Why train in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy?
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EMDR Therapy now has a strong evidence base as an effective treatment for many mental health conditions. It also has exciting cultural adaptability and transdiagnostic treatment outcomes.
When memories have been stored with ongoing cognitive, emotional and somatic disturbance, distress and disorder perpetuates. Many other therapies can support a person to learn to manage these symptoms but EMDR Therapy directly facilitates an innate brain-body system to reprocess these old memory fragments into a new integrated memory that no longer causes psychopathological problems.
If you are an experienced Mental Health Clinician in any context and you need something new in your Kete (toolbox), I can highly recommend EMDR Therapy Training. You will find that all your previous modalities and skills and cultural or context adaptations can be integrated well alongside or within EMDR Therapy.
EMDR Therapy is one of the most complex psychotherapies and a high level of experience in assessment, conceptualisation and therapeutic process skills is required before being eligible to undertake the training.
MaryAnn Stevens
NZ Clinical Psychologist , Director, Otago University EMDR programme, EMDR Institute Trainer, EMDRNZ Accredited Trainer.
Join us in 2026 !!
EMDR Therapy Training with Otago University- homegrown in and for Aotearoa NZ.
The University of Otago now offers Aotearoa New Zealand’s first University-based postgraduate training in EMDR Therapy.
This comprehensive training has been developed by MaryAnn Stevens and Dr Tom Flewett (both accredited trainers with EMDR Institute) to meet the needs of New Zealand’s mental health practitioners. It is aligned with the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is tailored to New Zealand’s unique culture and environment.
In 2026, MaryAnn Stevens, Dr Erica Chadwick and Dr Anna Clarkson (All highly experienced Clinical Psychologists and EMDR Practitioners) will lead the teaching team for the Post Graduate Certificate (Health Sciences) endorsed in EMDR Therapy. This is taught online in addition to Block Courses at the University of Otago Department of Psychological Medicine, Wellington Campus.
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