Criteria for Accreditation

This page sets out the minimum requirements that must be met by all EMDR training courses in order to be approved by EMDR Europe Association.
(Approved EMDR Europe trainers may add to or expand any part of the training. The guidelines will be reviewed after two years.)

In order to be eligible to participate in an approved EMDR training course, trainees must hold an up-to-date license or registration to provide psychotherapeutic services in their own country. In addition, the trainee must meet the minimum criteria for training set out by the National EMDR Association. In case of doubt, the National EMDR Association must be contacted in order to determine whether or not a professional is eligible.

All presenters of EMDR trainings must be members of a national or an international EMDR association, and must also be approved as a trainer by EMDR Europe. If possible, the trainer should speak the native language of the participants. The trainer must hold a degree or equivalent in a mental health field and a license or certification by his/her country of residence to provide psychotherapeutic services. 

The only exception to the above is when a presentation is part of the preparation to become an approved trainer. In this case, the presenter must be observed by an approved trainer throughout the training, and be eligible as a candidate for trainership with regard to background and ethical standards (see Criteria for EMDR Trainers).

The syllabus should be consistent with Shapiro’s latest edition of her book “EMDR: Principles, Procedures and Protocols”.

As part of the approval process, the training course must be presented for approval to the Standards Committee of EMDR Europe with a detailed outline of the training content at least two months before the initial advertisement of the training. Handouts, timetables and manuals to be used in all training courses must be available for inspection upon request. Accreditation will be for five years, after which time the training must be re-submitted to the committee, highlighting any changes that have taken place.

The training will take place over a minimum total of 6 days. The format of the instruction should include:

·      Teaching for a minimum of 24 (60-minute) hours

·      Supervised practice for a minimum of 18 hours.

·      Clinical supervision for a minimum 10 hours.

The trainer may determine the order in which material is taught. However, some advanced information should only be taught after the trainee has had time to practice EMDR skills.

The EMDR training should only include EMDR-related material. During EMDR training, it is unacceptable to train participants in the application of other  intervention methods. All content should be consistent with the Adaptive Information processing (AIP) model and Shapiro’s textbook.

The training should contain various exercises to build experience and skills in implementing standard EMDR and EMDR-related procedures.

Before going on to teach more advanced parts of the training, time should be given to assimilate and practice the previous teaching. There are didactic instructions that should only be given when the trainee has had a minimum of 8 weeks to begin to integrate the EMDR protocol into his/her clinical practice. (Appendix) 

The EMDR therapy training should only include EMDR-related material. The training must contain various exercises to build experience and skills in implementing EMDR and EMDR-related procedures. The course content must also include relevant video examples of actual EMDR sessions with a psychotherapy client or live demonstrations. The purpose of video examples or live demonstrations is to illustrate client symptomatology, clinical situations and how to manage these during an EMDR session. Video/live practice material should also demonstrate specific aspects of the EMDR methodology and patient responses during EMDR which otherwise are difficult to teach during a training course (e.g. cognitive interweave).

(A trainer or facilitator must supervise practical exercises and live experiences. See attached document for definition of an EMDR facilitator.)

Practical exercises: Trainees should be given the opportunity to reinforce learning with practical activities such as role-play. Role-play is essential in teaching the skills required to elicit Positive and Negative Cognitions during the Assessment Phase and also to understand and use Cognitive Interweaves and affect regulation techniques such as the Safe/Calm Place.

Supervised live experience: During the training, trainees should practice the EMDR protocol in twos or threes, taking a turn to be the client, clinician and if required, the observer. Trainees must use their own real-life experiences while receiving direct feedback from a trainer/facilitator

The facilitator to participant ratio cannot be more than 1 for every 12 participants.

The primary goal of the supervision is to enable the trainees to develop a basic level of competence in safely and effectively integrating EMDR into their clinical practice. This will require a minimum of 10 hours of supervision, working with a minimum of 3 clients.

Supervision must begin after attending the first part of the training. Supervision can be an integrated part of the training or can take place outside the training. Before attending parts of the training where more advanced parts are taught, there must be a minimum of 5 hours of supervision, this must be completed before the start of the last part of your training. At least one of the presented cases should be using phase 3-7 

The trainer does not need to provide this consultation, although it is preferable that he/she does so. However, the trainer must provide information as to how the trainee can acquire supervision. Clinical supervision can take any of the following formats:

• As an integral part of the EMDR training programme
• Group consultation
• Individual consultation
• Telephone/video consultation

To do fair consideration to the different time models in which supervision is provided, the following is defined: the average time that is needed for a case supervision is about 20-30 minutes per participant. This means that the ratio of 1 supervisor to 2 supervisees must be maintained for 1 hour of supervision, 1 supervisor to 3 supervisees for 1.5 hours and so on. The maximum number of supervisees on a supervision day is 12.

Supervision must be undertaken by a clinician who is an accredited EMDR Europe consultant, facilitator or a trainer.

The supervision received as part of a full EMDR training course will count towards becoming an accredited practitioner.

The announcement of the training, e.g. advertisements or application form, should specify:

·      The name of the EMDR accredited trainer(s) presenting the training;

·      The number of training hours;

·      Eligibility criteria for applicants (e.g. registration as a licensed or registered mental health professional);

·      The training is EMDR Europe Association accredited.

Training courses should take place within the trainer’s national boundaries. If the trainer wishes to train outside his/her own country, he/she should have the consent of the EMDR national association where the training takes place. (See “Powers and responsibilities of national associations with external trainers”). Any conflict about consent must be settled first and before the announcement of the training. If a dispute cannot be resolved, both parties can appeal to the Executive Committee of the EMDR Europe Association. A written statement of the decision must be received before the training is advertised.

Before the end of the training, the trainer must make sure that trainees are fully informed about how to join their national EMDR Association and how to become an accredited EMDR practitioner. The trainer is responsible for ensuring that trainees are encouraged to continue their professional development by becoming accredited EMDR practitioners. Although it remains optional for a trainee to become accredited, the trainer must make sure that trainees are linked to an appropriate accredited supervisor or supervision network.

The training course must be presented for approval to the Standards Committee of EMDR Europe with a detailed outline of the training. Handouts, timetables and manuals to be used in all training courses must be available for inspection.

It is not permissible to announce training courses before receiving the written approval of the training from the EMDR Europe Standards Committee.

Accreditation will be for five years. The course must then be re-accredited every  five years to demonstrate that its contents continue to adhere to current EMDR Europe guidelines.

Violation of any of the above criteria will result in the course not being recognised  as an EMDR Europe training course. Accordingly, participants will not receive an EMDR Europe certificate and will not be eligible to join any European or international EMDR organisation. Violation may also lead to the withdrawal of that person’s approval as an EMDR Europe accredited trainer and EMDR Europe accredited consultant and exclusion from membership of both the national and the European EMDR associations. The same applies to any EMDR trained facilitator/consultant who knowingly assists in such training.

June 2024