Working in Tandem with EMDR
Sometimes your client is ready for different or deeper trauma work— but that doesn’t mean they need a new therapist.
Adjunctive EMDR Therapy
Specialized EMDR therapy that works alongside—not in place of a client’s ongoing therapy.
There are times when you and your client have done meaningful work together, but deeper trauma processing requires specialized support. Adjunctive EMDR allows your client to work with me for a focused period of time while you remain their primary therapist.
The goal isn’t to disrupt the work you’ve already done. It’s to bring an additional layer of support to it.
You keep your client. We work together.
Your therapeutic relationship remains at the center. I know how much work you and your client have done to reach the point where deeper trauma processing feels possible. Adjunctive EMDR isn’t intended to replace the therapeutic relationship you’ve built—it works alongside it.
You remain your client’s primary therapist throughout the process. My role is focused and temporary: to provide specialized EMDR treatment around the goals we’ve identified together and then to support your client in returning to their work with ongoing therapy with you.
Adjunctive EMDR is focused, goal-orientated, and time-limited. It is not intended to replace ongoing psychotherapy or create a second primary therapeutic relationship.
Supporting Your Work, Not Replacing It.
1. We start with collaboration.
Before beginning and with a signed release, I’ll connect with you to understand what you’ve been working on, why adjunctive EMDR is being considered, and what you and your client hope the work will address.
2. I assess readiness.
I’ll meet with your client to assess their history, current stability, dissociation, resources, and readiness for EMDR processing. A referral for adjunctive EMDR doesn’t automatically mean processing begins immediately.
3. Identify a focused treatment goal.
Together, we’ll establish a clear scope for the adjunctive work. This might include a particular traumatic experience, stuck point, symptom pattern, or cluster of targets.
4. We begin EMDR treatment.
For adjunctive work, I typically recommend extended sessions of 90 minutes, two, or three-hour intensives. Frequency can be determined based on the client’s needs and treatment plan.
5. We stay connected.
With your client’s signed release, I’ll collaborate with you throughout the process so that the adjunctive work remains connected to their ongoing therapy.
6. The client returns fully to your care.
Once we’ve completed the agreed-upon work—or determine that we’ve reached an appropriate stopping point—we’ll intentionally close the adjunctive treatment and support integration back into the client’s ongoing work with you.
How does adjunctive EMDR work?
How We’ll Work Together?
I’m a big believer in collaborative care. Before becoming a therapist, I worked across systems as a certified ASL interpreter, and that experience shaped how I think about communication, continuity of care, and working as part of a larger treatment team.If you have questions please feel free to connect with me and I would be happy to explore this further.
If you want to learn more about my EMDR Consultation process, read more here.
Contact me.
Sarah Nunes, LCSW, PC: Relationship & Trauma Therapist
EMDR Certified Therapist & EMDRIA Approved Consultant-in-Training™
Email: sarahnunes@therapyemail.com
Phone: (585)-332-3289
