By Deb Kennard, PTI Founder
At the Personal Transformation Institute (PTI), our monthly free webinars are designed to help clinicians deepen their understanding of trauma and refine their skills in EMDR therapy. In our latest session—Treatment Planning and Finding the Targets in EMDR—we welcomed attendees from all over the U.S., Canada, and beyond for a practical exploration of one of the most crucial (yet often misunderstood) parts of the EMDR process.
Whether you’re new to EMDR or looking to strengthen your clinical decision-making, this session laid out essential strategies for setting up successful EMDR therapy from the very beginning.
Why Treatment Planning Matters
One of the key takeaways from this webinar was that successful EMDR doesn’t start with reprocessing—it starts with a plan. Without a clear understanding of the client’s nervous system, history, and current window of tolerance, EMDR can stall, retraumatize, or fail to create meaningful change.
We explored how to:
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Build a trauma-informed case conceptualization
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Use assessment tools and clinical intuition to guide pacing
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Identify somatic and relational patterns that may influence processing
Rather than rushing into target selection, we emphasized the importance of slowing down and listening to the whole system—body, mind, and relational context.
How to Find the Right Targets in EMDR
Many clinicians struggle with the question: What should we target first?
The answer lies in the client’s symptoms, survival strategies, and emotional triggers. In this webinar, we discussed how to map out a target sequence plan that is:
✅ Rooted in the client’s lived experience
✅ Flexible enough to adjust as therapy unfolds
✅ Focused on the most emotionally charged or structurally embedded memories
We also explored how to identify feeder memories—early events that form the foundation for later maladaptive patterns—and how to work backward from present-day triggers to uncover the right entry points for EMDR.
What Makes Target Selection Effective?
It’s not just about choosing a memory—it’s about choosing the right memory, at the right time, in the right way.
The session highlighted ways to:
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Collaborate with clients in the planning process
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Work with dissociation, fragmentation, or avoidance
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Prioritize safety, stabilization, and resourcing in every phase
These elements are especially important for complex trauma, attachment injuries, and clients who’ve struggled with other forms of therapy.
Want to Learn More?
If you’re ready to deepen your EMDR skills and feel more confident in your treatment planning and target selection, we invite you to join our next free webinar. You’ll walk away with clinical tools you can use right away—and connect with a growing community of trauma-informed professionals committed to healing and transformation.
📺 Missed this session? No problem.
All our past webinars are available in the Pathways CE Library. If you’re a member, you can earn 1 CE credit per month just by watching these recordings and completing a short quiz.
👉 Sign up for our next free EMDR webinar
👉 Learn more about EMDR training with PTI