Virtual EMDR & Online Sandtray Therapy Integrated

3.5 EMDRIA Credits. Surpassing the Limitation of Words through Deeper Right Brain Engagement

IMPORTANT: EMDRIA's Guidelines for Virtual EMDR Therapy is included in course curriculum. (Click on this link to access it in a new tab.). Adherence to these Virtual EMDR Therapy guidelnes are essential.

Integrate Sandtray Therapy throughout all 8 phases of EMDR Therapy

with FIDELITY as your clients move towards ADAPTIVE RESOLUTION!!


This advanced training is for EMDR trained clinicians is approved for 3.5 EMDRIA Credits

with Jackie Flynn, Ed.S, LMHC-S, RPT

Host of Play Therapy Community Podcast, EMDRIA Approved Consultant & Registered Play Therapist, Host of EMDR with Kids & Innovative Child Therapy Symposium and Founder of EMDR & Play Therapy Integration Support, LLC

Deepen your trauma work through the combination of Virtual EMDR & Sandtray therapy with all ages. This robust therapeutic combination is an ideal approach to working with clients online as it strengthens the profound healing power of EMDR by taking your whole-brain EMDR work to a deeper level through the psychological distance of the metaphor, safety, insights and containment of Sandtray Therapy. This integrated approach enhances the bilateral connection between the hemispheres of the brain, which is at the heart of the EMDR process, as well as dual awareness throughout the phases. In this course, you will learn how to integrate Online Sandtray Therapy throughout all 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy.

Sandtray Therapy offers a deeper access to traumatically stored material through the power of the metaphor as it increases right brain engagement.

This integrated approach supports the bilateral connection between the hemispheres of the brain, which is at the heart of the EMDR process, as well as dual awareness throughout the phases.

Online Sandtray and Virtual EMDR Therapy make an ideal combination (much like macaroni & cheese!!) throughout all 8 phases: History Taking, Preparation, Assessment, Desensitization, Installation, Body Scan, Closure, and Re-evaluation. Each one of these therapies alone has great potential to heal trauma, but when combined the healing power is limitless.

Apply what you learn in this training with the remote Sandtray options of your choice. Fortunately, there are GREAT OPTIONS when it comes to delivering Sandtray Therapy remotely. Here are a few discussed in this training: Virtual Sandtray App from Dr. Jessica Stone, Dual Camera Set-Up of Tangible Sandtray, and Dr. Karen Fried's free Online Sandtray site of how to engage in Sandtray remotely with clients.

It's important to know that the ethical practice of Sandtray Therapy, remotely or in-person, requires periodic quality training.

Following are a some of the many quality Sandtray Therapy training and resource options available:

(Jackie Flynn is not affiliated with the following recommendations. These resources are listed for your convenience as quality options for further training to strengthen your capacity to ethically engage in quality Sandtray Therapy with your clients.)

For this course, I chose to use the Online Sand Tray by Dr. Karen Fried for instruction and demonstration purposes that is available FREE online at https://onlinesandtray.com/. We feel so grateful to Dr. Fried, from Oaklander Training, for making this amazing resources available to people around the world free of change. THANK YOU!!


Learning Objectives

  • Review the 8 phases of the Basic Protocol of EMDR therapy: History Taking, Preparation, Assessment, Desensitization, Installation, Body Scan, Closure, and Reevaluation through the lens of Online Sandtray Therapy integration.
  • Summarize basic tenets theory, skills, tools, and directives of Sandtray therapy and how to apply learned knowledge in the online format.
  • Explore important considerations when delivering therapy remotely.
  • Review relevant Therapeutic Powers of Play in regards to the integration of Virtual EMDR and Online Sandtray Therapy."
  • Observe demonstrations of a client session using all 8 phases of EMDR Therapy delivered virtually integrated with Online Sandtray Therapy. (PHASE 1-8: HISTORY TAKING, PREPARATION, ASSESSMENT, DESENSITIZATION, INSTALLMENT, BODY SCAN, CLOSURE, & RE-EVALUATION)
  • Learn how to support the client’s capacity to self-regulate through regulation techniques conducive to the online setting. (PHASE 2: PREPARATION)
  • Gain a basic understanding of the Polyvagal theory in regards to client’s window of tolerance, somatic awareness, and abreactions and how to use the Sandtray to help clients regain a sense of connection and safety. (PHASE 2: PREPARATION)
  • Learn how to support the EMDR AIP model, Adaptive Information Processing, and how to hold space for, recognize, and respond to adaptive shifts throughout the Online Sandtray Therapy process. (PHASE 2: PREPARATION)
  • Learn multiple Online Sandtray Therapy directives to support client’s emotional literacy and emotional somatic location awareness. (PHASE 2: PREPARATION)
  • Observe a demonstration of the use of virtual images as attachment figures to prepare the client for later phases of EMDR therapy and to build a bank of applicable cognitive interweaves. (PHASE 2: PREPARATION)
  • Observe how to use Online Sandtray Images for later phases of EMDR therapy throughout resource development. (PHASE 2: PREPARATION)
  • Learn how set-up an EMDR target in the Online Sandtray site through Sandtray Therapy directives, elicit positive and negative cognitions, and to measure disturbance levels while working virtually with clients. (PHASE 3: ASSESSMENT)
  • Explore various online options for Bi-lateral Stimulation in the Online Sandtray to reduce the client’s level of disturbance for identified targets. (PHASE 4: DESENSITIZATION)
  • Learn Online Sandtray Therapy directives to reassess and engage in positive cognition installment. (PHASE 5: INSTALLATION)
  • Observe how to verbally direct clients to track their body sensations and engage in a body scan following reprocessing in the Online Sandtray. (PHASE 6: BODY SCAN)
  • Learn how to direct clients to pendulate somatically stuck targets. (PHASE 7: CLOSURE)
  • Learn how to use the Online Sandtray and surrounding from the client’s physical location as an emotional regulation tool to implement of grounding techniques for stabilization and attainment of a sense of equilibrium during the closing phase of an EMDR session. (PHASE 7: CLOSURE)
  • Learn how to reassess previous EMDR targets, SUD (subjective unit of distress) and the VOC, (validity of cognitions) in the Online Sandtray. (PHASE 8: RE-EVALUATION)


Your Instructor


Jackie Flynn, EdS, LMHC-S, RPT-S, EMDRIA Approved
Jackie Flynn, EdS, LMHC-S, RPT-S, EMDRIA Approved

Jackie Flynn is a trauma therapist, EMDR trainer, and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor™ who has spent her career helping children, teens, and families heal in ways that feel safe, creative, and grounded. She is the author of the EMDR with Kids Flip Chart: A Play-Based Tool for Trauma Processing, Nervous System Regulation, and the Transformation of Adaptive Behaviors. She is also the creator of EMDR Playground, EMDR with Kids, Play Therapy Community, and the host of the annual Innovative Child Therapy Symposium.

Jackie is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Trainer. She teaches EMDR with deep respect for fidelity while honoring the nervous system and the lived realities of children. Her work brings together the structure of EMDR with the natural language of play, relationship, and sensory experience.

She draws from the AIP model, polyvagal-informed practice, the neurosequential model, and years of clinical work with complex trauma. Her approach is warm, experiential, and practical. She focuses on helping therapists feel more confident and steady in their work, with tools that are easy to understand and rooted in real clinical moments.

Jackie is a former school counselor with a lifelong commitment to helping young people regulate, make meaning, and move toward healing in ways that feel authentic and developmentally attuned.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long will I have access to this course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
Does Jackie Flynn provide case consultation?
Yes, Jackie is an EMDRIA approved consultant. Visit www.jackieflynnconsultation.com to learn about consultation opportunities.
Do I need any EMDR training before I take this advanced course?
This training is open to clinicians who are at least partially trained in EMDR. These are NOT an EMDR basic training. It is strongly recommended that attendees complete the full EMDR basic training and have experience in using EMDR with children and adolescents before using this material. Eligibility for EMDRIA Credits is restricted to those who have completed an EMDRIA-Approved Basic EMDR Training. Attendees who are partially trained in EMDR are not eligible to receive EMDRIA Credits.

Thanks for your interest in Virtual EMDR and Online Sandtray Therapy Integrated course!


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