How to Prepare for an EMDR Consultation Group

Have you ever wondered how to condense months of complex clinical work into a five-minute summary? It is common to feel like you have to explain the entire case history before anyone can help you with the current problem but sometimes that creates more confusion for you and the group.

In an EMDR consultation group, you don’t need to present a perfect, linear, polished case file. In fact, trying to explain everything often makes it harder to get the specific support you need.

The most useful consultation happens when you bring a real, de-identified case and one focused clinical question.

Here is a practical guide to preparing for your next EMDR consultation group, including what to bring, how to structure your case notes, and examples of questions to set you up to gather clear, actionable next steps.

What to Bring to the Group

You don’t need to spend hours preparing for a group consultation. You just need a few key items that help you, your consultant and your peers focus on what you really need.

1. Bring one real, de-identified EMDR case. It is your responsibility to protect client privacy. Remove all names, dates of birth, locations, employers, schools, and any other identifying information before you arrive.

2. Bring one focused clinical question. Choose the decision point or clinical roadblock you most need help thinking through right now.

3. You will also need a way to take notes, as you will leave with a next-step decision or a short list of questions to carry back to your clinical work.

4. If you are attending a creative case consultation group, bring something to create with. You do not need to be artistic. This can be paper and pen, colored pencils, sticky notes, a blank document, symbols, or a simple diagram. More about Sam’s creative consultation groups

5. Bring any access support you need. If you need captions, written prompts, a chat-first participation option, or extra processing time, request those practical supports before the group begins.

How to Structure Your Case Write-Up

When you write up your case, keep it brief. You only need to include the details that help the group understand your current clinical question.

1. Current clinical question.

   
   

For example, you might ask, “How do I know whether this client is ready to return to processing?” or “What might I be missing in target selection?”

2. Identify the current EMDR phase.

   
   

   Name exactly where you are in the work

3. Brief, de-identified case snapshot and the relevant observable data.

   
   

   1. Note what the client says, does, avoids, notices in their body, or reports during and between sessions. Avoid interpretations; stick to what you can observe.       

   2. If relevant to your consultation question, briefly include dissociation-related information.

      
      

4. Current target or treatment focus.

   
   

   This might be the memory, theme, belief, trigger, or present-day concern that is most relevant to your question.

   
   

5. What you have already tried (brief).

   
   

   1. Name the interventions, preparation work, pacing choices, or questions you have used, and describe what happened next.

   2. Also include the client's strengths and resources/what helps them orient, settle, stay connected, use support, or return to the present.

6. What feels stuck, unclear, or risky.

   
   

   1. Identify the specific decision point that needs consultation rather than trying to solve the whole case at once.

   2. Tell the group what kind of feedback would be useful.

   3. You may want help with readiness, pacing, target sequencing, preparation, consent, closure, reevaluation, or another focused area.

Optional Points to Prepare for Part-Informed Work

If your consultation group includes a parts-work lens, you might also consider:

• What language does the client use to discuss their experience (parts, aspects, states, patterns, protective responses, or another term)?

• What seems to be pulling in different directions? For example, a wish to move forward alongside a wish to slow down, avoid, numb, please, control, or withdraw.

• What might this response be trying to manage or protect against, according to the client’s own understanding?

Examples of Focused Clinical Questions

Although there may be time and space for more questions, it’s best to narrow it down to a single question to start. If you are not sure what to ask, see if one of these examples fits your current case:

• How can I tell whether this client is ready to return to processing, or whether we need more preparation first?

• What case information would help me decide whether to stay with the current target or choose a different target?

• The client becomes flooded, shut down, or disconnected when we approach this material. What should I reassess about pacing, readiness, or preparation?

• Processing repeatedly stalls or becomes circular. What might I be missing in my assessment, targeting, or current clinical approach?

• The client reports little emotional or body-based connection to the target. How can I distinguish among limited access, dissociation, a target or preparation question, and the client’s individual neurotype, communication style, sensory experience, or way of noticing internal experience?

• How can I respond when the client wants relief but also seems hesitant, guarded, or uncertain about moving closer to difficult material?

• What does this client’s protective pattern seem to be managing, and how does that information affect consent, pacing, or the next EMDR decision?

• The client’s current trigger feels more urgent than the original target plan. How do I decide what to address first?

• We ended the last session with incomplete processing. What would a safe, clinically useful closure and reevaluation plan look like for the next session?

• How do I decide whether a cognitive interweave is needed, and what information should guide that choice?

Choose just one question and bring 2-4 case data points that help the group understand why that question matters right now.

What This Can Look Like: An example

Here is an example of a focused consultation question paired with enough information for a group to understand the clinical decision point without needing a full case history.

Current clinical question: How can I tell whether this client is ready to return to processing, or whether we need more preparation first?

Brief, de-identified data points:

• The client has identified a target memory and can name the related negative belief, but becomes quiet and has trouble staying connected/seems to dissociate when the memory is discussed for more than a few minutes.

• During the last two sessions, the client reported feeling “numb” at the beginning of target work and then tearful and overwhelmed when asked to notice body sensations.

• The client can use one grounding exercise successfully between sessions for mild-to-moderate distress but says it is hard to use when they are at a SUD of 6 or higher.

• We have slowed pacing, reviewed stop signals, and practiced orienting to the present. I am unsure whether to spend more time in preparation or return to assessment.

This example gives the group a clear question, observable information, what has already been tried, and the specific kind of consultation being requested.

One Actionable Next-Step

You may receive a lot of helpful input and thoughts in support of this case. But leaving with one next-step is ideal. At the end of your time discussing your case, be sure to write down the answer to this question so you remember where to go when you go into your next session with the client:

What is one concrete next step I can take after this consultation: gather more history, strengthen resources, clarify a target, adjust pacing, revisit consent, reassess the treatment plan, or something else?

What to Expect During the Group

• Arrive a few minutes early so you can settle in and review the agenda. When it is time to consult, share only what is needed to address your focused question. The goal is case-focused clinical reflection, not personal processing.

• If you are participating in a creative case consultation, use the medium that supports your thinking. You do not need art experience or a finished-looking artifact.

• Expect to contribute to the group. You may participate through speaking, written reflection, secure chat, or another agreed-upon route. Protect confidentiality by not recording the group, sharing case material outside the group, or including client-identifying details in your notes.

• When the group concludes, you should leave with one clearer clinical question or formulation point, and one next-step decision to assess, prepare, pace, clarify, revisit, or discuss with the client.

Ready to bring a real clinical question into supportive, structured consultation?

Join an upcoming Creative Case Consultation Group to think through an EMDR case with focused peer reflection, practical clinical questions, and a clear next step.

View Upcoming Consultation Groups