The People Behind
S.A.F.E. EMDR Training
PTI's training team brings together decades of clinical experience, a shared commitment to trauma-informed practice, and a genuine passion for helping clinicians grow.
Trainers
Assistants
EMDR Practice
Trained
Founder and Lead Trainer
Meet Deb Kennard
Deb Kennard, MS, LLP
Deb founded PTI in 2014 after more than 20 years of clinical practice and EMDR experience. Trained in EMDR in 1996 and trained as an EMDR Trainer by Dr. Francine Shapiro, the founder of EMDR therapy, she developed the S.A.F.E. (Somatic and Attachment Focused EMDR) methodology to bring a relational and body-based lens to EMDR. She is the author of EMDR for Anger Management, published by New Harbinger in 2025, and is certified in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy.
Training Team
Our EMDRIA-Approved Trainers
Every PTI trainer is a Certified EMDR therapist who uses the S.A.F.E. model in their own clinical practice, so they teach what they live.
Alice began her career more than a decade ago in Marriage and Family Therapy and focuses her clinical work on children, teens, and adults who have experienced trauma, including sexual abuse, neglect, childhood abuse, and spiritual abuse. Seeing her clients heal with EMDR led her to certification and then to training other clinicians.
Dr. Holloway's career began in substance abuse and addiction treatment, and she has always treated mind and body together, including work with eating disorders and body image through biofeedback and neurofeedback. Trained in EMDR in 2011, she became an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and has trained with Deb Kennard since 2015.
With 20 years in developmental and complex trauma, family systems, and attachment, Susanne brings a holistic, experiential approach that integrates mind and body. She teaches with a non-violent, trauma-informed style and invites curiosity into every training room.
Renee has been a therapist for more than 27 years, helping clients affected by past and complex trauma. Her path to becoming an Approved Consultant led her to the PTI approach, which she found filled what had been missing in her work, and she is now a PTI Trainer.
Kourtney began with PTI as a participant in the 6-Day Basic Training, continued through the Advanced Certification program, became a Training Assistant, and is now a PTI Trainer. She is a Registered Play Therapist and President-Elect of the Alabama Association for Play Therapy.
Catherine has more than 10 years of experience with all kinds of trauma, especially sexual abuse, attachment trauma, intergenerational and racial trauma, and work with LGBTQ+ clients, with additional training in Internal Family Systems, somatic approaches, and the ARC model for teens and children. Certified in S.A.F.E. EMDR in 2017, she became a consultant and trainer after seeing the model's impact for her clients and in her own life.
Beyond the Trainers
50+ Training Assistants Behind Every Cohort
What sets PTI apart is not only the trainers but the depth of support every participant receives. Each cohort is supported by a team of experienced Training Assistants who have been through the PTI process themselves and coach you through practicum in small groups.
Post-training support is PTI's mission, and the assistant team is how we deliver it.
What Guides Our Team
The S.A.F.E. Guiding Principles
Every PTI trainer and assistant brings these principles into the training room, as a way of being, not only as teaching tools.
Ready to Train With Us?
Learn From Clinicians Who Practice What They Teach
Every PTI trainer uses S.A.F.E. EMDR with their own clients. When you train with us, you learn from people who understand the work from the inside.