EMDR Certification
Recognizing Your Skill and Commitment at Every Level
Therapists who train with The Center of Excellence in EMDR Therapy belong to a community of lifelong learners.
The Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy offers life-long learners a full range of EMDRIA Approved EMDR trainings, case consultation and clinical resources—everything you need to advance your learning and EMDR practice. In addition, you'll find everything you need to meet EMDRIA’s requirements for becoming a EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant™ through The Center.
We’ve also established a Master Certification in Relational EMDR Therapy®. It's designed to support therapists who want to cultivate the skills to work more relationally with their clients as part of the memories they co-create in sessions. This relational dimension of EMDR therapy is central in working with clients who suffer with complex trauma from attachment injuries.
Becoming a Certified EMDR Therapist
Embarking on the journey to become an EMDR therapist certified by EMDRIA (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association) is a transformative and rewarding endeavor. Therapists and clinicians seeking to specialize in EMDR therapy often wonder about the intricacies of the certification process.
Here's some essential components and steps involved in achieving EMDRIA certification.
The EMDRIA Certification Process in 8 Steps
1. EMDR International Association Approved EMDR Training
Provide a copy of your final certificate of completion from an EMDRIA Approved EMDR Training program.
2. License/Certification
Provide a copy of your current license to practice independently as a mental health professional in the state or province where you practice. The license must include the current expiration date.
3. Notarized Statement of Practice and EMDR Experience
- Do you have at least two years of experience in your field of licensure?
- Have you conducted at least 50 EMDR sessions with at least 25 clients?
Both statements may be included in one single notarized document. Applicants can simply state, "I have at least 2 years’ experience in my field of licensure, and I have conducted at least 50 EMDR therapy sessions with at least 25 clients," or similar wording and then have it notarized.
4. 20 Hours of Consultation by an EMDR Consultant in EMDR therapy
Provide documentation from the EMDR Consultant(s) who provided EMDR consultation to you. It must specify the exact number of consultation hours you received and designate how many of those hours were individual consultations and how many were group consultations.
- The 20 consultation hours must have been completed within the last 5 years. If you continue to receive consultation hours for over 5 years, then as long as the EMDR Consultant can explain in the letter of documentation when the consultation started and ended (e.g., 2013-2022) and if/when long breaks in consultation occurred that will be acceptable.
- If you have received consultation from more than one EMDR Consultant, you will need documentation from each.
- At least 10 hours must be obtained through individual, EMDR-focused consultation. The remaining 10 hours may be obtained through small group consultation. Consultation groups cannot exceed more than eight participants at a time.
- EMDR Consultants-in-Training can provide up to 15 hours of consultation. An EMDR Consultant must provide the remaining five hours.
- Only consultation hours received after completion of an EMDRIA Approved EMDR Professional Training program can be applied towards this requirement.
5. EMDR Consultant Letter(s) of Recommendation for EMDR Certification
- Letters may include documentation of consultation hours as required in #4 above. If so, upload the same document for both requirements on the application.
- Letters from EMDR Consultants-in-Training do not meet this requirement. Letters must be from an EMDR Consultant.
6. Letters of Recommendation Regarding Professional Practice
Provide two letters of recommendation regarding your professional utilization of EMDR, ethics in practice, and professional character.
- These letters may be from colleagues or peers.
- Letters from your EMDR Consultant or EMDR Consultant-in-Training do not count as peer letters.
- Two letters of recommendation from colleagues or peers are required.
7. 12 Hours of EMDRIA Credits
Provide certificates of completion for at least 12 hours of EMDRIA Credits (continuing education in EMDR).
- Only EMDRIA Credit Programs in EMDR obtained after the completion of an EMDR Professional Training program may be used towards this requirement. Initial EMDR Trainings are not awarded EMDRIA Credits.
- Certificates of completion of EMDRIA Credits hours should include the EMDRIA program approval number and the number of credits earned.
8. EMDR International Association Policies AgreementBy submitting the EMDR Certification application, applicants attest that they agree to adhere to EMDRIA Policies.
How Long Until a Clinician Gets Certified?
The process outlined above typically takes at least a year, post Basic Training. From there, clinicians are eligible to be certified as an EMDRIA-approved consultant. An EMDRIA-approved consultant can provide case consultations.
How Long Does EMDR Certification Last?
If your certification application is approved, your EMDR Certification credential will be granted for two years. To keep this credential, you will need to renew it every two years.
EMDRIA Certified Consultant™
As a consultant, you’ll provide clinical feedback to other EMDR therapists on their cases, individually or in a group. We’ve designed a “Consultant in Training” (CIT) track that provides everything—and more—that you need to meet and exceed EMDRIA’s requirements for certified consultants.
Master Certification in Relational EMDR Therapy®
Thousands of you over the years have worked hard to cultivate your skills as an EMDR psychotherapist by pursuing additional training and consultation with Deany Laliotis and faculty from The Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy. Now we are offering you a pathway from wherever you are in your personal and professional journey to study with us, and to earn the Master Certification in Relational EMDR Therapy, so clients and colleagues alike will know that you specialize in Relational EMDR.
Master Certification in Relational EMDR Therapy is a specialized certification program that focuses on teaching therapists advanced techniques in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy within a relational context.
In this Master Certification in Relational EMDR Therapy, therapists learn to apply a more relational approach with their clients who suffer from attachment trauma into their EMDR therapy sessions. This helps clients feel more seen and understood during the therapy process, ultimately leading to more successful outcomes. Therapists who complete the Master Certification in Relational EMDR Therapy gain a deeper understanding of how to work with clients moment to moment, taking into account how the client learned to cope in response to their formative attachment experiences. It is this unique focus in addition to the memory work that creates opportunities for emotional repair in sessions that can transfer to the client’s personal relationships.
Overall, the Master Certification in Relational EMDR Therapy provides therapists with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively treat clients who have experienced complex developmental trauma and attachment injuries. By combining the powerful methodology of EMDR therapy with a relational approach, therapists can help their clients heal and lead a more positive and fulfilling life.
Our course offerings and case consultation can be applied towards EMDRIA certification as well as Center Certification. To learn more, go to the link below:
