What you'll learn
Notice somatic cues during EMDR reprocessing without jumping too quickly to interpretation.
Explore what those cues may suggest about nervous system activation, protective responses, and what may be emerging in the body.
Think through clinical choices together using Maya’s fictional case and Somatic Compass, including when you might continue BLS, pause or pace, or consider an interweave.
Experience the somatic-informed reasoning framework we’ll explore in greater depth during the November 6 Somatic-Informed EMDR training.
Meet the speaker
Kathryn Dietzway LCSW-BACS
Training Leader | The Therapy Garden
Kathryn Dietzway, MSW, LCSW-BACS, is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and EMDR Certified Therapist specializing in complex trauma and somatic approaches to EMDR. She is Level 1 trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® and has advanced training in body-based and trauma-focused approaches. Kathryn is also the developer of Somatic Compass, a clinician-facing clinical reasoning tool designed to help EMDR therapists thoughtfully integrate somatic and nervous system cues within the AIP framework. Her teaching emphasizes practical, nuanced clinical reasoning that helps therapists become more confident in noticing what is unfolding in the body and deciding what, if anything, the processing needs from them.
The Body Is Part of the Processing
In this free, interactive 60-minute webinar, we’ll work through Maya’s fictional EMDR case together, applying a somatic-informed EMDR framework in real time. Using Somatic Compass as a clinical reasoning tool, we’ll slow the case down and explore what happens when we pay closer attention to the body during reprocessing. As Maya’s case unfolds, you’ll be invited to notice what you see, share what you’re considering, and theorize alongside me. Together, we’ll explore her somatic cues, consider possible nervous system and protective responses, and bring those observations back to the larger AIP picture. We’ll ask: Is processing moving? Is Maya maintaining enough present connection? Does the processing actually need anything from us? From there, we’ll think through the clinical choices available to us. Do we continue BLS and allow processing to unfold? Do we pause or adjust the pace? Is an interweave indicated? And if so, what are we trying to support? The goal is not to correctly “identify” Maya’s nervous system state or find one right answer. It’s to practice a more curious and nuanced way of using somatic information as **clinical data without allowing it to replace AIP or therapist judgment. You’ll leave with a clearer sense of how to move from **noticing a body-based cue → developing a tentative hypothesis → assessing it within AIP → making an intentional clinical choice. Want to go deeper? This webinar is a preview of the clinical reasoning we’ll explore more fully in Somatic-Informed EMDR: Using Sensorimotor Principles to Track Nervous System Cues and Support AIP on Friday, November 6. In the 3-hour training, we’ll move beyond a single case to explore the underlying framework in greater depth, including how protective responses may show up during reprocessing, how physiology can inform our understanding of what is happening within the AIP system, and how to use somatic-informed interweaves when processing needs support. Free webinar: October 2 at 12:00 PM CT Full Somatic-Informed EMDR Training: November 6, 1:00–4:15 PM CT CE Provider: Three Rivers Training Center
Ready to Think Somatically? Save your free spot and join me on October 2 as we think through Maya’s case together.
You don’t need more nervous system terminology to memorize. You need practice knowing what to do with the somatic information you’re already noticing during EMDR. In this free 60-minute webinar, we’ll use one fictional case to slow that process down and think it through together, without reducing complex clinical moments to a nervous system label or a one-size-fits-all intervention.
There’s no preparation required and no expectation that you already have advanced somatic training. Come as you are, bring your clinical curiosity, and join the conversation.