Format: Live-online Lecturer Led Classes (Virtual-Classroom) via Zoom

Duration: 4 Weeks Total every 2nd Week (Week 1-3)- 9:30am to 5pm & (Week 4)- 9:30am to 3:30pm

Online Live Attendance: 30 Hours

Self-Directed Learning: 30 Hours

Total CPD Credits: 60 Credits

Assessment: Written Assignment +/- Viva Voca Assessment

Award: Accredited Professional Diploma

Course Accreditation:

- Professional Development Consortium

- Provider of Excellence

- CPD Standards Office

- Irish Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (ICPA)

Course Description

The Professional Diploma in Integrative Trauma Therapy & EMDR Practice is designed for practitioners who wish to work more confidently and effectively with clients affected by trauma, using a flexible, evidence-informed approach. The course brings together key principles of integrative psychotherapy with the structured, phase-based model of Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), supporting you to develop a coherent, trauma-focused way of working.

You will explore the neuroscience of trauma, the impact of overwhelming experiences on the brain and nervous system, and how symptoms such as hyperarousal, avoidance, flashbacks, dissociation, and relational difficulties can be understood as adaptations rather than pathology. The programme examines single-incident, complex, and developmental trauma, with attention to attachment, shame, and the role of the body in trauma memory.

A central focus of the diploma is on EMDR as a therapeutic method. You will be introduced to the theory underpinning EMDR, the eight-phase protocol, assessment and case formulation, preparation and stabilisation, target sequencing, and the use of bilateral stimulation. Emphasis is placed on safety, resourcing, pacing, and working collaboratively with clients’ strengths and capacities.

Alongside EMDR, the course integrates elements from person-centred, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, and somatic approaches, helping you to tailor interventions to the needs, preferences, and readiness of each client. You will also consider ethical issues, risk, complex presentations, and working with diverse populations and contexts.

Teaching methods typically include lectures, demonstrations, experiential exercises, supervised practice, and reflective discussion. You will have opportunities to practise core skills in a supported environment and to link learning directly to your own clinical or support work.

This diploma is particularly suited to counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, mental health professionals, and experienced practitioners in related fields. By the end of the course, you will have a stronger theoretical and practical grounding in integrative trauma therapy and EMDR practice, greater confidence in planning and delivering trauma-focused interventions, and an enhanced capacity to work safely, compassionately, and sustainably with trauma in your professional context.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion, participants will be able to:

Explain core concepts and classifications of trauma
Describe and differentiate acute, chronic, complex, developmental, and intergenerational trauma, and articulate their psychological, relational, and somatic impacts.
Critically evaluate theoretical models underpinning integrative trauma work
Compare and contrast key frameworks (attachment, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, somatic, polyvagal theory, and related models) and justify their use within an integrative treatment approach.
Describe the neurobiology of trauma and its clinical implications
Explain the roles of the amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and autonomic nervous system in trauma responses, and apply this knowledge in psychoeducation and case formulation.
Conduct trauma-informed assessment and formulation
Carry out a comprehensive, sensitive trauma assessment (including risk, dissociation, protective factors, and contextual factors) and develop a phase-oriented, biopsychosocial case formulation.
Apply principles of safety, stabilisation, and resourcing
Establish and maintain a safe, collaborative therapeutic relationship; teach clients grounding, affect regulation, and resource-building strategies appropriate to their window of tolerance.
Explain the theoretical foundations and evidence base of EMDR
Articulate the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, the 8-phase EMDR protocol, current evidence, indications, limitations, and contraindications for EMDR in clinical practice.
Implement core components of the standard EMDR protocol under supervision
Prepare clients appropriately, identify and prioritise target memories, select suitable bilateral stimulation methods, and structure EMDR sessions safely with single-incident trauma presentations.
Adapt EMDR-informed interventions for complex trauma and dissociation
Recognise signs of complex trauma and dissociation, and modify EMDR work using a phase-oriented, parts-informed and attachment-focused approach to minimise destabilisation and re-traumatisation.
Integrate EMDR with other trauma therapy modalities
Combine EMDR with complementary approaches (e.g., CBT-based, narrative, somatic, and relational methods) within coherent treatment plans tailored to individual client needs and contexts.
Work effectively with diversity and special populations in trauma care
Demonstrate culturally responsive and inclusive practice when working with diverse groups (e.g., different cultural backgrounds, genders, sexualities, refugees, and other marginalised populations).
Apply ethical, legal, and professional standards in trauma and EMDR practice
Identify and respond appropriately to ethical dilemmas, legal responsibilities (including safeguarding and documentation), scope of competence, and professional codes relevant to trauma work and EMDR.
Manage risk and crisis presentations safely
Identify and respond to heightened risk (e.g., self-harm, suicidality, domestic violence), implement safety planning, and collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary and crisis services where required.
Demonstrate reflective, resilient, and supervised practice
Critically reflect on personal responses to trauma material, recognise signs of vicarious trauma and burnout, and use supervision, consultation, and self-care strategies to maintain safe, sustainable practice.
Synthesize learning in written and oral assessment
Produce a structured, critically informed written assignment and, where applicable, defend their clinical reasoning and integrative treatment approach in a viva voce assessment.

Course Layout

Week 1 – Foundations of Suicide Prevention

Lecture: History, epidemiology, global and local data
Workshop: Challenging myths and stigma
Readings: WHO Live Life Strategy, SAMHSA Suicide Prevention Toolkit
Assessment: Reflective journal on language and stigma (500 words)

Week 2 – The Psychology of Suicide

Lecture: Theoretical frameworks (Interpesonal Theory, IMV Model, Psychache)
Case study: Analyzing pathways from ideation to action
Workshop: Understanding lived experience narratives
Assessment: Short essay (1000 words) applying theory to case

Week 3 – Risk and Protective Factors

Lecture: Epidemiological risk profiling
Workshop: Creating biopsychosocial formulations
Assessment: Risk formulation exercise (graded practical)

Week 4 – Assessment and Crisis Recognition

Lecture: Tools and structured professional judgment
Practical Workshop: Conducting simulated suicide assessments
Guest Speaker: Clinical psychologist or crisis service professional
Assessment: Recorded role-play (pass/fail competency)

Week 5 – Intervention & Safety Planning

Lecture: Overview of intervention models
Workshop: Safety plan development in triads
Reading: Stanley & Brown (2012) Safety Planning Intervention
Assessment: Safety plan submission & rationale (750 words)

Week 6 – Working with Special Populations

Lecture: Culturally safe and inclusive approaches
Panel Discussion: Voices from diverse communities
Assessment: Group presentation – targeted prevention strategy

Week 7 – Ethics, Law, and Professional Practice

Lecture: Legal duties, documentation, and ethical dilemmas
Workshop: Scenario-based decision making
Assessment: Case-based legal/ethical analysis (1000 words)

Week 8 – Postvention and Recovery

Lecture: Bereavement care, trauma responses, organizational postvention
Workshop: Designing a postvention protocol
Assessment: Draft organizational postvention plan (graded)

Week 9 – Community & Systems Prevention

Lecture: Population-level approaches, national strategies
Workshop: Policy analysis and prevention campaign design
Assessment: Capstone project proposal

Week 10 – Integration, Reflection & Capstone

Lecture: Integration of learning and professional identity
Workshop: Supervision, resilience, and self-care strategies
Assessment

Professional Diploma in Integrative Trauma Therapy & EMDR Practice- (LIVE ONLINE)
60 CPD POINTS

Course Format, Description, Learning Outcomes & Course Outline

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