EMDR Therapy Quarterly

Reflections on Sonya Farrell’s training: ‘EMDR & Jim Knipe’s Toolbox Techniques for Working with Complexity and Dissociation’ on 11 April 2026 

Context and rationale for the training 

When I signed into the EMDR Toolbox training on 11 April 2026, I noticed a familiar mix of feelings: curiosity, and a quiet hope that something would ‘click’ in my work with more complex clients. 

I already trust the Standard Protocol deeply – it is the backbone of my practice. At the same time, I often find myself sitting with clients whose histories are layered with developmental trauma, dissociation, shame, and protective parts, and I can feel how much support they sometimes need to help them in processing difficult traumatic events. 

My rationale for attending was very personal. I wanted to feel less alone in those moments when a client’s avoidance, dissociation, or shame steps into the room before the target does. I wasn’t looking for a different way of doing EMDR; I was looking for ways to better accompany clients whose internal worlds are more complex, so that the Standard Protocol can remain central and still feel safe and accessible for them. 

I also felt drawn to the idea of spending a day immersed in Jim Knipe’s lifetime of work, especially knowing that he has now retired. There was something meaningful about learning his tools through someone who has been so close to him professionally. 

Sonya’s clear explanations of the structures, using thoughtful language, and grounded, clear examples, helped me truly embed the learning. It all felt more alive, richer, and clearer as the day unfolded. 

Overview of the EMDR Toolbox model 

I had read EMDR Toolbox book and flashcards before the training, but it was only during the day with Sonya that the model started to feel truly alive for me. 

What stood out immediately was how firmly the Toolbox sits inside the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) framework. Nothing about it felt like a departure from EMDR; instead, it felt like a deepening of how we can understand and support clients whose systems are doing a lot to protect them. 

The message I heard was not ‘you need a different protocol’, but ‘here are some ways to help your clients reach the protocol when their internal world is complicated by defences, dissociation or shame’. 

The Toolbox, as I experienced it that day, is a collection of conceptual lenses and practical tools that help me notice: 

• when a defence is stepping in to protect 

• when a part is holding a particular experience 

• when shame is blocking access to adaptive information 

• when dissociation is pulling the client away from the present. 

And then, crucially, it offers ways to gently work with those phenomena so that the Standard Protocol can proceed more smoothly. 

Key concepts and clinical ‘tools’ presented 

The day was rich with tools, and I noticed that each one landed in me slightly differently: some as immediate ‘I can use this on Monday’ ideas, others as seeds that will probably grow over time. 

Understanding avoidance and dissociation 

Early in the day, Sonya invited us to look at avoidance and dissociation through a compassionate lens. She described these responses as creative, protective strategies rather than obstacles. It reminded me that when a client ‘won’t go there’, something in them is trying very hard to keep them safe. That reframe alone felt grounding. 

Level of urge to avoid (LOUA) 

LOUA was one of those deceptively simple tools that immediately made sense to me. Asking, ‘On a scale from 0 to 10, how strong is the urge not to think about this?’ felt like such a respectful way of acknowledging the defence. I could feel how processing the ambivalence and block is the stepping stone towards processing more painful material. 

Loving Eyes and Spiritual Loving Eyes for bereavement 

As Sonya described inviting a compassionate perspective, whether from another part or from a spiritual presence (the person we have lost), I could see how clients could begin to see their own pain differently. 

Using a clear step-by-step approach to the Loving Eyes protocol, clients have an opportunity to process traumatic events that feel ‘stuck’ at that point in time. The Spiritual Loving Eyes, used for blocked grief, adds another layer to processing bereavement and grief, allowing clients to process the experience of having lost someone important together with the presence of the person they have lost. 

Back of the Head Scale (BotHS) 

BothHS appealed to the part of me that likes structure. The idea of asking clients where their attention ‘sits’ gave me a concrete way to notice dissociation. Together with CIPOS, BothHS can clearly help me during the preparation phase to gauge how present a client feels before we move into more processing work. 

CIPOS 

CIPOS reminded me of the power of small, steady anchors. As we explored how brief, repeated, present orientation can help clients stay connected while touching on difficult material. It was a reminder that I don’t have to choose between safety and processing; I can weave them together. 

Idealisation, LOPA and attachment 

The discussion around idealisation and the Level of Positive Affect protocol (LOPA) helped me to see how some of my clients will need to process these blocks before moving into phases 3 and 4. Idealisation of the perpetrator, compared with the traumatic responses I see in clients, is often a block to thinking about what actually happened. Understanding idealisation as a protective strategy – and having a way to process it – felt like being given a step-by-step movement towards fully processing difficult targets. 

The Three Lists and shame 

The Three Lists, developed by Jim Knipe and Sonya, offered a structured way to explore attachment experiences. As Sonya described them, I found myself thinking of specific clients and how helpful it would be to map ‘when they were there’, what they learned to survive, and to identify targets within their learned coping mechanisms. 

Shame threaded through many of these discussions, and I left with a clearer sense of how shame can act as a defence, and how tools like Loving Eyes can help loosen its grip. 

Teaching style and training delivery 

A big part of my positive experience of the day was Sonya herself. Knowing her background as an accredited UKCP Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and EMDR Europe Consultant, with many years of supervision from Jim Knipe, already gave me confidence. But it was how she taught that really stayed with me. 

I experienced her as calm, clear and generous. She seemed to carry a huge amount of knowledge lightly, and I never felt overwhelmed. Her language was straightforward, and she repeatedly linked ideas back to things I already knew – attachment-informed EMDR, polyvagal theory, person centred principles – which helped me to feel oriented rather than lost. 

The structure of the day felt very containing. Having the slides and handouts in advance meant I could relax into listening instead of frantically writing. The slow pace gave me time to digest, and the frequent pauses for questions made the training feel collaborative rather than didactic. 

The case vignette of a complex client was particularly powerful for me. As Sonya walked us through how she used different tools at different points in the work, I could almost see my own clients in front of me. The scripts she shared, the visual diagrams she drew, and the live role plays all contributed to a sense that these tools are not abstract, they belong in real rooms with real people. 

Relevance for specific clinical populations 

As I reflected after the training, certain client groups came to mind very clearly. 

I thought of clients with complex PTSD and developmental trauma, whose histories are full of repeated experiences rather than single events. For them, tools like the Three Lists and attachment-informed work feel especially relevant. 

I thought of clients with dissociative symptoms or more distinct parts-based presentations, including those who might meet criteria for dissociative disorders. For these clients, BotHS, Loving Eyes, parts mapping and gentle internal dialogues seem like ways of honouring their internal organisation while still holding the AIP model. 

I thought of clients whose lives are shaped by shame – those who drop their gaze, apologise for existing, or feel ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’. The idea of shame as a defence, and the possibility of bringing compassionate attention to it, felt particularly important here. 

I also thought of clients with attachment-related difficulties, addictions or neurodiversity. The training helped me see how the same tools can be adapted to different contexts, always with the aim of supporting the client to engage with EMDR in a way that feels safe and manageable. 

Strengths of the training 

When I look back on the day, several strengths stand out emotionally as well as intellectually. 

• I felt held by the structure and pacing; there was no rush. 

• I felt respected as a clinician; the training assumed I already had a solid foundation and was now refining it. 

• I felt inspired by the integration of theory and practice; nothing was presented in isolation. 

• I felt encouraged by the way Sonya normalised dilemmas and difficulties; it was reassuring to hear how she navigates them. 

• I felt energised by seeing the EMDR Toolbox book and flashcards come to life; they now feel like living resources rather than static materials. 

There was also something quietly moving about knowing this training carries forward Jim Knipe’s lifetime of work. It felt like being part of a lineage of clinicians who care deeply about how to sit with complexity. 

Overall reflections and recommendations 

By the end of the day, I felt full of ideas, images, phrases, and possibilities. I felt that my understanding of EMDR had been enriched, especially in relation to clients whose internal worlds are more complex. 

For me, this training was not about fixing something that was broken; it was about widening the path so that more of my clients can walk it. The Standard Protocol remains at the centre of my work. What I gained from the EMDR Toolbox training with Sonya Farrell are additional ways to support clients, especially those with complex PTSD, developmental trauma, dissociation, shame, and attachment-related difficulties, so that they can approach and engage with that protocol in a way that honours their protective strategies and their capacity to heal. 

I would warmly recommend this training to EMDR therapists who find themselves curious about how to sit more confidently with complexity, who want to feel more resourced when defences or parts appear, and who value a reflective, compassionate approach to learning. 

For me, it was a day that brought theory, practice and my own clinical experience into a more coherent and hopeful conversation.