelings that come up, in Phase 4 we tend to pick and choose what feelings we think are appropriate for this time.

Reprocessing in Phase 4 is just learning, y’all. And for our clients (and for us), there are going to be feelings that show up as this happens.

Our job is not necessarily to interfere with these feelings because we believe that something else should be happening. Our job is to understand if that frustration, or other feeling, is clinically relevant.

And spoiler alert, oftentimes, it is.

I’ve identified the 5 questions that I ask myself whenever I’m feeling “stuck” in Phase 4 and my hope is that this framework will help you understand that sometimes “stuckness” is the clinical stepping stone you need to understand for your client.

If you're looking for clinical consultation that's going to offer you frameworks and insight just like in this podcast, I encourage you to check out The Consultation Program. Embark on an eight month journey in the only comprehensive consultation program out there. Apply here today!

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With a Masters in Education from Vanderbilt, Kambria has been creating trainings and teaching adult learners for 20 years. As Director of Education and Quality Improvement at Stanford Medical School, her job was to decomplicate and consolidate complex systems and topics, thereby giving medical trainees successful learning experiences. Now, as a busy mom of fraternal twins, dedicated business owner of Zero Disturbance, and EMDRIA Approved Consultant, Kambria knows what it means to do things efficiently, effectively, and in a learner-centered way.