Mindfulness in EMDR Consultation
When a client has difficulty staying present, preparation can feel uncertain. You may be wondering whether grounding is helping, how to adapt a practice or what higher levels of dissociation mean for the next step.
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I’m Dr. Corrine Buchanan, an EMDRIA Approved Consultant in Training™ (CIT). We can examine tailored mindfulness, dual attention and pacing as you work toward readiness for EMDR reprocessing.
Start With the Client’s Response
We can explore ways to support present-moment orientation and the capacity to notice internal experience while staying connected to the room and the therapeutic relationship. That may include brief, eyes-open or externally focused practices when appropriate.
Mindfulness is tailored to the client’s needs, preferences and response. We’ll consider when to adjust or pause a practice and when further assessment or specialist consultation is needed.
Questions You Can Bring
A practice may feel straightforward in a training and more complicated with the client in front of you. Consultation gives us room to look at what you’re observing and consider how the practice fits this client.
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We can consider:
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Whether a practice supports presence or increases disconnection
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How to adapt the focus and pace to the client’s responses
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What you’re learning about grounding, dual attention and readiness
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Questions about further dissociation assessment or specialist consultation can be part of that discussion.
Questions About Mindfulness in Consultation
​What role can the DES-II play?
The Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II) is a 28-item self-report screening tool for dissociative experiences. We can consider its findings alongside clinical assessment, the client’s history and their responses in treatment. It does not diagnose a dissociative disorder or determine EMDR readiness on its own.
​Is mindfulness suitable for every client?
Some clients find inward attention distressing or disorienting. We can consider adaptations and alternatives while staying within your training and our consultation scope. Complex dissociative presentations may require additional specialist training or consultation.
​What if preparation feels stuck?
We can examine what you’re learning about grounding, dual attention and the client’s response, including questions about further assessment, specialist consultation or changes to preparation.
​What background informs this work?
I’m a Certified Mindfulness Teacher through the Mindfulness Institute for Emerging Adults. I teach Mindful Living to undergraduate and graduate students and have facilitated mindfulness classes in private practice.
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