EMDR and Ego State Therapy
Part II:
Advanced Applications Across the Eight Phases
Training led by:
Jessica Downs, LCSW
EMDRIA Approved Consultant
Live: Feb 19-20th, 2026
This training will be offered on demand after the live date.
Cost: $260
REGISTER NOW
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Working with clients who present with fragmented self-states, protector parts, and defensive systems requires more than the standard EMDR protocol. This advanced training gives you the skills to weave Ego States Therapy into every phase of EMDR, creating safety, readiness, and deeper access to reprocessing.
You’ll discover how to recognize and respond to dissociation, strengthen preparation with interventions that foster internal collaboration, and adapt reprocessing in ways that honor system consent while reducing resistance and blocking beliefs. With practical demonstrations and experiential exercises, the training brings concepts to life and equips you with strategies you can immediately apply in practice.
By integrating Ego States Therapy into EMDR, you’ll expand your capacity to hold fidelity to the model while meeting the needs of complex trauma clients with confidence, flexibility, and transformative impact.
CEs Available:
This course is eligible for 8 EMDRIA Approved CEs.
Training Format:
This training will be offered live then avaiable on demand after.
Investment:
This course is $260. Installment options available.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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Define complex PTSD and the spectrum of dissociation using the framework of Structural Dissociation and the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model.
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Apply at least two screening and assessment strategies to identify dissociation and inform EMDR treatment planning within Phase 1.
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Identify at least three Phase 2 resourcing techniques for working with ego states and explain how these strategies can be adapted when client needs diverge from standard approaches.
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Adapt EMDR Phases 1–8 to integrate Ego States Therapy interventions while maintaining fidelity to the EMDR protocol.
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Implement case conceptualization strategies for complex clinical presentations using an ego states lens within the AIP framework.
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Employ interweaves during Phases 3–7 that address blocking beliefs, protector resistance, and system ambivalence to support effective reprocessing.
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Analyze the impact of socio-cultural and generational ideologies (e.g., productivity culture, beauty standards, religious trauma, racism, misogyny) as introjected parts requiring EMDR integration and adaptation in treatment planning.
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Reflect on therapist countertransference and internal “parts” as a mirror for clinical growth, applying strategies to use self-of-therapist awareness in adapting the eight phases of EMDR therapy.
COURSE CONTENT
- Neurobiology of dissociation and complex trauma through the AIP lens
- Defining C-PTSD, dissociation, and barriers to recognition
- Structural Dissociation as a framework for case conceptualization
- Screening tools and assessment strategies for dissociation
- Ego States Therapy foundations, including dissociative table and systems theory
- Conceptualizing parts as isolated neural networks and layered defenses
- Resourcing techniques for parts of self
- Integrating ego states into Reprocessing phases (Phases 3–6), including strategies for obtaining system consent, preventative interweaves, titration, and recognizing dissociative symptoms as they may arise
- Addressing stuck points, ambivalence, protector resistance, and blocking beliefs
- Working with introjects and socio-cultural ideologies as parts
- Phase 8 reevaluation and future-prong interventions for dissociation
- Self-of-the-therapist development: countertransference, creativity, and reflective practice
- Case examples and clinical applications across complex presentations
LIVE SCHEDULE
Day One (4 hours instruction)
- 9:00–9:15 (15 min) Welcome, orientation, overview, grounding exercise
- 9:15–10:15 (60 min) Objectives 1 & 2
- Defining C-PTSD, dissociation, Structural Dissociation, and screening tools
- 10:15–10:25 (10 min) Break
- 10:25–11:25 (60 min) Objective 3
- Introduction to Ego States Therapy & The Meeting Place (Dissociative Table Technique)
- Learning to “listen” for parts. Introduction to several strategies for identifying and working with parts.
- 11:25–11:55 (30 min) Midday break
- 11:55–12:55 (60 min) Objectives 4 & 5
- AIP case conceptualization, parts as neural networks, and application to challenging presentations.
- 12:55–1:05 (10 min) Break
- 1:05–2:05 (60 min) Objective 3
- Phases 1 and 2: Navigating history taking and treatment planning through the lens of Ego States Therapy
- Crafting resourcing techniques for ego state work that aligns with adaptive information deficits, developmental stages, and ANS activation
- 2:05–2:15 (10 min) Closing discussion + Q&A
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Day Two (4 hours instruction)
- 9:00–10:00 (60 min) Objective 4
- Phases 3–4, system consent, preventative interweaves
- 10:00–10:10 (10 min) Break
- 10:10–11:20 (70 min) Objective 6
- Navigating blocking beliefs, ambivalence and resistance
- Ego States specific interweaves
- 11:20–11:50 (30 min) Midday break
- 11:50–12:50 (60 min) Objective 7
- Introjects, cultural/generational influences on parts of self
- 12:50–1:00 (10 min) Break
- 1:00–2:00 (60 min) Objective 8
- Self-of-therapist, countertransference, and reflective exercises
- 2:00–2:10 (10 min) Closing integration + Q&A
MEET YOUR TRAINER
Jessica Downs, LCSW
Jessica Downs, LCSW, is an EMDR Advanced Trainer and Consultant specializing in complex trauma and dissociation. She brings warmth, clarity, and a playful spirit to her work, integrating EMDR with Ego State Therapy, Polyvagal Theory, and the Theory of Structural Dissociation. Jessica is passionate about helping clinicians build confidence and deepen their therapeutic skills.
A skillful and caring healer, in addition to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), she incorporates Ego State Therapy, Polyvagal Theory and the Theory of Structural Dissociation into her one-on-one work with adults of all ages. Jessica is known for her warm, grounded presence, and her ability to bring playfulness to the often difficult work of therapy.
While pursuing her master's degree in social work at the University of Denver, Jessica was introduced to the benefits of EMDR for the treatment of trauma. The education she received led her to seek out advanced training in EMDR, and to pursue certification. Today, Jessica shares her expertise in EMDR as an Advanced trainer and Consultant to other therapists, looking to deepen their therapeutic skills.
