Licensed Mental Health Professionals

• Qualifying medical doctors must be licensed to practice in their state or province.
• Qualifying advanced practice registered nurses must have a Master of Science in Nursing (or higher) with a specialization in psychiatric mental health nursing and must be licensed to practice through their state board or province.
• Qualifying Mental Health Clinicians must have a master’s degree in the mental health field (Counseling, Marriage Family Therapy, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry, Social Work) or related mental health discipline and be licensed to practice through their state board or province.

Pre-Licensed Mental Health Professionals

• These are clinicians who are actively pursuing a mental health license through their state board (or province) while working under a licensed supervisor. Some of these license types include associate, intern, limited, provisional, temporary and pre-license.
• Qualifying pre-licensed mental health clinicians must have a master's degree in the mental health field (Counseling, Marriage Family Therapy, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry, Social Work) or related mental health discipline and must be actively pursuing a full license through their state board (or province) while working under a licensed supervisor.

Graduate Students

• Qualifying graduate students must be enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program in the mental health field (Counseling, Marriage Family Therapy, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry, Psychiatric Nursing, Social Work) or related mental health discipline. Students must have completed their core graduate academic coursework and must be in the practicum/internship portion of their graduate program. First year graduate students are not eligible. Graduate students must be on a licensing track and working under the supervision of a fully licensed mental health clinician.
• Graduate students who would like to take an EMDR Training will need to submit certain documentation (graduate transcript, practicum or internship details, and a letter from their supervisor which includes the supervisor's license information and number) in order to verify their eligibility.

To register for this training, select the session that works best for you, then click the link to either pay in full or enter into a payment plan. You will agree to a Participation Agreement when you register.

After you register, you will receive access to the pre-course materials. The pre-course materials should be completed prior to Day 1 of training. You will also need to purchase Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures, Third Edition by Francine Shapiro, to begin reading prior to the training.

You will be given access to the rest of the course materials once the live trainings begin. You will also participate in consultation groups in between the trainings.

Yes, you will need to attend the entire training live all 6 days. Your attendance will be confirmed by Zoom reports. Attendees must attend all scheduled sessions in their entirety. Please keep your webcam on during all live training sessions. This is the equivalent of “being in the room” for an in-person training and is required for continuing education hours.

This is not your average training to just check off your continuing education for the year.  This training is an investment in your professional development.  It is an investment in you, your clinical skills and your clients.  This training is for professionals who want to treat trauma well, and who recognize that we need additional tools beyond talk therapy to be effective with treating our clients.  This training is focused on leveling-up your practice.  You will have a new way to conceptualize and treat clients, and I have never yet had a trainee regret it!

This training is an EMDRIA-approved Basic Training that provides all of the necessary parts of the training for you, based on EMDRIA’s requirements (EMDR International Association).  You should know that you need to have an EMDRIA approved training to be able to use EMDR and to become certified.  There are shorter trainings out there that do not meet these requirements.

You will not receive a certificate of completion until you have completed all 6 days of this course. There is no recording of the live event available to participants. All participant information is confidential.

Trauma Specialists Training Institute, LLC maintains responsibility for all aspects of this program and its content.  

If you have a situation that comes up and requires a make up date, please contact the program administrator, Maria, [email protected], to see if we can accommodate your request.

This course curriculum and trainer/s are approved by the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). Those who complete this training can refer to themselves as “EMDR Trained.”

Note, EMDR Trained is different and not the same as being an EMDRIA Approved "Certified EMDR Therapist." To become an EMDRIA Approved Certified EMDR Therapist requires additional consultations hours and additional credits from EMDR Advanced Trainings. More about the certification process will be provided during the training and can be found on the EMDRIA.org website.

Trauma Specialists Training Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7268. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Trauma Specialists Training Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 40 Clock Hours.

Trauma Specialists Training Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Trauma Specialists Training Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CE: 40 credit

This program is Approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Approval #886869661-2071) for 40.5 continuing education contact hours. Category: Social Work. Expires 9/30/25.

The January/March training will have the following facilitators:

• Rachel Harrison, LCPC, NCC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, EMDRIA Approved Trainer, EMDRIA Approved Basic Trainer, Founder, CEO
  MA, Counseling, Denver Seminary, State of Maryland, State of Delaware, and State of Colorado, EMDRIA - Rachel has trained hundreds of clinicians in EMDR therapy. She first learned EMDR in 2011 and it changed her practice so much for the better that she went on to become a consultant and trainer. Rachel believes that every therapist needs to know how to provide excellent EMDR therapy, because there is nothing else in the therapy world that can do what EMDR does! Rachel also runs Trauma Specialists of Maryland and Trauma Specialists of Delaware. She is passionate about treating trauma.

• Jamie Sedgwick, LCPC, NCC, EMDRIA Certified Therapist, EMDRIA EMDR Approved Consultant, EMDRIA Approved Basic Trainer - Jamie is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and National Certified Counselor and has worked in the mental health field for 10 years. She has experience with a wide range of issues including PTSD, anxiety, depression, grief and behavioral issues. She has interest in working with teens (age 15+) and adults. She specializes in Borderline Personality Disorder, attachment and complex PTSD with a passion for helping individuals learn and incorporate healthy skills to create a life worth living. She is trained in DBT and Neurofeedback and is EMDR certified.

• Jennifer Youdom, LCSW-C, EMDRIA Certified Therapist, EMDRIA EMDR Consultant in Training, Training Facilitator & Consultant, Salisbury University, State of Maryland, EMDRIA - Jennifer is a Licensed Certified Social Worker, Clinical (LCSW-C) and is Certified in EMDR therapy through EMDRIA. Jennifer has been in the mental health field for 10 years serving clients from diverse ages and backgrounds. Jennifer has also been trained in DBT, couples therapy, ego state therapy and IFS. She has special interest in developmental and complex trauma, attachment, and dissociation. She attributes EMDR to directing her shift in clinical practice towards a trauma informed lens and is dedicated to helping people through their healing journeys.

• Sarah Smith-Trawick, LCSW-C, EMDRIA Certified Therapist, EMDRIA EMDR Consultant in Training, Training Facilitator & Consultant, MSW, Smith College School for Social Work, State of Maryland, EMDRIA - Sarah has been supporting trauma survivors for over 15 years. She has extensive experience working with women’s issues, interpersonal violence, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Sarah is licensed in the State of Maryland as a Licensed Certified Social Worker, Clinical (LCSW-C) and is Certified in EMDR therapy through EMDRIA.
• April Lehman, LPC, EMDRIA Certified Therapist, EMDRIA EMDR Consultant in Training, Training Facilitator & Consultant, MS,Clinical Community Counseling, Johns Hopkins University, School of Education, State of West Virginia, EMDRIA - April Lehman is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice in Kearneysville, WV. She is licensed to practice in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. She has been practicing since 2011 and EMDR trained since 2016. Being trained in EMDR changed the trajectory of her practice and the way she conceptualizes her work with client’s. She is experienced in working with clients with co-ocurring disorders and also enjoys working with teenagers and adults with anxiety, depression, complex trauma, dissociation, and PTSD. April is a Certified EMDR Therapist through EMDRIA.

Consultation hours cannot be counted towards clinical supervision time for provisionally licensed clinicians. Consultation services are different from clinical supervision. Consultants do not take responsibility for participants' cases or how participants implement consultation suggestions with clients. Client PHI should not be shared during consultation and consultants do not have access to client PHI. 

During the first training weekend, clinicians sign up for a consulting group that meets virtually a total of five (5) times for 2-hours each (10 total hours of consultation).

Between the two training weekends, consulting groups meet four (4) times. The fifth (5th) and final consulting group call happens within two weeks after the second training weekend.

Per EMDRIA guidelines, Trainees who begin the EMDR Basic Training must complete the entire training within 12 months from their initial start date. If you complete everything (Training Days, Consultation Groups, etc) within your training package as scheduled, you will complete your full EMDR Basic Training in less than 90 days. If requested, Trauma Specialists Training Institute will provide rescheduling options to accommodate 12 month limitation. See Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy for more information. 

If you have to cancel your training, you will be able to use any funds paid towards this training to reschedule and join a future training with Trauma Specialists Training Institute.  We do not offer refunds for training registrations. Please click here to review our Rescheduling Policy.

Please reach out to our program administrator, Maria, at [email protected] for any additional questions you may have. We are happy to answer those for you so you feel confident when signing up for our Basic Training!

We may also be reached:

By mail: Trauma Specialists Training Institute, 124 North Court Street, Frederick, MD 21701

By phone: (301) 304-7108

Learn more by visiting our webpage at www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/basic-training.

After completing registration, you will receive a purchase confirmation email. The email provides a  login link for immediate access to the training and you may begin your training by watching the 1.5 hours of video materials you need to prepare for EMDR Basic Training at your convenience. You may also access the training by clicking login at the top of any of our website pages. 

You'll also need to purchase the course textbook, Francine Shapiro's Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures, Third Edition and begin reading prior to the training.

In this training, participants will:

• Describe the origin of EMDR including the research that started it all

• Be able to name three (3) parts of the brain that influence the neurobiology of trauma and the neurobiology of EMDR Therapy.

• Be able to name the important principles of AIP that help conceptualize EMDR Therapy with clients/patients.

• Demonstrate the ability to apply EMDR Therapy to the past, present and future.

• Demonstrate the ability to apply all 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy with their clients/patients.

• Demonstrate the ability to adapt EMDR to special populations, such as children, addictions, and LGBTQIA individuals.

• Demonstrate the ability to apply EMDR with various diagnoses and symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, Bipolar Disorder.

• Be able to explain the theory of Structural Dissociation and its implications for Trauma Therapy.

• Participants will be able to list three (3) helpful resources to use with clients who identify as a minority population.

Click here to view TSTI's policies on refunds, grievances, etc.