Working With Blocked Processing in EMDR
You’re a few sets in and the movement stops. The client goes quiet, or says it’s blank, or there’s so much coming up they can’t tell you what to follow. You run another set and you’re back to the same belief, the same image, the same loop. And underneath it, the question most EMDR therapists have felt at some point: is this working, or am I doing something wrong?
Megan Salar’s answer turns that moment around. A block is not EMDR failing. It’s the brain showing you something it has never been able to put into words. Reprocessing starts with stuck, fragmented material by definition, so blocks aren’t the exception in EMDR, they’re part of the work. Read properly, a block tells you what’s been reinforced, where the adaptive information is missing, and where to go next.
This course is a short, practical walk through exactly that. Megan covers why blocks happen, how they show up (the blank screen, the flooded client, the cyclical loop), what each kind is telling you, and how to move through them without forcing it.
She brings the work into the room with real case material. There’s the client who floods every session with “it’s blank” or “there’s too much going on,” and how Megan titrates adaptive information back to the target to get processing moving again. She demonstrates a seven-breath bilateral reset for the point where blood flow and brain function drop and the client simply can’t go further. And she works set by set through a client whose anger blocks every single session, including the jump to something positive that looks like progress but is really the brain trying to escape, and the internal rage room and serenity room that client builds for herself.
From there you’ll see how the three-prong approach helps you find the feeder memory and the smaller experiences that quietly reinforced a negative cognition, when reintroducing the negative cognition restarts processing, why bringing in the positive cognition too early can stall a whole session, and a set of creative strategies for blocks that land fast, from zooming in and out to changing the colours, working with the body, and going to the part.
If you’ve ever sat with a client who circles the same wound and wondered whether to push or to pause, this course gives you a way to read what the block is actually asking for, and the confidence to stay with it.
You’ll walk away with
- A way to read blocks as clinical information, not a sign that EMDR is failing
- Confidence that blocks are expected in trauma reprocessing, and a sense of what they reveal about a client’s history
- The four main reasons processing blocks, and how to tell which one you’re looking at
- How to assess for and build adaptive information so you can move a client out of a negative loop
- A seven-breath bilateral reset to bring the brain back online mid-session
- How to read blocks before and after an abreaction, and what each one calls for
- The three-prong (past, present, future) approach for cognitions that keep resurfacing
- How to use interweaves, including reintroducing the negative cognition, without making meaning for the client
- Why the wrong or too-early positive cognition stalls a session, and how to choose a realistic one
- Creative strategies (zoom, colour and intensity shifts, body, parts work) for fast-onset blocks
Watch the course trailer
CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Pay once for lifetime access.
Course Duration: 1.5 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Lifetime Access: Your access to the course does not expire, so you can revisit main concepts anytime you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
Individuals struggling with complex trauma and addiction - and the practitioners trying to help them - can find that traditional approaches sometimes fall short when addressing the deep, intertwined wounds that drive both conditions. Megan Salar has built her career around this challenging intersection, becoming an internationally recognised expert who combines evidence-based EMDR therapy with raw authenticity to create breakthrough healing experiences for both clients and the clinicians who serve them.
As an EMDR Trainer, Practitioner and published author of EMDR for Dummies (2023) and The EMDR Workbook for Trauma and PTSD (2023), and The EMDR Flip Chart (2023), Salar brings unique expertise that bridges clinical excellence with lived experience. Her previous ownership of an award-winning intensive outpatient treatment center (Best in Practice, 2019) demonstrates her ability to create effective treatment programs, while her current role as Owner/Founder of The Mental Survivalist reflects her commitment to revolutionising how we approach trauma and addiction recovery. Her training of thousands of clinicians across the United States and internationally positions her as a leading voice in trauma-informed care.
Salar's expertise spans EMDR therapy, trauma treatment, addiction counseling, PTSD treatment, anxiety disorders, clinical supervision, and what she calls "authentic healing." Her approach recognises that lasting recovery requires more than technique - it demands courage to face one's authentic self and work through the "messiness" of trauma and addiction simultaneously. She specialises in treatment-resistant cases, dual diagnosis presentations, and training clinicians who want to move beyond more surface-level interventions to create genuine transformation.
What sets her training apart is authentic vulnerability combined with clinical expertise. Salar doesn't just teach EMDR protocols - she shows practitioners how to create the authentic therapeutic relationships necessary for deep healing while managing their own emotional responses to intense trauma work. Her integration of personal recovery experience with advanced clinical training gives her unique insight into what actually creates lasting change.
For your practice, expect to gain specific EMDR techniques for addiction and trauma, tools for managing blocked processing and treatment resistance, and frameworks for building genuine therapeutic relationships with challenging clients. Her approach particularly benefits clinicians working with dual diagnosis cases, those wanting EMDR training outside traditional EMDRIA structures, or practitioners seeking to integrate authenticity and clinical excellence.
Quick Win: Salar's "authentic check-in" technique helps practitioners quickly assess their own emotional state before sessions - helping to prevent burnout while creating the genuine presence that facilitates deeper client healing and therapeutic breakthroughs.
Qualifications
- MSW, Clinical Social Work, Northwest Nazarene University 2011
- Advanced Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ACADC) 2018-2022
- Certified Clinical Trauma Professional - Level II (CCTP-II) 2017-2023
- Certified EMDR Practitioner 2018
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker 2011-2023
- Registered Clinical Supervisor 2018-2023
Authored Books
- EMDR for Dummies: The Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma (2024)
- The EMDR Workbook for Trauma and PTSD: Skills to Manage Triggers, Move Beyond Traumatic Memories, and Take Back Your Life (2023)
- The EMDR Workbook for Addiction (forthcoming 2026)
- The EMDR Flip Chart (2023)
Professional Experience & Leadership
- Owner & Founder, The Mental Survivalist, 2023–present
- Owner, Recoverhe Counseling & Consulting, 2016-2023
- Certified EMDR Trainer, Independent Practice, current
- Clinical Trainer & Consultant, International
Clinical Experience
- Owner and Clinical Director, Addiction and Trauma Recovery Services, 2015–2020
- Various clinical positions in addiction prevention, intervention, treatment, and continuing care services
- Clinical supervision and training of other clinicians
Clinical Specialties
- EMDR therapy for complex trauma and addiction
- Integration of trauma and addiction treatment
- Treatment-resistant trauma presentations
- Clinical supervision and consultation
- Authentic therapeutic relationship building
- PTSD treatment and anxiety disorders
- Evidence-based trauma treatment modalities
Ready to develop authentic therapeutic relationships that create breakthrough results with complex trauma and addiction cases? Discover how Megan Salar's evidence-based yet deeply personal methods can help you integrate clinical excellence with the genuine presence that facilitates lasting healing.
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 8
- Topics 0
- Duration 1.5 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English