Month: November 2022
DeTUR for EMDR Therapy is now offered as an OnDemand course by EMDR Professional Training. You can learn DeTUR on your own time now and learn from the legacy of Dr. AJ Popky.
A Wealth of Experience
Learn from the legacy of one of the pioneers of EMDR therapy and understand the components of his trademarked method.
The DeTUR protocol (Desensitization of Triggers and Urge Reprocessing) is an AIP urge protocol for addictions and dysfunctional behaviors, developed by Arnold “A.J.” Popky from years of working with the U.S. Armed Forces.
A United States Marine Corps DIV. 1277 charter member, A.J. worked extensively with our wounded warriors. As a result of his extensive knowledge, he trained and consulted DoD therapists at military bases around the globe.
PTSD and addictions were Dr. Popky’s specialties. Because of his years of work with wounded warriors, he has seen the positive outcomes for clients.
What is DeTUR protocol?

As a protocol of EMDR therapy, the DeTUR method targets the triggers that bring up the uncomfortable feelings leading to urges. The purpose of the protocol is to uncover the core traumas and reprocess them through to completion. DeTUR phases include client empowerment through resource accessing, installation of positive treatment goals, identification and desensitization of triggers, and techniques of relapse prevention. In achieving reprocessing, triggers no longer stimulate the need to use or act out, and the new response becomes the positive treatment goal of coping and functioning successfully in life.
This OnDemand course for DeTUR is focused on the techniques and methods of DeTUR along with Popky’s original videos and handouts, offering 8 EMDRIA credits. You’ll find a rich landscape of clinical experience and research from Popky’s advice and demonstrations. Gain strategies from this advanced course to enhance your practice of EMDR therapy.
What was once thought of as a psychotherapy primarily useful for PTSD, throughout the last 30 years of clinical practice and research, EMDR therapy has been found to do much more for a wide range of diagnoses. While the beginning of EMDR found its main use focused on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder this robust psychotherapy became used more widely with time and research.
Not Just for PTSD
Although a therapy used now for a variety of reasons compared to its original focus, some skepticism still exists because the results may seem too good to be true. But if you recognize that the body has many mechanisms that allow it to heal itself, it’s not too far-fetched. Curt Rouanzoin, co-president of EMDR Professional Training explains the work of EMDR therapy this way:
“We have to recognize that the body is capable of healing itself. For example, when you suffer a cut on your arm, you may place a bandage on that cut to make sure there’s no infection and that conditions are right for healing, but it’s your own body that actually repairs itself and heals until, eventually, you can’t even see where the cut was.”
He goes on, “It is the same with the brain. When the conditions are right, the brain can, in fact, heal itself from past traumas. And that’s where EMDR therapy comes in. It helps create the right conditions, so that the brain can do its work.”
Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy
Thus, EMDR therapy has proven its effectiveness, viewing the client’s situation differently than other traditional therapies have. Within the trauma-informed paradigm, for example, the use of the ACE study, clinical work and research has revealed much regarding symptomatology and implications for the uses of EMDR therapy.
Find out More!
Find out more about the effective uses of EMDR therapy in our EMDR Chat Podcast with Curt and Michelle, Episode #6 where Curt Rouanzoin and Michelle Gottlieb explain how EMDR therapy has expanded in its use and noted for its efficacy.