EMDR Certification Application

Mental health clinicians who are fully licensed to engage in private, independent practice and have completed an EMDRIA Approved EMDR Training, in its entirety, are eligible to become an EMDR Certified Therapist™ through EMDRIA.

To help better understand the requirements for EMDR Certification, we created the Guide to EMDR Certification Requirements below. The full list of requirements is listed below under, Certification Criteria. We also recommend reading the Certification FAQ before you begin the application. All application materials, including the Letters of Recommendation, must be submitted in English.

Certification Application

Ready to submit your application? All applications must be submitted through our online portal below. You will upload all requirements and pay the application fee online. The approval process is typically 3-5 weeks. We will reach out via email with any questions regarding your application as well as when your application has been processed.

Application Fees

EMDRIA Full Member | $150 US Dollars (non-refundable)

Non-EMDRIA Member | $350 US Dollars (non-refundable)

EMDR Certification Period

If your certification application is approved, your EMDR Certification credential will be granted for a two-year period. To keep this credential, you will need to renew it every two years. Learn more about EMDR Certification Renewal

EMDR Certification Criteria

1. EMDR International Association Approved EMDR Training

Provide a copy of your final certificate of completion of an EMDRIA Approved EMDR Training program.

2. License/Certification

Provide a copy of your current license to practice independently as a mental health professional in the state or province where you practice. The license must include the current expiration date.

3. Notarized Statement of Practice and EMDR Experience

• Do you have at least two years of experience in your field of license?
• Have you conducted at least 50 EMDR sessions with at least 25 clients?

Both statements may be included in one single notarized document. Applicants can simply state, "I have at least 2 years experience in my field of license and I have conducted at least 50 EMDR therapy sessions with at least 25 clients" or similar wording and then have it notarized.

4. 20 Hours of Consultation by an EMDR Consultant™ in EMDR

Provide documentation from the EMDR Consultant(s)™ who provided EMDR consultation to you. It must specify the exact number of consultation hours you received and designate how many of those hours were individual consultation and how many were group consultation. Find an EMDR Consultant

• Be sure to review the Consultation Packetand become familiar with the consultation process.
• The 20 hours of consultation must have been completed within the last 5 years. If you continue to receive consultation hours for over a 5 year period, then as long as the EMDR Consultant™ is able to explain in the letter of documentation when the consultation started and ended (e.g. 2013-2022) and if/when long breaks in consultation occurred that will be acceptable. We understand that clinicians may stop consultation and then restart again but we cannot accept consultation hours that concluded 5 or more years ago.
• If you have received consultation from more than one EMDR Consultant™, you will need documentation from each one.
• At least 10 of the hours must be obtained through individual, EMDR-focused consultation. The remaining 10 hours may be obtained through small group consultation. Consultation groups cannot exceed more than eight participants at a time.
• EMDR Consultants-in-Training can provide up to 15 hours of consultation. The remaining five hours must be provided by an EMDR Consultant™.
• Only consultation hours received after completion of an EMDRIA Approved EMDR Training program can be applied towards this requirement.

5. EMDR Consultant™ Letter(s) of Recommendation for EMDR Certification

Provide letter(s) from one or more EMDR Consultant(s)™ addressing your utilization of EMDR with clients and recommending you to be certified in EMDR.

• Letters may include documentation of consultation hours as required in #4 above. If that's the case, upload the same document for both requirements on the application.
• Letters from EMDR Consultants-in-Training do not meet this requirement. Letters must be from an EMDR Consultant™.

6. Letters of Recommendation Regarding Professional Practice

Provide two letters of recommendation regarding your professional utilization of EMDR, ethics in practice, and professional character.

• These letters may be from colleagues or peers.
• Letters from your EMDR Consultant™ or EMDR Consultant-in-Training do not count as peer letters.
• Two letters of recommendation from colleagues or peers are required.

7. 12 Hours of EMDRIA Credits

Provide certificates of completion for at least 12 hours of EMDRIA Credits (continuing education in EMDR). Find EMDRIA Credit workshops and programs.

• Only EMDRIA Credit Programs in EMDR obtained after the completion of EMDR Training may be used towards this requirement. Initial EMDR Trainings are not awarded EMDRIA Credits.
• Certificates of completion of EMDRIA Credits hours should include the EMDRIA program approval number and the number of credits earned.

8. EMDR International Association Policies Agreement

By submitting the EMDR Certification application, applicants attest that they agree to adhere to EMDRIA Policies.