The Integrated EMDR and IFS Model:

Phase 4 Deep Dive

On-Demand Course

Phase 4 Deep Dive: Integrating EMDR and IFS

Transform your Phase 4 sessions with confidence, clarity, and compassion.

This advanced on-demand training is designed for clinicians who have completed The Integrated EMDR and IFS Model Level 1 and are ready to take their skills to the next level in working with complex trauma systems.

Phase 4 is rarely linear.

Each client’s system offers different entry points, an exile with a clear NC, a protector holding fear, a vague body sensation, or a legacy burden with no words. This advanced Phase 4 Deep Dive will teach you how to conceptualize, enter, and complete Phase 4 confidently in any scenario, adapting your approach to what your client’s system actually needs for powerful, Self-led healing.

What You’ll Learn

Differentiating Negative Cognitions (NCs)
Understand the differences between exile NCs and protector/blocking beliefs, and how to identify them efficiently in sessions.

Navigating Blocking Beliefs
Learn what blocking beliefs are, why they arise, and how to conceptualize protector fears as NCs to target them effectively with EMDR.

Integrating the IFS Healing Steps within EMDR Phase 4
Deepen your understanding and application of witnessing, do-over (corrective experience), retrieval, unburdening, and invitation steps as powerful interweaves to facilitate healing.

Legacy Burden Unburdening
Explore how to identify, assess, and unburden legacy burdens and transgenerational trauma within Phase 4, supporting clients in releasing what does not belong to them.

When to Take Protectors into Phase 4
Discern when protectors become the appropriate target for reprocessing and learn step-by-step protocols for working with protectors who will not step back or who hold blocking beliefs.

Variations in Phase 4 Processing
You will learn how to conceptualize, enter, and complete Phase 4 in a variety of scenarios, depending on your client’s needs and what is available in their system.

  • Single target parts

  • Shared NCs with multiple parts [When reprocessing one memory is not enough!]

  • Multiple NCs and multiple memories [Complex PTSD]

  • Memory as the entry point [Textbook PTSD]

  • Symptoms or sensations as the entry point [What if we can’t find a clear memory or NC?]

Clinical Decision-Making Frameworks
Gain practical decision guides for selecting your approach in complex systems, including flowcharts and sample phrasing.

IFS Interweaves for Stuck Points
Learn when and how to implement targeted interweaves to reconnect Self-to-part, unblend protectors, and move processing forward with safety and trust.

Interweaving the IFS Healing Steps in Phase 4
Step-by-step guidance to integrate healing steps as interweaves in sessions, ensuring parts feel fully seen, heard, understood, and ready for unburdening.

What or Who Next?
Understand how to determine next steps after a completed Phase 4, including:

  • When to move to Phase 5+ installation

  • When to shift focus to protectors

  • When to continue with additional exile targets

  • How to set up future templates effectively

Wrapping Up Sessions with Intention
Learn scripts structured steps to close sessions in a way that supports parts integration and reduces post-session activation.

Navigating Common Stuck Points
Clinical guidance for challenges such as:

  • Protectors re-emerging mid-reprocessing

  • Increased SUDs between sessions

  • Blowback, overwhelm, or symptom increase

  • Therapist parts becoming activated

  • Complex decision-making within multifaceted systems

Therapist Parts Reflection
Identify your own therapist parts, explore signs of blending, and implement strategies to remain Self-led and grounded during intense Phase 4 work.

Who Is This Course For?

This course is for trauma therapists, EMDR clinicians, and IFS practitioners who:

  • Have completed The Integrated EMDR and IFS Model Level 1 (prerequisite)

  • Want to deepen their skills in navigating complex parts systems within EMDR reprocessing

  • Seek practical tools, scripts, prompts, and frameworks to enhance client outcomes

  • Desire greater confidence integrating EMDR and IFS seamlessly in Phase 4

Course Details

  • Format: On-demand video modules + downloadable PDF resources + demo session recordings

  • CE Credits: 6 EMDRIA and NBCC CE

  • Duration: 6+ hours of advanced content

  • Access: Access to all course materials for one year

Ready to Deepen Your Phase 4 Mastery?

Join me in this Phase 4 Deep Dive to transform your reprocessing sessions into meaningful, Self-led healing experiences for your clients.