Advanced Approaches to EMDR Target Sequencing
When developing an EMDR Master Treatment Plan, clinicians often ask how to move beyond the basics of EMDR Target Selection and into more advanced methods of EMDR Target Sequencing. During EMDR Phase 1 History Taking and Treatment Planning, we are tasked with organizing a client’s memories and symptoms into a treatment plan that is both effective and efficient. Without a structured approach, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the complexity of multiple traumas and negative cognitions.
In this post, we will explore advanced models of EMDR Target Sequencing, highlight key research findings, and walk through clinical applications to help you strengthen your treatment planning in Phase 1.
Moving Beyond the Basics of EMDR Target Selection
While simple timelines and float back techniques provide a solid starting point, some clients present with layered or complex trauma histories that require more nuanced approaches. In these cases, identifying feeder memories, working with developmental trauma, or organizing targets by symptom clusters becomes essential.
De Jongh, ten Broeke, and Meijer (2010) proposed the Two Method Approach to EMDR Target Selection, which integrates both symptom-focused and cognition-focused methods. This model helps clinicians decide whether to begin with the first or worst instance of a symptom, or instead to start with the trauma that most strongly reinforces a core negative belief. By tailoring the approach to the client’s needs, treatment becomes more individualized and outcome-oriented.
The Strategic Developmental Model of Target Sequencing
The Strategic Developmental Model (Kitchur, 2005) emphasizes the importance of developmental stages in EMDR Target Sequencing. Rather than only using chronological order, this model recommends beginning with middle childhood events, then addressing pre-verbal traumas, and finally working through adolescent and adult experiences.
For clients with complex trauma histories, this approach can help create a foundation of safety and stability before moving into more vulnerable early-life material. Mapping these experiences on a genogram during EMDR History Taking and Treatment Planning provides a clear view of relational and generational patterns that may influence the client’s presenting symptoms.
Take this APA Approved CE Course to Strengthen Your EMDR Master Treatment Plan with Target SequencingSymptom-Informed EMDR Treatment Planning
Andrew Leeds (2016) described a symptom-informed approach to EMDR Target Sequencing that places emphasis on the client’s most pressing symptoms. Each symptom is considered a cluster, and sequencing typically follows a pattern of targeting the earliest memory, then the worst memory, followed by any remaining charged events, and finally present triggers and future templates.
This model allows clinicians to directly address the problems that brought the client into treatment while still respecting the three-pronged approach. It can be especially effective for clients with ongoing distress related to specific symptoms such as panic attacks, intrusive memories, or avoidance behaviors.
Integrating Research into Sequencing Decisions
Research continues to support the importance of thoughtful target selection and sequencing. The Two Method Approach has been shown to help clinicians efficiently identify and process core trauma networks (de Jongh, ten Broeke, & Meijer, 2010). The Strategic Developmental Model highlights how targeting middle childhood and developmental traumas can support long-term stability (Kitchur, 2005).
Leeds (2016) further documented empirical support for symptom-informed target sequencing, including studies comparing EMDR to pharmacological and cognitive-behavioral approaches. By weaving together these advanced models, we can strengthen EMDR Master Treatment Plans and support more reliable outcomes for our clients.
Join the EMDR Target Sequencing CE training today and learn practical tools for building EMDR Master Treatment Plans that work.Clinical Application: A Case Example
Consider a client presenting with complex trauma symptoms including panic attacks, nightmares, and low self-worth. Using a basic timeline, you identify numerous adverse childhood experiences, but the client has difficulty prioritizing.
Applying the symptom-informed model, you begin with the symptom of panic attacks. You cluster the panic experiences, identify the earliest instance, and process that memory first. As processing progresses, you notice reductions in the intensity of nightmares and negative cognitions around safety.
Later, you integrate the Strategic Developmental Model by exploring developmental experiences in middle childhood that shaped the client’s sense of identity. These events prove to be feeder memories, and their resolution significantly reduces the severity of adult relational triggers.
Finally, you move into present-day triggers, such as workplace stress, and then develop future templates for handling conflicts with confidence and self-trust. This sequencing illustrates how advanced models can guide EMDR Phase 1 treatment planning toward efficient, comprehensive healing.
Practical Tips for Clinicians
Consider whether a client’s most urgent symptoms or their deepest negative beliefs should guide target selection.
Use genograms during EMDR History Taking to uncover intergenerational trauma themes.
Be flexible with sequencing: while models provide structure, client readiness should guide the process.
Reassess clusters after processing feeder memories, as many secondary targets may lose intensity without direct processing.
To learn more, Enroll now in EMDR Treatment Planning: Target Selection and Sequencing
References
de Jongh, A., ten Broeke, E., & Meijer, S. (2010). Two method approach: A case conceptualization model in the context of EMDR. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 4(1), 12–21.
Kitchur, M. (2005). The strategic developmental model for EMDR. In R. Shapiro (Ed.), EMDR solutions: Pathways to healing (pp. 8–56). Norton.
Leeds, A. (2016). A guide to the standard EMDR therapy protocols for clinicians, supervisors, and consultants (pp. 63–92). Springer Publishing.
Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: Basic principles, protocols and procedures (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
