EMDR Institute Basic Training
Eligibility to Attend EMDR Therapy Training through Otago University.
The EMDR Therapy Special Topic 1 is designed for licensed mental health practitioners who treat adults and children in a clinical setting. EMDR is a complex therapy requiring academic training to Postgraduate diploma level in relevant mental health fields and supervised experience in psychological therapies. To check whether you meet eligibility criteria, click here.
Basic Training Overview

The substantially updated textbook by Francine Shapiro, PhD, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols and Procedures. Guildford Press, NY, 3rd Edition, 2018 is an excellent resource.
EMDR is a comprehensive psychotherapy that accelerates the treatment of a wide range of pathologies and self-esteem issues related to disturbing events and present life conditions. The interactional, standardized approach has been empirically tested in over 44 randomized controlled studies with trauma patients, and hundreds of published case reports evaluating a considerable range of presenting complaints, including depression, anxiety, phobias, excessive grief, somatic conditions and addictions. EMDR therapy is guided by the Adaptive Information Processing model which addresses the unprocessed memories that appear to set the basis for a wide range of dysfunctions. A number of neurophysiological studies have documented the rapid post treatment EMDR effects.
Integrating EMDR with Other Approaches
As an integrative psychotherapy approach, EMDR is compatible with all contemporary paradigms including, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, experiential and systemic therapeutic modalities.
Case Consultation
- 10 hours of case consultation are required to complete Special Topic 1. The supervision is built into the course in 2 block of 5 hours of group supervision.
- Training fees include case consultation
- Group case consultation training dates are organised during the course.
See Case Consultation for more information.