When I completed my EMDR basic training in 2011, I was equal parts excited and overwhelmed. I knew EMDR was powerful—I had read the research and been influenced by my EMDR-trained colleagues—but the reality of applying it with my complex trauma clients was a whole different story.

One moment I was following the script perfectly, and the next, my client was frozen. I was unsure if we were in a memory or just lost in the fog of dissociation.

Sound familiar?

If you’re relating to this example or thinking of a similar one, you’re not alone. And you’re not doing anything wrong.

EMDR Consulting Is Not Remedial—It’s Essential

Let’s clear up a myth: EMDR consulting is not just for the uncertain or inexperienced. It’s for clinicians who want to grow with integrity, work more effectively, and feel less alone in the trenches of trauma work.

Consulting isn’t a sign that you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s a sign that you care deeply about doing it well.

Case in Point: “Serena”

Take Serena, for example—a bright, compassionate therapist who came to me a few months after completing her EMDR training. She’d been using the standard protocol with a client who had a history of childhood sexual abuse, foster placements, and long-standing dissociation.

“I keep losing her,” Serena said in our first meeting. “One minute we’re in a target, and the next she’s staring off, disoriented and confused.”

Serena didn’t need someone to tell her she missed a step in the protocol. She needed someone to help her read the clinical terrain—to recognize that this client needed extended preparation, ego state work, and gentle titration before reprocessing could even be safe.

Through EMDR consulting, Serena learned how to:

• Use the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) to guide her case formulation.
  
• Integrate grounding and parts work into her preparation phase.
  
• Build her own confidence in tolerating the uncertainty and nonlinear path of trauma healing.
  

Six months later, she told me, “Consultation helped me increase my confidence and be excited about the transformation EMDR provides to people in their recovery.”

Why EMDR Consulting Supports the Therapist’s Nervous System Too

Trauma therapy isn’t just cognitively demanding—it’s emotionally and somatically taxing. Therapists often carry their clients’ pain long after the session ends.

One consultee once said, “I feel exhausted after each session. I want to feel like I’m actually helping.”

In our work together, she learned how to:

• Track her own nervous system.
  
• Use co-regulation skills during reprocessing.
  
• Know when to pause, when to deepen, and when to shift gears entirely.
  

EMDR isn’t just about following steps. It’s about attunement, timing, and trusting your clinical instincts. EMDR consulting helps cultivate all three.

EMDR Consulting Helps You Develop Your Voice

As consultants, we don’t just help you “do EMDR right.” We help you make EMDR your own.

That means:

• Honing your conceptualization skills.
  
• Navigating ethical dilemmas with clarity and care.
  
• Developing a trauma-informed lens that integrates your full clinical toolkit—whether that’s somatic work, parts work, or attachment-based approaches.
  

One of my goals as a consultant is to help you grow into the kind of therapist you want to be—not a carbon copy of your trainer or your manual.

Ready to Thrive with EMDR Consulting?

Whether you’re fresh out of basic training or years into your trauma practice, EMDR consulting is the bridge between competence and confidence.

It’s the space where you get to:

• Ask the questions you were afraid to ask in training.
  
• Get real about what’s working—and what’s not.
  
• Feel seen, supported, and sharpened in the heart-centred work you do.
  

Because when therapists thrive, clients do too.

Let’s Talk

If you’re looking for a supportive, collaborative EMDR consulting space where it’s safe to bring your questions and grow as an EMDR therapist, I’d love to hear from you. Together, we can deepen your EMDR work and help you thrive in your clinical work.

You can learn more about my EMDR consulting offerings here, or reach out directly to tamara@tamaravukelic.com with questions.