If you’ve completed an EMDRIA-approved EMDR Basic Training program, you may be wondering, “When should I start working toward certification?”
The answer is simple:
Start now.
One of the biggest misconceptions about EMDRIA Certification is that clinicians should wait until they have “more experience” before beginning the process. While there are requirements that must be met before you can submit your certification application, there is no reason to delay beginning your certification journey.
In fact, we’ve seen just the opposite.
Clinicians who begin the certification process soon after Basic Training are far more likely to complete it. Those who wait often become busy with other professional demands, or they hit a tough spot in their EMDR therapy practice and stop using it because they do not have the support from a consultant to help them through challenging cases. Months turn into years, and the momentum they gained with their EMDR Basic Training fades away.
Let’s not let that happen to you! The best time to begin your certification journey is while your enthusiasm is high and your learning is still fresh. You’ve invested too much to let your learning and the benefits to your clients get sidelined.
EMDRIA Certification is much more than another credential to add after your name.
It is a commitment to becoming a more confident, more skilled, and more effective EMDR therapist.
EMDR Basic Training gives you the foundation to practice EMDR therapy. Certification, granted by the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA), helps you build upon that foundation through continued learning, consultation, reflection, and clinical growth.
Every consultation session, every challenging case discussion, and every advanced learning opportunity helps deepen your understanding of the EMDR therapy model and strengthens your confidence as a clinician.
Certification isn’t simply about checking boxes.
It’s about investing in yourself and the clients who trust you with their healing.
Although EMDRIA requires clinicians to meet specific eligibility requirements before applying for certification—including professional experience, consultation hours, clinical experience, and continuing education—you do not have to wait until you’ve met every requirement before getting started.
Beginning early in your EMDR therapy practice allows you to:
Perhaps most importantly, beginning earlier rather than later dramatically increases the likelihood that you’ll actually complete the certification process and continue using EMDR therapy effectively with your clients.
Consultation is more than a certification requirement. It is the most valuable part of the entire certification journey.
Consultation gives you the opportunity to discuss real cases, ask difficult questions, refine your case conceptualization, and develop greater confidence in your clinical decision-making. Whether you choose to do some of your hours in group consultation (up to 10 are allowed) or do all 20 hours in individual consultation, you will fuel your practice with wisdom from experienced clinicians who can guide you in your clinical decision process.
Rather than trying to figure everything out on your own, you’ll have experienced, EMDRIA approved consultants walking alongside you.
This is where learning becomes transformation.
At EMDR Professional Training, our EMDRIA Approved Consultants understand exactly where you are because they’ve been there themselves.
They remember what it was like to complete EMDR Basic Training, begin working with clients, encounter difficult cases, and grow into confident EMDR clinicians.
Our consultants don’t simply review requirements.
They provide practical guidance that helps you integrate EMDR therapy into your unique clinical style while supporting you every step of the certification process.
Whether you’re discussing your first EMDR therapy cases or navigating more complex presentations, you’ll receive thoughtful consultation from clinicians who understand both the science and the art of EMDR therapy.
Every hour you invest in certification is an investment in your future.
EMDRIA Certification demonstrates your commitment to excellence and lifelong learning. It communicates to clients, referral sources, employers, and colleagues that you’ve chosen to pursue advanced competency beyond Basic Training.
EMDRIA certified clinicians find that certification enhances their professional confidence, strengthens referral relationships, and encourages them toward further advanced educational opportunities within the EMDR community.
More importantly, it equips you to provide even better care for the people you serve.
The 12 hours of EMDRIA CE credit required for certification can be fulfilled through EMDRIA-approved advanced courses, and those courses do more than satisfy a requirement.
Advanced EMDR therapy training in specific populations or protocols builds clinical skills that make your consultation conversations richer and more focused. You can also choose to take On-demand course options, so you can earn CE hours around your own schedule, without waiting for a live cohort to open. At EMDR Professional Training, your CEs earned in advanced trainings are double duty, offering both EMDRIA credits for your certification as well as professional licensing CEs.
EMDRIA Certification renews every two years and requires continued CE hours and ongoing EMDR practice. Most certified clinicians find that the credential opens real doors: stronger referral networks, greater credibility with clients and employers, and access to more advanced training pathways.
From there, the journey continues. Certified clinicians can pursue training as an EMDRIA-approved Consultant, Facilitator, or Trainer, roles that give back to the broader EMDR community.
If you’ve completed an EMDRIA-approved EMDR Basic Training program, now is the perfect time to begin planning your certification journey. Starting now helps you maintain momentum, develop stronger clinical skills, and stay engaged in your professional growth.
Our EMDRIA Approved Consultants are ready to support you through every stage of the process with consultation that is practical, encouraging, and grounded in real clinical experience.
Your certification journey begins with one decision—to keep learning.
Explore our EMDRIA Certification Consultation Packages and find the level of support that’s right for you.
View our Certification Packages: https://emdr-professional-training.thinkific.com/courses/certification
As soon as you’ve completed an EMDRIA-approved EMDR Basic Training program. While there are eligibility requirements that must be met before submitting your application, beginning the certification process early helps you maintain momentum, receive valuable consultation, and stay engaged in your professional growth.
No. Many clinicians begin working with an EMDRIA Approved Consultant soon after completing Basic Training. Early consultation provides guidance, support, and confidence as you begin integrating EMDR therapy into your practice.
Consultation is where clinicians deepen their understanding of EMDR therapy through discussion of real clinical cases, case conceptualization, and guidance from experienced EMDRIA Approved Consultants. Many clinicians consider it the most valuable part of the certification journey.
Certification demonstrates advanced competency in EMDR therapy, strengthens professional credibility, increases confidence, enhances referral opportunities, and supports continued growth throughout your career.
Our EMDRIA Approved Consultants have successfully navigated the same journey themselves. We’ve selected a team of consultants who really want to support you! They provide practical consultation that helps clinicians build confidence, strengthen clinical skills, and move steadily toward certification while feeling connected to a community of experienced EMDR professionals.
Basic Training qualifies you to practice EMDR therapy, while EMDRIA Certification is a separate, voluntary credential that requires documented clinical experience, consultation hours, CE credit, and peer review.
EMDRIA Certification requires active licensure, two years of professional experience, 50 EMDR sessions with 25 clients, 20 consultation hours, 12 CE hours, and letters of recommendation from colleagues and a consultant.
Most clinicians complete the process within 18 to 24 months of finishing Basic Training.
You need a minimum of 20 hours with an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, with at least 10 of those hours completed as individual consultation.
