“Since taking your EMDR Basic Training I feel like EMDR is one of the techniques that helps me, help people process their trauma most effectively. I love the number of “AH HA!” moments that I see in the middle of sessions.” July 2023 

“Just wanted to say thank you for an excellent training. I especially appreciated the anti-oppressive lens you took throughout the whole training. I will be sure to recommend your course to my colleagues, especially those who are also queer, trans, and people of colour.”  Aug 2023

Registration Links

Got to Events page for information and registration

Life Journeys Counselling & Training Inc. presents Basic Therapy Training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for licensed mental health practitioners.

This powerful empirically tested approach to addressing disturbing memories will change your practice and clients lives. This course is approved by the Eye Movement Desensitization
and Reprocessing International Association (EMDRIA).

What you Gain:

• Empirical effective trauma therapy for your clients
• Satisfaction of seeing clients heal
• Numerous resources to enhance your work with clients
• Satisfaction knowing your work is contributing to the world and healing
• Clinical skills to advance your work
• Ability to advertise you offer EMDR
• More clients – public know EMDR works and are looking for EMDR therapists

The training is in several parts to enhance online learning – equals 14, 16 & 18 days of training:

• Pre Study: 7 day self study
• Meet n Greet Day
• Introduction Day
• Comprehensive day Sessions
• 4-5 practica
• 10+ hours of Consultation
• Comprehensive days for Tier 3
• Online resources

Pre-Study Day 1: Trauma Informed Care
Pre-Study Day 2: EMDR Introduction & EMDR Research
Pre-Study Day 3: Psychometrics & History Taking & Treatment Planning Intro
Pre-Study Day 4: EMDR Resources
Pre-Study Day 5: Client Self-Regulation
Pre-Study Day 6: Setting up for Virtual training and practica
Pre-Study Day 7: EMDR Cultural Competence & Learning about Microaggressions

45-70 hours more than EMDRIA Basic Training Requirements

The training includes dynamic lecture, live and videotaped demonstrations, case studies, supervised practice and ongoing case consultation.

Thousands of Resources provided to you consist of manual, handouts, online forum with thousands of resources; access to online case consultation with the trainer, facilitators, and peers, and numerous online EMDR resources for use with clients.

Participants learn to use EMDR appropriately and effectively in a variety of applications. Such use is based on understanding the theoretical basis of EMDR, safety issues, integration with a treatment plan, and supervised practice.

The required reading for EMDR basic training includes the following materials: 1) Shapiro, Francine. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy, Third Edition: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures. New York: Guildford Press; 2) Go With That Magazine Fall 2020, Volume 25, Issue 3 [EMDR & Racial Trauma] and; 3) Guidelines for Virtual EMDR Therapy (Spring 2020) *

Comprehensive EMDR Basic Therapy Training

Comprehensive Programming with an additional 40 hours including the 7 day Pre Study; Group Exercises and discussion; and Video Demos of the protocol to enhance learning and integration of material. Look for COMPREHENSIVE under the trainings below for extended programs in your area. This component will also be available for the NEW online basic training.

• 150 HRS – triple your value
• Group Exercises & practice
• Discussion
• Consultation
• Demos (Live & Recorded) – 1year access to online recorded demos for Tier 3
• Recordings of Lectures – 1 year access for Tier 3

Comprehensive Participants Feedback:

“Sue’s training provided an abundance of resources, information, practice opportunities and peer engagement which allowed me to learn a great deal about assessment, client preparation for EMDR processing, the use of narrative and metaphor in clinical practice, the use of resources for psychoeducation with clients, and the use of the various protocols in the therapeutic process.  This course was more thorough than any course I have taken to date, including some of my University courses – Sue is an excellent trainer!” May 2023

“Can I just say again how grateful I am for the incredible foundational training you gave me? 90% of my practice is EMDR now and I’m confident in what I’m doing because I know that you taught it to me the way it’s supposed to be done. I see and hear some stuff online that really makes me shake my head. I’m glad I learned from a “purist”, if that’s what it would be called. I follow the protocol exactly how you taught us and demonstrated to us and man, does it work. 🙂 Anyway, I’m very thankful!” Former Trainee email received Oct. 2020

“Sue is a beautiful teacher inside and out. Her passion for teaching definitely shows as she fosters a safe space for individuals in their learning. The warmth, love, and compassion that she radiates for her work with clients has also been a blessing to witness. Her desire to keep growing in her personal and professional life and encouragement of trainee’s to work on self-development is also much appreciated.

The comprehensive EMDR training was a great fit for my personality as I enjoyed group sharing in an intimate space with my peers. In addition, having the opportunity to watch a full demo of the EMDR process really helped me solidify and integrate my learning of the protocol in a way that makes sense. Lastly, observing Sue facilitate a session and debriefing as a group provided me with confidence in beginning to apply EMDR with my own clients. I am excited about the journey ahead in continuing to learn this modality with such a skilled teacher and therapist!”

DEMO Feedback from Trainee:

“I had been sitting with my trauma for years – fighting unexplained emotions and behaviors. Although emotionally damaged, I believed I was a survivor. Two days of EMDR training, challenged my beliefs. For the first time, I felt hope. Maybe EMDR could help me.

As we began, I felt safe, and was gently guided back to distant and very painful memories. Sue created a safe space for me. I experienced her support and compassion through her eyes. Bilateral stimulation through eye movement and tapping facilitated the recovery of memory after memory, and the tears flooded my eyes. It was incredibly emotional yet incredibly healing. The past, present and future EMDR protocol was personally transformational. I have never felt such freedom, gratitude, and personal honesty.

Now I want to share that experience and support others. It has become the catalyst to further my skills and advanced training in EMDR therapy, as a best practice for trauma recovery”.

“Thank you so much for sharing your gifts of knowledge in EMDR, including making the sessions a safe space to learn and practice. This has been transformative for me and I appreciate that immensely.” Jan. 2023 

“Thank you for the time, energy and knowledge that you’ve offered to us over the past few months. I am grateful to have taken your basic training course, and really excited to move forward into consultation!” Jan. 2023

EMDR Trainees Talk about Their experience in the Training

Online EMDR Basic Therapy Training

EMDRIA has approved Sue’s Online Basic Training.

Course Dates on EVENTS page.

Sign up for my newsletter for ongoing updates.

Testimonials

“Sue’s training provided an abundance of resources, information, practice opportunities and peer engagement which allowed me to learn a great deal about assessment, client preparation for EMDR processing, the use of narrative and metaphor in clinical practice, the use of resources for psychoeducation with clients, and the use of the various protocols in the therapeutic process.  This course was more thorough than any course I have taken to date, including some of my University courses – Sue is an excellent trainer!” May 2023

“I took soooo many notes to look back on and to allow it all to sink in. I loved the training, practica, and consultation as it was very very helpful thank you all so much! Everyone had a rich experience in practica and I am grateful to have attended this training.” March 2023

“Thank you very much for you and your team’s accessibility throughout this process and hope that our paths cross again in the future.” Feb. 2022

“Great handouts. You are very generous with materials.” January 2021

“Thank you for such an in-depth and well-designed learning experience. It has been wonderful to learn from you, and from the consultants and fellow students. I appreciate your commitment to healing, to people, to social justice and to teaching.” Feb. 2022

“This course has changed my life both professionally and personally. Sincerely thank-you for providing such an invaluable learning experience. Thank-you for all you do. Feb. 2022 June 2020 “Sue is hands down one of the best resourced, most attuned and motivated trainers I have had the pleasure working with. I do not know how she is able to bring this positive attitude and wealth of knowledge so consistently.” What did you like best about the training? June 2020

“All of it! I just love Sue and who she is and how she teaches, I feel so lucky to have received my EMDR training from her. She is such a champion in her field, she clearly stays up to date with the most cutting-edge and current research, I love that she spends so much time on floatback, containment/resourcing, and somatics. I love that she is so inclusive and safe and celebrates and honours diversity. She is just the best! I thoroughly enjoyed the content and how it was delivered. I loved the practicum and all the other trainees; it was a great group of people that clearly also were feeling engaged and enjoyed the experience. Such great vibes all around! ”

“Sue does an exceptional job offering a safe and inclusive space for growth and learning. She is respectful and highly skilled in the material she delivers, and ensures that she is gently critical and challenging towards any form of prejudice or bias that would make the learning environment or future clinical work unsafe for self or others. Not only does she offer an immense wealth of knowledge and teaching during the course, she also offers an abundance of resources and learning opportunities for follow-up to continue deepening our learning and enhancement of our clinical skills for the future. She provides the perfect balance of lecture, personal anecdotes, example videos of practice, group discussions/question periods, excellent readings and resources, and time for us to practice in our practicums.” June 2020

re: Online Training: “Sue had this planned out extremely well and her ability to make adjustments and work through technical glitches (which there were a few) made this zoom format quite seamless.” June 2020

re: Online Training / June 2020: “I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved the practica on Zoom, admittedly even more so than in-person. I think this was for two reasons, firstly, I felt we had even more feedback and individual time with Sue (to be clear Sue was incredibly present and available during session one in-person, however on Zoom she was able to have eyes and ears on all of us at all times), secondly, it was very intimate and comforting the way it was set up with the two other trainees, having both their faces on the screen with me was very lovely. I also liked that it offered us the opportunity to practice delivering the material online, as this is going to be something we need to feel comfortable providing to our clients, especially given the current circumstances of physical distancing and other restrictions due to COVID-19.”

“Your EMDR training was invaluable and I find myself using aspects of it in every session now. I’m going to continue with group supervision with X (your team expert Consultant) over the next 6 months and look forward to taking some advanced training with you perhaps later this year or in 2022.” June 2021 “I absolutely loved learning from you, and in meeting other EMDR therapists, I realize more and more how fortunate I was to have you as my teacher. You teach this subject matter so comprehensively and really inspired me as a student” Emily Reid. 2018

“This course has been life altering. I think my life will be measured by before EMDR and after. My clinical practice has already shifted significantly, which has rejuvenated and energized me.” Sept. 2018

“Excellent! Really positive experience. I was hesitant to take the course due to cost, but with all the hours of training, textbook, case consultations in person + online, the myriad of online resources Sue made available through the forum, and all the amazing breakthroughs I had as a client, this was an absolute bargain! Thank you.”

“Thank you Sue. I appreciate your straight forward & still spirit-led style of teaching. We’re learning and still experiencing your heart. Thanks.”

“Sue has a very calm demeanour and a great positive manner to teach. Great sense of humor and realistic! She’s approachable and let’s us make mistakes and grow without judging. I will strive to work with my clients with the same approach that Sue did with me! Thank you Sue!”

“I really got more out of this training than I have gotten out of other trainings over the past few years. Initially, I was afraid that I wouldn’t “catch on” but by my confidence rose and I am feeling excited about bringing EMDR into my work. Thank you for this valuable experience. p.s. practicums were great!”

“I feel like I finally have a therapy that is effective and comprehensive enough to deal with the complexity of the issues that people I work with have been facing.”

“Thank you! This will help me to build that chain in my own life and in the lives of my clients who desire it. Wonderfully informative and transformational.”

“By far the best training I have ever done in the field. I am leaving inspired and feeling like I have the tools to do the work I initially set out to do… to heal trauma. I absolutely loved the practicums, the content, the food, the space, but above all I loved having done it with Sue! I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Sue is a beautiful teacher inside and out. Her passion for teaching definitely shows as she fosters a safe space for individuals in their learning. The warmth, love, and compassion that she radiates for her work with clients has also been a blessing to witness. Her desire to keep growing in her personal and professional life and encouragement of trainee’s to work on self-development is also much appreciated. Sept. 2019

The comprehensive EMDR training was a great fit for my personality as I enjoyed group sharing in an intimate space with my peers. In addition, having the opportunity to watch a full demo of the EMDR process really helped me solidify and integrate my learning of the protocol in a way that makes sense. Lastly, observing Sue facilitate a session and debriefing as a group provided me with confidence in beginning to apply EMDR with my own clients. I am excited about the journey ahead in continuing to learn this modality with such a skilled teacher and therapist! ” Sept. 2019

“Sue Genest has helped countless individuals, including therapists, discover the best in themselves. Some say, “Time with Sue is transformational.” I believe she receives this kind of acknowledgment due to her compassionate nature, encouraging words, and skilled presence. Her facilitation style is engaging, gentle and soulful. Sue is an authentic healer.” Patricia Morgan MA CCC at https://SolutionsForResilience.com Counsellor, speaker, and author of Love Her As She Is: Lessons from a Daugther Stolen by Addictions and other books

“The teaching was wonderful and the content was so applied and practical. It was such a pleasant surprise. I loved the videos.”

“The second part of the training definitely pulled together any “loose ends” (uncertainties, unanswered questions), and increased my confidence as an EMDR Therapist. I connect to this approach on a number of different levels, including some of my core beliefs. I anticipate continuing with advanced training and growing as an EMDR therapist.”

“Thank you for your teams accessibility throughout this process”

January 2021

“The comprehensive EMDR training was a great fit for my personality as I enjoyed group sharing in an intimate space with my peers. In addition, having the opportunity to watch a full demo of the EMDR process really helped me solidify and integrate my learning of the protocol in a way that makes sense.

Lastly, observing Sue facilitate a session and debriefing as a group provided me with confidence in beginning to apply EMDR with my own clients. I am excited about the journey ahead in continuing to learn this modality with such a skilled teacher and therapist!”

January 2021

Course Outline

This course is approved by the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association (EMDRIA). It follows the EMDRIA’s currently recommended curriculum. The virtual training is over several sessions to enhance your learning and allow you to integrate the content into your practice with clients as you learn.

The in person training is in 3 parts: two 3-day Sessions including practica, plus 10-hours of Consultation.

You also have the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive program of either 16 or 18 days instead of 15 to to practice the skills further, participate in consultation and discussion, and watch additional demo/s. The resources and content Sue provides is superior programming compared to any training in the world.

Additionally, Sue provides a Pre-Training Introduction, Pre Study, and thousands of resources in her online forum.

Registrants must take all sessions in order to complete the training.

Consultation may be taken as part of this course or privately. Your fees cover the 10+ hours of consultation provided in the course structure.

Pre-Training Introduction:

• Introduction to the trainer, course, pre-study, and online forum resources
• Review of the Consultation needed
• Preparing your clients for EMDR

Meet n Greet (online training):

• Meet the trainer in a casual setting online; meet other trainees; and test out your online Zoom computer skills while also learning EMDR virtual skills.
• This time is highly recommended for those trainees who are very uncomfortable with computers and need to prepare for doing a course 100% online.

Feedback by Trainee on Meet n Greet: “the small group (break-out) connections that Sue facilitated were really helpful. I have some sense of the experience of course-mates and am looking forward to learning together. Seeing how Sue facilitated this on-line was inspiring and I hope to learn more about on-line work (the technical parts) as well as processing course content.” Jan. 2021

Pre Study:

• Pre-Study Day 1: Trauma Informed Care
• Pre-Study Day 2: EMDR Introduction & EMDR Research
• Pre-Study Day 3: Psychometrics & History Taking & Treatment Planning Intro
• Pre-Study Day 4: EMDR Resources
• Pre-Study Day 5: Client Self Regulation
• Pre-Study Day 6: Setting up for Virtual training and practica
• Pre-Study Day 7: EMDR Cultural Competence & Learning about Microaggressions

Instructor(s):

Sue Genest, MSc. CCC. RCC. is a Certified EMDR Therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant & EMDRIA Training Provider. She has been working in health care for over 33 years; 28 years teaching; 18+ years Somatic Psychotherapy; 18 years EMDR; with 14 years of doing EMDR online with clients. She also has expertise in IFS, Structural Dissociation, and Ego state therapy; and taught over 650 therapists in 2020 online.

She has specialized in trauma work using EMDR, Hakomi body psychotherapy, and various methods to address the whole person. She has practiced thousands of hours of EMDR and taught EMDR for several years.

She works with individuals, couples, and groups addressing trauma, (e.g. abuse, car accidents, etc.) addictions, grief, anxiety, stress, depression, self esteem, health, and relationship issues. She has worked with many populations: individuals struggling with mental health (e.g. PTSD, Depression, Bipolar, Schizophrenia); individuals with varying disabilities; minorities (e.g. Aboriginal, LGBTT, immigrants), correctional offenders (e.g. childhood trauma, personality disorders, military trauma, residential school survivors); cancer patients; general public, student populations, and corporate professionals (e.g. EnCana, Enmax).

She is a Canadian Certified Counsellor and Registered Clinical Counsellor. She graduated from the University of Calgary with her 1st class Honors BA in Psychology and her Master of Science degree in Counselling Psychology. She was won numerous awards for her academic work and taught several classes at the University including counselling skills, lifespan development, mind/body/spirit medicine; qualitative research; and sexuality. She has publications and
presentations in the area of counselling, pediatrics, qualitative research, sexuality, and EMDR.

EMDR Training offered

by Sue Genest, MSc. CCC. RCC.

This training is a comprehensive. It will provide you with the EMDRIA content along with numerous other resources to enhance your learning. Sue is committed to excellence in training and creating a safe learning environment so that you can not only learn this evidenced based therapy, but also have opportunity to transform your practice and life.

Learning Objectives:

• to use the basic eight phase EMDR protocol, effectively and safely
• to understand the research and theoretical positions on EMDR
• to be familiar with variations on the basic protocol for special populations
• to understand legal and ethical considerations in the use of EMDR

Topics:

• the 8 phases of EMDR treatment.
• the research on EMDR; review of the research.
• theoretical explanations for EMDR; adaptive information processing system; alternate explanations; brain research.
• EMDR and special populations.
• the psychology of trauma and diagnosis of Post traumatic Stress Disorder.

EMDR Research

Current list of EMDR related research citations

Why does EMDR work?

Francine Shapiro Library http://emdr.nku.edu/

Course Objectives:

Participants learn to use EMDR appropriately and effectively in a variety of applications. Such use is based on understanding the theoretical basis of EMDR, safety issues, integration with a treatment plan, and supervised practice.

The online course is divided into several sessions with consultation components to enhance learning and integration of EMDR into your practice as you learn.

• History, Trauma, Research
• EMDR Basic Protocol
• Practicums I-V
• Special Protocols
• Cognitive Interweave
• Pain, Phobias, Addiction, Children, Dissociation
• Resource Development and Installation

Consultation includes 10+ hours of individual and group consultation with an EMDRIA approved consultant. Your fees cover the 10 hours of consultation provided in the training. You may also acquire them privately with an EMDRIA Approved Consultant at your own cost.

EMDRIA Prerequisites:

Qualified applicants will have a minimum of a Master’s level training in a mental health discipline and must belong to a professional organization with a code of ethics. The regulatory body must be on the EMDR Canada’s approved list.

You may also be a graduate student having completed their core graduate academic coursework and be in their practicum/internship portion of their graduate program. Graduate students must be on a licensing track and working under the supervision of a fully licensed mental health clinician.

If you will be unable to practice EMDR with clients between the two sessions you will be unable to complete the training. You might consider waiting until you have access to clients to practice.

For more detailed information see below.

Licensed Mental Health Professionals

• Qualifying Medical Doctors must be licensed to practice in their state or province.
• Qualifying advanced practice registered Nurses must have a Master of Science in Nursing (or higher) with a specialization in psychiatric nursing and must also be licensed to practice in their state or province.
• Qualifying Mental Health Clinicians must have a Master’s or Doctoral degree in the mental health field (Counseling, Marriage Family Therapy, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry, Social Work) or related mental health discipline and must also be licensed to practice in their state or province.

Pre-Licensed Mental Health Professionals (e.g. Masters Students)

• These are clinicians who are actively pursuing a mental health license through their state board or province /territory while working under a licensed supervisor. Some of these license types include associate, intern, limited, provisional, temporary, and pre-license.
• Qualifying pre-licensed mental health clinicians must have a masters degree in the mental health field (Counselling, Marriage Family Therapy, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry, Social Work) or related mental health discipline and must be actively pursuing a license through their state board or province / territory while working under a licensed supervisor.

Graduate Students

• Qualifying graduate students must be enrolled in a Master’s or Doctoral program in the mental health field (Counseling, Marriage Family Therapy, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry, Psychiatric Nursing, Social Work) or related mental health discipline. Students must have completed their core graduate academic coursework and must be in the practicum/internship portion of their graduate program. First year students are not eligible. Graduate students must be on a licensing track and working under the supervision of a fully licensed mental health clinician.
• Graduate Students need to submit the following documentation to Sue Genest (sagefnest4@gmail.com) at the time or registration to determine eligibility: graduate transcript, practicum or internship details, curriculum vita, and a letter from their current supervisor (supervisor letter form) which includes the supervisor’s degree information, licensure information and license number. Students do not need to submit documentation to EMDRIA unless requested.

Educational Criteria for Admitting Canadians to EMDR Basic Training

Completion of a masters degree or higher in an established mental health discipline from a university that is a member of:

1) Universities Canada (formerly The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada – AUCC) [ https://www.univcan.ca/universities/member-universities/
];

OR

2) from a University in USA that is accredited by 1 of the 6 Regional Accrediting Organizations recognized by CHEA the Council for Higher Education Accreditation

• Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
• New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges(SACSCOC)
• WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) OR
• from a university or seminary in the United States or Canada that is accredited by CHEA’s Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the degree was approved at the time it was granted.[If you have educational questions about things like off-shore degrees contact the Professional

Members of PACCP (full members) and CRPO (all members) are able to register in my training.

All participants are welcome in my training regardless of cultural background, sexual orientation, gender, race, or religious background if you meet the above criteria. Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated in this training.

Textbooks (discounts on resources available):

Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Basic principles, protocols and procedures (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Manuals (digital training manual included in fees):

Digital Manual will be provided at the training (paper copy available for purchase).

Numerous Resources in Sue’s Online Forum (included in fees):

For example:
Shapiro, F. (2006). New notes on adaptive information processing with case formulation principles, forms, scripts, and worksheets. Hamden, CT: EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs.

EMDRIA Newsletter: Special Edition. Children, Adolescents & EMDR: A Closer Look

EMDRIA Newsletter: Special Edition December 2001. Resource Development and Installation Skills.

Format:

• Pre-Study (7 day self study of valuable resources and learning)
• Meet n Greet
• Introduction
• Lecture, discussion, demonstration, video
• Supervised practice
• Consultation (10+ hours) with an EMDRIA Approved consultant (included in fee)

In Person Only: Session 1 and Session 2 are scheduled on two separate weekends approximately two to three months apart. This is meant to enhance your learning. Practicing between sessions is vital to integrating the material with practice, consulting, and clarifying details of the protocol and application to various populations.

Online: We have the opportunity to schedule days farther apart and to focus on each section of the training over time to enhance learning and practice of the material.

The 10+ hours of Consultation required for this course take place in an online and group format, between sessions.

Approved for Continuing Competency by the Canadian Counselling Association.

Manual and consultation are included in this Basic Training. Additionally, you will have access to an online forum with numerous resources on EMDR, Trauma, Dissociation, and other clinical aids.

Sue is committed to excellence and will provide you with the opportunity to learn the skills of EMDR therapy and enhance your connection and work with clients.