I love the feeling of leaving a quality training, handouts and manual in my hand, excited about what I’ve learned and already thinking about how it can help the clients already on my caseload. I love being around people who are excited to learn and trainers who believe and are energized by the modality they’re guiding you through.
But there’s always the next week, when you’re sitting with a client and it’s time to shift and try the new thing, and the questions rise as we try to put that learning into practice.
This is where consultation—whether it’s in a group or individually—becomes such a gift. Consultation is helpful whether you have case-specific questions or you want to further your career by achieving EMDR Certification.
Consultation is best when it bridges the gap between the training manual and real therapy sessions. It’s helpful to find a consultant that has real-world experience with a variety of clients and symptom presentations. The best feedback comes from consultants who have learned to be flexible in their own practice and who can ask the best questions to teach you what to ask yourself in the moment to know how to move forward.
Consultation is transformative when no questions are off-limits. As therapists, we can usually tell pretty quickly whether someone feels like a safe person. Consultants are the most helpful when the consultant believes that there are no questions too embarrassing or too basic. One of the biggest barriers to trying new things is the fear of doing it wrong. Our nervous systems can rest when we have a place where we can ask any question, be honest about where progress has stalled in our sessions, and get helpful feedback. And when our nervous systems can rest, we learn better. Consultation isn’t about proving our competence, it’s about building it.
Consultation helps you now. Consultation isn’t just about training and learning facts; it’s about walking away with steps to take with the client you plan to see the following day. Consultation helps you have another set of eyes as your conceptualizing your case, needed resources, and your target treatment plan. Good consultants will help you find your next steps while teaching you a new perspective for viewing your client’s treatment plan.
Consultation helps you practice what you know. Often, confidence comes from building the muscle memory of a specific skill. Consultants can help role play skills with you so that you can feel more competent in what to say, how to say it, and knowing what comes next. You don’t always need another training—sometimes you just need a few more reps.
Consultation helps you become the therapist you want to be. Consultation is about working with someone who has put in more hours and more miles and can help you more clearly see why your client is stuck, and guide you to find ways to make adjustments and re-calculations that work. The best consultants cheer you on as you become more comfortable with finding effective EMDR interventions while helping you hone your skill and trust your judgment more.
Here are some questions to ask when you’re looking for a consultant:
How many years have you been practicing therapy? How many years have you been using EMDR?
What populations and presentations have you worked with? There are so many ways to use EMDR, so someone’s years of experience alone can’t tell you what they know! Some consultants will be more versed in using EMDR with certain age groups or settings (whether agency-based or private practice, schools or hospitals), and finding a consultant with experience that matches your own needs and goals is important.
What is your status?
An EMDRia Consultant-in-Training is an EMDRia Certified Therapist™ who is working and training with an EMDRia™ Approved Consultant™ and can provide 15 of the 20 required hours toward EMDRia Certification.
An EMDRia™ Approved Consultant™ has received consultation of their consultation of EMDR therapists and has been recommended by an Approved Consultant to meet the requirements for this credential.
See what it’s like to work with me by downloading my Case Conceptualization form. Whether you’re feeling stuck on a current case or looking to begin the process of EMDRia certification, schedule a Discovery Call to see what to expect from consultation with me!