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EMDR for Complex Trauma

Join Deborah Korn for this practical and compassionate training on working with complex trauma using the EMDR protocol, designed to help your clients heal from deep, long-standing wounds.

Deb Korn smiles at the camera, wearing silver earrings and a necklace. She is dressed in a blue patterned top. The background features soft shades of green and white geometric shapes.

About the course

Start date
Starts 01 September 2026
Length
6 weeks | 16 hours total (12 months access)
Who this course is for
For EMDR Trained Therapists | Advanced Level
Accreditation
16 CE/CME + 16 EMDRIA PointsSee all accreditation details
Organization Enquiries
Find out more

Unfortunately, many of our adult clients report histories of prolonged or repeated exposure to interpersonal abuse and neglect.  Their traumas occurred at particularly vulnerable developmental stages, often beginning in infancy or early childhood, compromising both their physical and psychological maturation. Typically, it involved both direct harm or attack as well as deprivation or abandonment by those who were supposed to be protective, validating, and consistently loving. 

Survivors often present for treatment with affect and relational phobias, rigid defenses and avoidance patterns, high levels of dissociation, and an inability to access important internal resources.  Meeting these clients with hope and confidence requires an advanced understanding of how and when to adapt and supplement standard EMDR protocols.  “Staying out of the way” is usually not an option when clients need significant relational support, assistance with emotional and somatic regulation, and active interweaves to facilitate effective processing.

In this advanced course, EMDR expert Deborah Korn, from Francine Shapiro’s EMDR Institute, will help you apply multiple “conceptual maps” in assessing clinical needs and making moment-to-moment decisions with complex trauma clients. Although this course addresses relevant issues related to all 8 phases of EMDR therapy, it primarily focuses on the importance of comprehensive case conceptualization and treatment planning AND the therapist’s role in facilitating and deepening reprocessing. 

Significant time will be devoted to identifying common blocking beliefs and demonstrating different types of interweaves, each with its own function and goal.  Finally, there will be an emphasis on moving beyond symptom reduction to developmental repair, post-traumatic growth, and increased resilience.

EMDR for Complex Trauma
$590
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Course starts September 1
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Learn From a Leading Expert in EMDR and Complex Trauma

This course is taught by Deborah Korn, internationally renowned EMDR teacher, facilitator, consultant, and author, known for her work treating survivors of complex trauma, particularly those who endured abuse and neglect in childhood.

Dr. Korn has been training therapists and consulting as a faculty member of the EMDR Institute for over 30 years.  She is also part of the training faculty at Bessel van der Kolk’s Trauma Research Foundation.

This course features her accessible and well-organized instruction, therapy demonstrations, and practical strategies for applying EMDR with challenging complex trauma cases. It also includes rare archival footage of EMDR founder Francine Shapiro, together with insights from other leading EMDR experts, offering a rich and integrative approach to treating complex trauma survivors.

Debra Korn teaching
Clinical Skills You’ll Gain

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Describe how complex trauma differs from other forms of trauma

  • Identify the kinds of symptoms and difficulties most associated with a history of complex trauma

  • Consider different ways to approach history-taking and the sequencing of targets with complex trauma survivors

  • Decide whether a client needs to focus on preparation/stabilization before approaching more in-depth history-taking 

  • Bring a culturally aware, anti-oppressive, intersectional approach to history-taking 

  • Use a range of “conceptual maps” to help with case formulation, moment-to-moment client tracking, and decision-making

  • Delineate the focus of each of the 8 Phases of EMDR treatment and some special considerations related to treating highly dysregulated complex trauma clients 

  • Describe how to move from a solid case conceptualization to a comprehensive EMDR treatment plan 

  • Recognize the trauma-related phobias and blocking beliefs commonly exhibited or expressed by complex trauma survivors

  • Maximize the use of Resource Development and Installation (RDI) in preparing complex trauma clients for effective EMDR trauma processing

  • Discuss how to recognize and respond to different attachment styles, ego state conflicts, and defensive patterns

  • Describe how different kinds of interweaves can be used to address potential blocks to processing during the Desensitization Phase of EMDR treatment

  • Provide examples of how interweaves can be used to address developmental repair and blocked adaptive action tendencies 

Debra Korn therapy demonstration
Your Learning Experience Includes

This six-week course combines expert instruction, clinical demonstrations, and real-world strategies to deepen your EMDR practice with complex trauma. It offers:

  • Beautifully produced video lessons that guide you through history-taking and case conceptualization and the application of a wide range of EMDR interweave strategies

  • Therapy demonstrations and case examples showing how to apply EMDR interventions with clients who present with significant dysregulation and dissociation, a range of defenses, debilitating shame, and different attachment styles

  • Expert interviews exploring key topics such as adapting the EMDR standard protocol to meet the needs of complex trauma clients, resourcing, and applications of the three-pronged protocol.

  • Downloadable tools and handouts to support practical application in your sessions

Enrollments

We're happy to help if you can't attend the current intake. Once your purchase is complete, contact our customer service team and we can enrol you in a future intake.

Upcoming intake dates:

  • September 1

  • October 27

  • December 22

If you need an invoice, please fill out the form here.

phobia and trauma illustration

What You'll Learn

Course modules

Course excerpts

 
Accredited Continuing Education Credits

This EMDR for Complex Trauma training is designed for EMDR trained therapists worldwide. Upon completion, you'll receive an official certificate that may be submitted to relevant registration or licensing bodies for continuing professional development, where applicable.

Participants can earn 16 EMDRIA Points for this training.

16 CE/CME credits are also designated for a range of licensed mental health professions, including:

  • psychologists, social workers, counsellors,

  • physicians, nurses,

  • marriage and family therapists,

  • addiction professionals.

Acceptance for other professions may vary by board and jurisdiction. View the complete CE/CME accreditation details and board approvals here.

cognitive interweaves

How Your Course Works

Frequently asked questions

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