EMDR Certification Consultation
Hi, I’m Bonita and I’m thrilled you chose me to journey alongside you in pursuit of your EMDR Certification. As a Consultant-In-Training I understand the struggle of finding “just the right fit” for this phase of your EMDR learning. With that in mind I would like to tell you a little bit about me:
I am a licensed professional counselor in the state of Ohio. Prior to becoming a clinical mental health counselor I earned a graduate degree in marriage and family therapy, and I practiced in that capacity. I truly enjoy working in both realms, but once I got trained in EMDR Therapy I never looked back. My initial focus was on anxiety and depressive disorders, but as the wonderful Jamie Marich, from the Institute of Creative Mindfulness, eloquently stated, “When anxiety walks in your door, you better believe dissociation is parking the car!” This has been my experience.
I dove into learning as much as I could about dissociation and dissociative disorders. I took Robin Shapiro’s Easy Ego State Interventions training, I took Jim Knipes’ training, and eventually reached out to Farnsworth Lobenstein, who so generously spoke to me one-on-one about his training, which I signed up for immediately. For me, this training changed my practice and my understanding of Dissociative Identity Disorder and Ego States.
Which brings me to how I can help you as a CIT:
• Mastery of the Standard Protocol
• Conceptualizing your clinical cases
• The Art of the Interweave and how to get “unstuck”
• The Basics of Dissociation
• Overall support in the 8 phases of EMDR.
Hear from other consultees...
Bonita was incredibly encouraging and very knowledgeable about standard protocol, fostering the therapeutic relationship, and parts work through the structural dissociation lens. She’s an excellent consultant and I have no critiques. Her consultation fees were reasonable, the resources she provided were helpful, and the best part was the support, as I gained hours toward certification. She’s the best!
The single best parts of my consultations with Bonita was knowing she was there holding space for me, navigating cases and letting me know “it’s okay to not always feel confident”. I think the most helpful parts were the actual client case consultations. Her cost of consultations were low which was helpful for me at the time, and I would definitely recommend Bonita as a consultant to a colleague.
Ready to get started?
I specialize in normalizing “parts” for clients and enjoy explaining the effects of trauma on the brain. My passion is in helping clients understand what happened TO them, and how to neutralize the negative beliefs (cognitions), emotions and body sensations associated with those experiences.
Advanced trainings I have taken:
- Easy Ego States Interventions (R. Shapiro)
- The Flash Technique (P. Manfield)
- Advanced Flash Protocol (P. Manfield)
- Simplifying Complex PTSD: New Treatment Approaches (de Jongh, Matthijssen)
- Flashforward Technique (de Jongh, Matthijssen)
- Integrating the Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation into Clinical Practice (Coy, Madere)
- EMDR 2.0: An Enhanced Version of EMDR Therapy (de Jongh, Matthijssen)
- An Introduction to the Integration of Ego State Therapy, Structural Dissociation and EMDR Therapy (Lobenstein, Merucci)
- The Haunted Self (Van de Hart) *in progress
- EMDR Therapy with Complex Trauma and Dissociative Personality Structure (Knipe)
Below I am adding some of the helpful tools, books, and trainings I have taken in my journey to certification. Please let me know how I can support you further and otherwise, I look forward to working with you!
General EMDR texts I found helpful:
Every Memory Deserves Respect (EMDR) Deborah Korn and Michael Baldwin: An excellent overview of EMDR by a therapist and a client/patient. I recommend this book to all of my clients:
The Art and Science of EMDR: Helping Clinicians Bridge the Path from Protocol to Practice: Rotem Brayer: A wonderful book that speaks in clear language about the EMDR Protocol. You will not regret this purchase.
The Hero’s Journey: Integrating Jungian Psychology with EMDR Therapy: Dr. Andrew Dobo: One of my personal EMDR heroes who taught me to stick with the Standard Protocol. In his words, “It just works!”
Trauma & Dissociation Related Books: (This is not an exhaustive list, I literally have dozens of books on these topics!)
The Body Keeps the Score: Bessel van der Kolk: A must-have for every EMDR clinician to understand how the body stores trauma
The EMDR Toolbox: Jim Knipe for Complex Trauma and PTSD: Another must-have book for your bookshelf, but don’t leave it there because you will use it often!
Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation: Janina Fisher: I love all of her work, but this one stands out.
EMDR and Dissociation: The Progressive Approach: Dolores Mosquera and Annabel Gonzalez. : Excellent. I refer to it all the time.
Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation: Skills Training for Patients and Therapists: Suzette Boon, Kathy Steele, and Onno van der Hart: THE best book I’ve used with my highly dissociative clients to help them understand and come to accept their internal system.
The Many Tracks of EMDR Therapy: Sourcebook of Techniques, Interventions, Strategies, and Modifications to the Standard EMDR Therapy Protocol. Barbara J. Hensley: This is a new text (2023). I am blown away with how Ms. Hensley compiled some of the greatest and newest protocols in one text. A must-read.
The Living Legacy of Trauma Flip Chart: A Psychoeducational In-Session Tool for Clients and Therapists Spiral-bound. Janina Fisher: This flip chart is superbly laid out and easy for clients to begin to understand how and why dissociation is not a dirty word.
Dyadic Resourcing: Creating a Foundation for Processing Trauma (Excellence in EMDR Therapy). Philip Manfield: Dr. Manfield is a master at explaining the hows and whys of resourcing.
Trainings I highly recommend:
An Introduction to the Integration of Structural Dissociation, Ego State Therapy and EMDR Therapy: Farnsworth Lobenstine, Paula Merucci, and Reginald Harris. This is a training that must be taken live for the experiential portion. Who knew we all had “parts”?
EMDR 2.0: An Enhanced Version of EMDR Therapy – 6 CE Hours (Bundle Options): Ad De Jongh and Suzy Mathijssen. On-demand or live Ad and Suzy will keep you entertained while providing the most innovative form of working memory taxation.
Easy Ego State Interventions: (On Demand) with Robin Shapiro: Raw, witty, engaging. You will feel empowered to work with the different parts of your clients.
The Flash Technique with Phil Manfield: Learn from the originator of the Flash Protocol, and gain valuable resources in the evidence-based model of Flash.
EMDR Tools:
EMDRkit: I use and highly recommend this kit. It comes with light bar, tappers and headphones. The support is amazing, and my clients love that it’s wireless and controlled through an app. It ships extremely fast from overseas.
Bi-Tapp: Another wireless set of tappers. Also controlled through an app or via the device itself. I have a pair.
Virtual EMDR
Bilateral Base: This is what I use for my virtual clients. It is easy to use, has a light-bar with many options and audio tones. Free for the first 5 hours per month.
Bilateralstimulation.io: A free option exists for this very popular virtual EMDR tool.
Remote EMDR: Another popular virtual tool. Integrates nicely with Zoom.
Moovd by WeMind: A new EMDR working memory taxation platform that is changing the way we do virtual EMDR!
Other Resources:
Notice That Podcast: Everything you wanted to know about EMDR while you drive, workout or just chill on your patio.
Calm with Kyle: You will learn a lot about helping your clients calm their system.
DES-II Color Coded: Not for clients but will better help you understand the domains.
Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation Website:
Gain access to the MID (Standard), MID-60 and trainings by Drs. Coy or Madere.
Understanding and Identifying Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders by Dr. Mary-Anne Kate.: Dr. Kate generously created this video to help clinicians break down the MID-60 clinical assessment.
The EMDR Learning Community: All things EMDR. Learn with some of the leaders in historical EMDR therapy.
Thomas Zimmerman’s EMDR Podcast (with scripts): Approved Consultant and generous therapist Tom Zimmerman provides free videos, transcripts and resources, and a low cost version of Manfield’s Flash (4 Blinks). You may find this an invaluable resource.
Dorinna S. Ruh’s Advanced EMDR Education: Free, on-demand and live trainings.