EMDR and Somatic Therapy: Supporting the Body Through the 8-Phases

July 15, 2027

Abstract
EMDR has become synonymous with healing complex trauma in many therapy circles, offering a psychotherapy approach designed to help clients process maladaptive experiences that remain stuck and looping in survivors’ brains and bodies. Yet for many clinicians, it can feel as though something is missing from the traditional model. Clients may become stuck in repeated loops, struggle to complete a target, or be unable to move into treatment planning and reprocessing because they cannot yet hold dual awareness, connect with the body, or stay present long enough for old memories to be safely accessed and worked through.

Clients who have experienced lifelong trauma, whether through overt physical, sexual, or emotional danger, or through the quieter forms of neglect, have often relied on unconscious patterns of disconnection, fragmentation, and dissociation to survive inescapable threat. These patterns are still alive in many of the clients we sit with, but they can be hidden in ways that make them challenging to notice, name, and support in the clinical setting.

Helping clients explore new ways to be in their bodies, often beginning at the edges of sensation and slowly moving inward at a pace their nervous system can tolerate, is a skill set many clinicians are hungry to develop beyond basic EMDR training.

In this three-hour training, clinicians will learn how to interweave somatic therapy into the eight phases of EMDR while honoring fidelity to the model. Participants will explore how embodiment, curiosity, internal safety, interoceptive awareness, supported movement, and completion of threat responses can strengthen trauma treatment and support clients in moving from survival toward greater integration and flourishing.

Potential to distress: Yes

Target Audience

Those seeking to participate in this webinar must be licensed mental health professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, mental health counselors, accredited psychotherapists, etc.). ISSTD staff will audit license information prior to the start of the course and may request additional documentation for your license.

We do accept students enrolled in a program of study leading to a degree or certification in the mental health field and who have an interest in trauma and dissociation. Students must submit proof of student status such as a transcript or registration record. For those who have completed their degree and are currently in the pre-licensure stage practicing under the license of another clinician, you must provide the name and license information for the person you are working with. Documentation should be sent to ISSTD staff at [email protected] before registering. 

This webinar is at the intermediate learning level.

Learning Objectives

Upon Completion of this webinar, participants will be able to: 

  • Apply somatic-informed preparation strategies to enhance client readiness, stabilization, and dual awareness prior to trauma reprocessing
  • Utilize structured sensory language to improve accuracy in somatic tracking and enhance emotional and interoceptive awareness during trauma treatment
  • Analyze autonomic nervous system cues to guide clinical pacing, set length, and selection of somatic interweaves during EMDR desensitization
  • Explain adaptive completion of defensive and orienting responses through somatic inquiry and movement based interventions when clinically indicated
  • Apply time oriented and environmental anchoring techniques to support neuroceptive safety and reduce dysregulation during stalled trauma processing

Course summary

Available credit: 
  • 3.00 APA
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • 3.00 ASWB ACE
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), #1744, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/20/2024 – 08/20/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 3.00 continuing education credits.
  • 3.00 ISSTD Certificate Program
    This program is eligible for 3.00 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program. No certificate of completion is generated for this type of credit.
Course opens: 
09/01/2026
Course expires: 
12/31/2050
Event starts: 
07/15/2027 - 5:00pm EDT
Event ends: 
07/15/2027 - 8:00pm EDT
ISSTD Member cost:
$85.00
Your Price:
$65.00
Part of: 
2027 Webinar Pass
Add to calendar: 
Rating: 
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Presenter: Alison Leslie, LCSW, SEP
Presenter Bio: Alison Leslie, LCSW, SEP, is a trauma therapist, EMDRIA-approved trainer, consultant, and educator whose work centers on integrating EMDR therapy, somatic psychotherapy, complex trauma, dissociation-informed care, and nervous system repair. She earned her MSW from the University of Denver with a certificate in Animal Assisted Social Work in 2007 and has spent her career supporting clients, clinicians, and learning communities in developing more embodied, compassionate, and clinically grounded approaches to trauma healing.

Alison’s clinical and teaching work is deeply informed by EMDR therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Polyvagal Theory, ego state work, and the Adaptive Information Processing model. Her training emphasizes how lifelong trauma, chronic threat, fragmentation, and dissociation can shape a client’s capacity for dual awareness, embodiment, presence, and reprocessing. She supports clinicians in understanding stuck or looping EMDR work through the body, helping them track nervous system patterns, protective adaptations, and the subtle signs that clients may need more preparation, titration, or somatic support before moving deeper into trauma processing.

Alison teaches Somatic EMDR as a way to honor fidelity to the EMDR model while expanding clinicians’ ability to work with the body across all eight phases. Her approach helps therapists move beyond rigid protocol application into a more attuned, intuitive, and integrative clinical presence. She offers practical somatic interventions, embodied preparation strategies, and somatic interweaves designed to support stabilization, dual awareness, ego strength, and adaptive information processing for clients with complex trauma and dissociative responses.

Alison is an EMDRIA-approved trainer, consultant, and therapist, a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and has advanced training in somatic therapy through Transforming Trauma and Somatic Skills Practice. Her work continues to focus on helping clinicians build confidence, deepen curiosity, and support clients in moving from survival toward flourishing.

Available Credit

  • 3.00 APA
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • 3.00 ASWB ACE
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), #1744, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/20/2024 – 08/20/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 3.00 continuing education credits.
  • 3.00 ISSTD Certificate Program
    This program is eligible for 3.00 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program. No certificate of completion is generated for this type of credit.

Price

ISSTD Member cost:
$85.00
Your Price:
$65.00
Please login or register to take this course.

"Your Price" above reflects your final price based on your membership status and career level. 

  • ISSTD defines a student as those enrolled in a program of study leading to a degree or certification in the mental health field and who have an interest in trauma and dissociation. 
  • ISSTD defines an emerging professional as mental health professionals who have completed an advanced degree and are in the first three years of their career (or first three years after graduation for researchers).
  • If you do not fall into one of the above categories please register as Professional/Retired. 

These prices are for Tier I countries. For a list of countries by Tier click here. If you are located in a country that falls into Tier II-VI please contact ISSTD at [email protected] to receive the appropriate discount code.

Registration Policies

Cancellations prior to the webinar are subject to a $10 cancellation fee. No refunds are provided for no shows. The deadline for cancellations with a refund is July 13, 2027 at 5:00pm US Eastern Time. Requests for cancellation should be sent to [email protected].

For additional webinar policies including completion requirements, filing grievances, requesting a disability accommodation, and awarding of certificates of credits, please visit our Webinar Policies page.