Why training, ongoing consultation, and an individualized approach matter when choosing an EMDR therapist.
If you’re looking for an EMDR therapist on Long Island, you’ve probably noticed that a lot of therapists list EMDR as one of the services they provide.
But what does that actually tell you about their experience?
And how do you know whether someone has the training and clinical experience to help you work through complex trauma?
These are important questions, particularly if you’ve already tried EMDR and didn’t have a positive experience.
I have spoken with clients who describe starting EMDR with a previous therapist, becoming overwhelmed, and then feeling afraid to try it again.
Sometimes they were never taught strategies to manage distress. Sometimes their therapist moved into traumatic memories before adequately assessing their readiness. Other times, the approach simply wasn’t a good fit.
That doesn’t automatically mean EMDR was the wrong treatment.
But it does raise questions about how that treatment was delivered.
When you’re choosing an EMDR therapist, I think you should be looking at more than whether they have EMDR listed on their website.
1. Start by Asking About Their EMDR Training
One of the first things I recommend is asking whether your therapist completed an EMDRIA-approved basic training.
EMDRIA stands for the EMDR International Association.
It’s a professional organization that establishes standards for EMDR training, certification, and consultation.
An EMDRIA-approved basic training includes instruction, supervised practice, and consultation focused on applying EMDR with actual clients.
That consultation component is particularly important.
Learning the EMDR protocol in a training environment is different from applying it to someone with a complicated trauma history, dissociation, emotional dysregulation, or multiple diagnoses.
Consultation gives clinicians opportunities to discuss their clinical decisions, identify areas where they’re struggling, and receive guidance as they develop their skills.
Not every training advertised as EMDR training meets EMDRIA’s standards.
And while completing an EMDRIA-approved training doesn’t automatically make someone an expert, it gives you a meaningful starting point when evaluating their education.
You can learn more about these standards directly through the EMDR International Association.
2. Ask Whether They Receive Ongoing Consultation
This is probably one of the biggest things I would encourage prospective clients to ask.
Does your therapist continue to receive consultation and advanced training after completing their initial EMDR training?
Because trauma treatment continues to evolve.
We continue learning more about dissociation, complex PTSD, attachment injuries, nervous system responses, and how different clients respond to treatment.
A therapist who completed EMDR training years ago may be an excellent clinician.
But I would want to know whether they’re continuing to develop their skills.
Are they staying informed about current research?
Are they seeking consultation when they encounter complicated cases?
Are they receiving additional training in the populations they treat?
Are they willing to recognize when a particular approach isn’t working and adjust their treatment plan?
At Suffolk Family Therapy, ongoing consultation is an important part of our clinical culture.
I’m currently working toward becoming an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, and our clinicians have ongoing opportunities to consult about their EMDR cases.
Our therapists can bring questions about treatment planning, preparation, processing difficulties, and clinical decision-making to consultation rather than feeling they have to figure everything out independently.
We also prioritize continuing education.
We don’t view completing an EMDR training as the end of someone’s professional development.
We view it as the beginning.
3. How Often Does Your Therapist Actually Practice EMDR?
There’s a difference between a therapist who occasionally incorporates EMDR into their practice and someone who uses it regularly as a central part of their clinical work.
That doesn’t mean a therapist who uses EMDR less frequently can’t be effective.
But experience matters, especially when you’re dealing with more complicated presentations.
At Suffolk Family Therapy, EMDR is central to what we do.
Our clinicians regularly work with trauma-related symptoms, negative beliefs, physiological activation, attachment difficulties, and other challenges that can emerge during EMDR treatment.
That repeated clinical experience helps us recognize when something isn’t progressing as expected.
It also gives us opportunities to develop greater flexibility within the treatment model.
We aren’t just memorizing a protocol.
We’re learning how to apply that protocol thoughtfully to the person sitting in front of us.
And that leads to another important consideration.
4. EMDR Alone May Not Address Everything a Client Needs
I love EMDR.
It’s been personally meaningful to me, and it’s a central part of my clinical work.
But I also recognize that many clients need additional approaches and supports.
Particularly when we’re working with complex trauma.
Someone who has experienced repeated childhood abuse, chronic neglect, attachment disruptions, or years of living in unsafe environments may have developed protective responses that affect their ability to engage in trauma processing.
They may struggle to identify emotions.
They may disconnect from their bodies.
They may experience significant shame or have difficulty trusting others.
And sometimes, when we begin approaching a traumatic memory, something seems to stop the process.
In EMDR, clinicians may describe this as blocked processing.
The client may suddenly feel numb, disconnected, overwhelmed, or unable to move forward.
This is one area where I’ve found parts-informed approaches, including Internal Family Systems (IFS), particularly helpful.
5. Understanding Protective Parts Can Make a Difference
In parts-informed therapy, we recognize that people can have different internal responses, needs, and protective strategies.
For example, one part of a client may desperately want to process their trauma.
They want relief. They’re tired of feeling stuck.
But another part may be terrified of what will happen if they revisit those experiences.
Maybe disconnecting from emotions was how they survived childhood.
Maybe avoiding certain memories has helped them function for years.
And now we’re asking them to approach experiences they’ve spent much of their lives trying not to feel.
It makes sense that protective responses might emerge.
Rather than treating that response as resistance or something we need to push through, we can become curious about it.
What is this protective response afraid might happen?
What does it need to feel safer?
Is there a way to help the client approach the memory without overwhelming the parts of themselves that have been working so hard to protect them?
At Suffolk Family Therapy, several clinicians have training in IFS, and our clinicians incorporate parts-informed perspectives into their work.
We have found that this can be especially useful when clients experience difficulties moving forward with trauma processing.
IFS and EMDR are distinct approaches, and integrating them requires appropriate training and clinical judgment.
But understanding protective responses can help us develop a more individualized treatment plan rather than assuming that every client should respond to the same intervention in the same way.
6. Trauma Therapy Doesn’t Always Have to Happen Through Talking
Another thing I think is important is recognizing that not everyone communicates their experiences most effectively through spoken language.
For some people, talking about trauma is incredibly difficult.
They may not have words for what happened.
They may struggle to identify emotions or explain physical sensations.
And for some neurodivergent clients, traditional talk-based approaches may not be the most accessible way to explore their internal experiences.
That’s one reason we value having clinicians with training in different therapeutic modalities.
Our practice includes clinicians who incorporate art therapy, sandtray, and other creative approaches into their clinical work.
These approaches can provide additional ways for clients to communicate and explore experiences that are difficult to describe verbally.
That doesn’t mean every client needs art therapy or sandtray.
It means we want our clinicians to have options.
The client shouldn’t have to fit into the therapist’s preferred way of working. Treatment should be adapted to the client’s needs.
7. A Good EMDR Therapist Can Be Creative Without Losing the Treatment Model
One of my favorite examples of this comes from working with clients who enjoy video games.
We have clinicians who are gamers themselves and work with clients who have strong connections to gaming worlds.
Rather than dismissing those interests, they may incorporate familiar characters, environments, or imagery into EMDR preparation and resourcing.
Maybe a client has a particular game environment where they feel capable, protected, or connected.
Maybe a character represents qualities they want to develop within themselves.
Maybe a familiar gaming world provides imagery that helps them engage with a resourcing exercise.
We can use those interests to make therapy more accessible and meaningful.
This isn’t about turning EMDR into a game.
It’s about understanding the client well enough to recognize what resonates with them.
And being comfortable enough with the treatment model to make thoughtful adaptations while maintaining its clinical foundations.
That kind of flexibility can be particularly valuable when working with children, teenagers, neurodivergent clients, and adults who struggle with more traditional therapeutic exercises.
8. Ask How They Determine Whether You’re Ready for Trauma Processing
This is another question I think every prospective EMDR client should ask.
How does your therapist determine when it’s appropriate to begin reprocessing traumatic memories?
Because readiness isn’t simply about how badly you want relief.
At Suffolk Family Therapy, we assess capacity across emotional, physiological, physical, cognitive, relational, and behavioral areas.
We’re looking at how someone responds to distress.
Can they remain sufficiently connected to the present?
Can they recognize when they’re becoming overwhelmed?
What happens when difficult emotions or physical sensations emerge?
Are there safety concerns, dissociation, or other factors that need to be considered?
And what supports are available between sessions?
This doesn’t mean everyone needs months of preparation.
Some clients can begin reprocessing relatively quickly.
Others need more time to develop skills, establish safety, or address factors that could interfere with treatment.
Neither situation represents failure.
What matters is that your therapist is making an individualized clinical decision rather than moving everyone through the same timeline.
9. What If You’ve Tried EMDR Before and It Didn’t Work?
I think this is an important conversation because people sometimes assume that one unsuccessful experience means EMDR cannot help them.
That may not be the case.
There are many reasons someone might not have experienced the results they hoped for.
Maybe the treatment wasn’t a good fit at that time.
Maybe there wasn’t enough preparation.
Maybe dissociation or protective responses interfered with processing.
Maybe the therapist needed additional training or consultation.
Or maybe another evidence-based treatment would be more appropriate.
It’s important not to assume that every unsuccessful experience was caused by therapist error.
But it is reasonable to ask questions about what happened.
If you’ve had a difficult experience with EMDR, a thoughtful clinician should be willing to explore that history with you before deciding how to proceed.
You deserve to understand the treatment being offered, why it’s being recommended, and what alternatives may be available.
Questions to Ask Before Choosing an EMDR Therapist
If you’re searching for an EMDR therapist on Long Island, here are some questions I’d encourage you to ask:
- Did you complete an EMDRIA-approved basic training?
- Are you EMDRIA Certified, or are you working toward certification?
- How frequently do you use EMDR in your clinical practice?
- Do you receive ongoing consultation or advanced EMDR training?
- What experience do you have treating complex PTSD, childhood trauma, or dissociation?
- How do you determine whether a client is ready to begin trauma reprocessing?
- What happens if I become overwhelmed or feel stuck during processing?
- Do you incorporate other therapeutic approaches when EMDR alone isn’t meeting a client’s needs?
- How will we measure whether treatment is helping?
You don’t need a therapist who has a perfect answer to every question.
But you should feel comfortable asking.
And you should feel that your therapist can explain their approach without becoming defensive or dismissive.
How Suffolk Family Therapy Approaches EMDR Treatment
At Suffolk Family Therapy, we built our practice around the belief that trauma treatment should be individualized, collaborative, and informed by ongoing clinical learning.
Our clinicians receive ongoing consultation and professional development opportunities.
We use EMDR as a central treatment approach while also incorporating parts-informed work, creative modalities, and other interventions based on client needs and clinician training.
Through The Reclaiming Pathway™, our structured outpatient trauma recovery program, clients participate in weekly individual therapy alongside therapeutic groups.
The program is designed to support both the development of emotional and physiological capacity and the processing of traumatic experiences when clinically appropriate.
We don’t believe every client should receive identical treatment simply because they have the same diagnosis.
We believe treatment should reflect the complexity of the person we’re working with.
Finding EMDR Therapy in Bohemia, Smithtown, and Across Long Island
Choosing an EMDR therapist is about more than finding someone with a particular credential.
Training matters. Consultation matters. Clinical experience matters. And so does finding a therapist who understands your needs, respects your pace, and adapts treatment when necessary.
At Suffolk Family Therapy, we provide in-person EMDR therapy in Bohemia and Smithtown, Long Island, as well as virtual EMDR therapy throughout New York State.
Whether you’re located on Long Island, in New York City, Westchester, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, or elsewhere in New York, our clinicians can help you explore whether virtual trauma-focused treatment is appropriate for your needs.
Through The Reclaiming Pathway™, we combine individual trauma therapy with structured therapeutic groups to support meaningful, lasting recovery.
Written by Jamie Vollmoeller, LCSW | Founder, Suffolk Family Therapy
This article is for educational purposes and does not replace individualized clinical assessment or treatment.