Dual attention allows clients to engage traumatic material while maintaining awareness of the present. Learn what clinicians can observe before and during EMDR reprocessing, including signs that dual attention is becoming unstable and when additional preparation may be indicated.

Before EMDR reprocessing begins, clients need enough information to make an informed decision about participating. Review the treatment expectations, possible reactions, uncertainties, and choices clinicians should discuss during informed consent.

Stages of change can help clinicians organize EMDR treatment planning for substance use and problematic behaviors. Learn how readiness for change can inform intervention and protocol selection from Pre-Contemplation through Maintenance.

A return to substance use can provide clinically meaningful information about triggers, cravings, emotional states, recovery vulnerabilities, and the client's current treatment needs. This article explores how clinicians can assess the relapse event as an EMDR target, address shame and immediate safety, and revise treatment planning after use.

Current substance use does not answer the question of whether a client is ready for EMDR reprocessing. This article explores how withdrawal, stability, coping capacity, relapse risk, recovery supports, and other clinical factors can inform individualized readiness assessment.

Clients may fully understand the consequences of substance use while still holding emotionally meaningful memories of what it once provided. This article explores how idealized memories can influence EMDR assessment, target selection, and treatment planning for substance use disorders.

Some clients fear recovery as much as they fear continuing to use substances. This article explores common concerns such as boredom, isolation, relapse, and loss of identity, and discusses how these fears can inform EMDR assessment and treatment planning.

Many clients recognize the costs of substance use while also seeing benefits they are not ready to give up. This article explores how clinicians can assess ambivalence, support readiness for change, and incorporate EMDR into treatment planning without pressuring clients toward a particular outcome.

Cravings are not all driven by the same experiences. This article explores how external triggers, internal emotional states, relapse memories, and other maintaining factors can influence EMDR treatment planning for substance use disorders.

Choosing an EMDR protocol for substance use treatment begins with identifying what is driving the client's substance use or problematic behavior. This article reviews when the Standard EMDR Protocol and addiction-focused approaches such as DeTUR, CravEx, the Feeling State Addiction Protocol (FSAP), Flashforward, the Idealization Protocol, and the Two-Hand Interweave may be appropriate based on the client's presenting concerns and treatment targets.

EMDR target selection and target sequencing are closely related, but they answer different clinical questions. This article explains how they differ, reviews common approaches to each, and discusses how they work together during treatment planning.

Telehealth documentation often includes additional information beyond the standard clinical note. Learn which telehealth-specific elements clinicians may need to document before, during, and after a session.

Identifying EMDR targets is only the first step. Learn four evidence-informed approaches to sequencing complex trauma targets and organizing treatment planning based on the client's presentation.

Confused about PSYPACT? This guide explains how the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact works, who qualifies, its limitations, and what psychologists need to know before providing telehealth across state lines.

EMDR preparation doesn't follow the same timeline for every client. Learn why Phase 2 sometimes requires additional time, what longer preparation may indicate clinically, and how to evaluate readiness before trauma processing.

Your practice website is often the first place potential clients share personal information. Learn what therapists should evaluate to protect client privacy, reduce website compliance risks, and strengthen their digital practice before information ever enters the clinical record.

Do you need to identify every traumatic memory before beginning EMDR therapy? Learn how much target identification is clinically sufficient, why target selection is an ongoing process, and how to identify meaningful targets for treatment planning.

Telepsychology competence extends beyond clinical skills alone. This article reviews the core competencies for ethical and effective telehealth practice, including informed consent, documentation, privacy, emergency planning, interstate practice, and continuing education.

The EMDR Floatback Technique helps clinicians identify earlier experiences connected to current symptoms, emotions, body sensations, and negative beliefs. This article explains how floatback works, when to use it, and how it fits within broader EMDR target selection and treatment planning.

Does telehealth work as well as in-person therapy? This article reviews current research on telehealth efficacy, including outcomes for depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, working alliance, client satisfaction, and diverse populations.