Renewal, Growth, and Integration in EMDR Therapy: Beyond Technique
At the heart of EMDR therapy lies a process that is both structured and organic. We work within a well-defined protocol, yes — but the real transformation unfolds in a space that allows for emergence, complexity, and the client’s unique rhythm. The longer I sit with this work, the more I see how central the themes of renewal, growth, and integration are — not just for our clients, but for us as clinicians and as people.
The Subtle Power of Renewal
Renewal isn’t about perfection or erasure. In trauma work, it often means returning to the same material with new resources, new clarity, and a deeper sense of self. It shows up when a client who once dissociated in the face of a trigger now notices it and stays in their body. It’s not dramatic, but it is profound.
One of the most common questions I get from clinicians in training is how to know when change is happening — especially when there’s no “aha” moment or visible breakthrough. The answer is often subtle. Look for the signs of nervous system regulation. Look for the gentler self-talk. Look for how your client moves through their week. Renewal shows up in these micro-shifts that, over time, add up to meaningful transformation.
Growth That Doesn’t Rush
Therapists often carry a quiet urgency — the desire to be effective, the hope that clients will feel better quickly, and the pressure (internal or external) to “get it right.” In EMDR work, growth requires patience and trust. You may be sitting with someone in early Phase 2 for what feels like a long time, tending to their resourcing, containment, and safety. It may not look like much from the outside — but it’s the foundation for everything that follows.
True growth honors pace. It resists the urge to push. It recognizes that a client who learns to recognize their window of tolerance, or to ask for a pause during BLS, is not stalling — they’re participating in their own healing in a new and empowered way. As therapists, our willingness to grow in our own tolerance for uncertainty is often what allows our clients to take the next step.
Integration as an Ongoing Process
EMDR clinicians are trained to look for resolution. When the memory no longer carries disturbance, and the positive cognition feels true, we call it complete. But integration doesn’t always line up neatly with SUDs and VOCs. It continues long after the session ends.
Integration is the work clients do when they leave our offices and enter the rest of their lives — testing out new beliefs, navigating relationships from a different internal stance, or noticing that old triggers don’t hold the same charge. Integration is also our work as therapists: making sense of what we witness, learning from each case, and weaving our own growth into how we show up in the room.
If you’ve recently completed training, or you’re returning to EMDR after a break, I encourage you to reflect on how integration is showing up for you. What are you beginning to trust in yourself that you didn’t before? What are you noticing in your clients that might be easy to overlook? What stories are you holding that need space to land?
A Practice of Return
This work invites us to return — to ourselves, to our instincts, to the therapeutic relationship. Renewal, growth, and integration aren’t things we complete; they are rhythms we return to again and again.
In our May training, we had the privilege of guiding 11 more therapists into the EMDR model. Watching this group absorb the framework, ask important questions, and begin to see the potential for transformation in their clients was a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we stay open to our own learning. I’m looking forward to being back in the room with more clinicians this August — continuing this shared work of learning, unlearning, and integrating.
Wherever you are in your EMDR journey, know that you’re not alone in it. Growth isn’t always visible — but it is always happening when we allow space for it.
