EMDR and Complex Trauma with Perinatal Clients
August 19, 2025 with Thomas Zimmerman, M.S., Ed., LPCC
Course Description
This training explores ways to work more effectively with complex trauma using EMDR therapy in perinatal contexts with a particular emphasis on challenges and difficulties encountered in Phases Two and Four of EMDR therapy.
This training reviews the core procedural processes of EMDR and reviews the Adaptive Information Processing model to explain why some clients with complex trauma may lack much of the needed adaptive information and why they struggle to tolerably activate, slow down, be present, and notice. Helpful modifications to standard resources, attachment resources, and accommodations to facilitate more tolerable activation are explored.
Trainees will learn concrete strategies to work more effectively with severely complex perinatal clients who may have struggled in EMDR therapy when using more standard approaches. The goal of this training is to allow clients with severe trauma to resource well enough to eventually engage in unrestricted processing in EMDR therapy.
Registration Deadline: August 18, 2025
This course takes place live on Zoom. Check out this link for Zoom requirements.
For more information on our work at The Touchstone Institute, visit our website.
The Prerequisite:
Get EMDR Trained
Join Dr. Mara Tesler Stein and other perinatal mental health practitioners for Foundational EMDR Therapy Training utilizing The Touchstone Institute's EMDRIA-Approved curriculum.
Note on Accessibility:
We include captions in all of our live and self-paced trainings. If there is anything else you need to make our trainings accessible to you, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We recognize that every person has access needs and we are happy to do everything we can to meet yours.
Instructor
Thomas Zimmerman, MS, Ed, LPCC
[email protected]
Thomas Zimmerman, Ms.Ed., LPCC, is an EMDRIA Approved Trainer, Approved Consultant, and therapist who practices in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Much of his advocacy work has focused on helping therapists who work with clients with severe trauma work more effectively and safely using EMDR therapy. Thomas has created and manages some of the largest EMDR therapist communities online. He is the author of the 2024 book, EMDR With Complex Trauma.
Course Curriculum
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Receiving your CE Certificate
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About this course
- $75-$125
- August 19, 2025, 10:00am - 5:30pm EST
- 6 CEs (see below for specific approvals)
More about our pricing:
We offer tiered pricing for all of our trainings in order to make our courses as accessible as possible for all practitioners. If you are unsure which tier is right for your financial situation, please read through our FAQ section below or visit our website.
Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you are interested in a multi-month payment plan. We are always happy to create a custom payment plan to make it more feasible for everyone to participate in our courses.
Timed Course Agenda
All times are listed in Eastern Time
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM: Welcome, Introductions, and Orientation (page number to PDF training manual in parenthesis)
10:15 AM: Trauma Review from an AIP Lens (5)
10:25 AM: What Makes Complex Trauma So Complex in Perinatal Contexts (6)
10:30 AM: Core Resources for Complex Perinatal Trauma Clients
- Helpful Tips When “Mindfulness Doesn’t Work for Me” (7)
- Modifications to Breathing (8-13)
- Modifications to Sensory Grounding (14-15)
- Modifications to Body Scan (16)
- Modifications to Calm Scene (18-19)
11:15 AM: Understanding and Explaining Containment (20-21)
11:25 AM: Strategies for Working with Clients with Dissociation
- Understanding Types of Dissociation (22)
- Initial Strategies to Engage Parts (22)
- Strategies for Managing Dissociation/Abreaction in EMDR (22)
- Get Consent from All Parts to Approach the Memory (23)
- Strategies for Memory Selection (23)
12:00 PM: How We Interact with the Memory Matters
- The Videotape Approach (25-29)
- Other Microactivation Approaches (30) Strategies to Help Develop More Body Awareness(31)
- Special Considerations in the Perinatal Period
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Lunch
2:00 PM: Strategies for Use Between Sessions (32)
- These Things Make It Better/These Things Make It Worse (32)
- Initial Strategies to Stop Flashbacks Between Sessions (33)
- Invitation to Briefly Bring Awareness to the Present (33)
2:15 PM: Strategies for Working with Deficits in Adaptive Information (34)
- Parts Work (34)
- The Importance of Psychoeducation (34)
- Perspective Taking Exercises (34-35)
- “That’s Just the Way I Am” (35)
- Going to a Hospital Nursery Visualization (35)
- “What Would Happen If” (35)
- Attachment Resources (36)
3:45 PM: The Problem of Developmental Trauma Related to EMDR (36)
4:00 PM: Perinatal Considerations and Attachment Wounding
- The Utility of Attachment Figure Resources (39)
4:10 PM: Breakouts or Demonstrations: Developing Attachment Figure Resources (39-44)
4:45 PM – 5:30 PM: Debrief and Wrap-Up
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- List and describe how to conduct at least three “dip your toe in” resources that tend to be more tolerable starting places for clients with severe trauma.
- Describe at least three strategies that can assist clients in the reprocessing phases of EMDR therapy, clear targets with less risk of client decompensation, and increased probability of memory resolution.
- List the advantages of attachment resources in the preparation phases of EMDR therapy.
- Articulate three strategies to help clients develop some of the needed adaptive information for EMDR therapy.
Continuing Education Credits
Participation in all training sessions and submission of a course evaluation is required to receive a CE certificate for this course. Course evaluations are made available after all live sessions have been completed within the course portal. After completing the evaluation, participants will be able to submit a request for their CE certificate. This training offers 6 CE credits.
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It is your responsibility to verify CE coverage in your State or Province.
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The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
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The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, Inc. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7346. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, Inc. is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
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The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, [provider number:1876], is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: [1/19/2024-1/19/2025]. Social workers completing this course receive 6 continuing education credits.
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This course is approved by Postpartum Support International (PSI) for continuing education towards obtaining and maintaining the PMH-C.
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This course is approved by the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). The Touchstone Institute is an approved training provider with EMDRIA: approval #22021.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is the Generative Access tier right for me?
Select this tier if you: Own the home you live in (even with a mortgage); live in a two-income household; have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money; travel recreationally; have access to family money and resources in times of need; work part-time by choice, etc.
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Is the Sustaining Access tier right for me?
Select this tier if you: Have income available for recreational activities (going out to dinner, movies, concerts etc.); have consistent work compensated at a median income rate based on your region; pay rent that is not more than 25% of your monthly household income; do not own your own home, etc.
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Is the Supported Access tier right for me?
Select this tier if you: Are a graduate student paying tuition; have major medical expenses not covered by insurance; have been denied work, or experience discrimination related to ableism, racism, sexism, gender discrimination or other forms of oppression; are eligible for public assistance; have immigration-related expenses; have ever been denied work due to incarceration history; are supporting adult children, extended family members in need or have other adult dependents; are an elder with limited financial support; are primarily working in a setting with under-resourced populations and your income reflects this work, etc.
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Are there payment plan options available?
Yes! We are happy to work with you to create a payment plan that fits your needs. Please reach out to us over email with a brief description of the length of the plan that you are interested in using to pay for this course: [email protected].
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How can I learn more about your pricing?
Please visit our website for more information on our approach to pricing our trainings: www.touchstoneinstitute.org/pricing.
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What is your refund policy?
More than 14 days notice is required for a full refund minus 7% administrative fee. Cancellations made within 14 days of training are eligible for a 50% refund or full transfer to another training within The Touchstone Institute. Only 1 transfer to another training is allowed. If you can not attend the transferred training your fee will be forfeited. No-shows are not eligible for a refund or transfer. Exceptions to this policy are limited to medically documented circumstances or family bereavements. Failure to attend without prior notification (no-shows) will not qualify for a refund.
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