Beyond the Protocol Is Not Beyond EMDR
EMDR Canada’s 2026 conference theme is “Beyond the Protocol: EMDR in Complex, Diverse, and Emerging Contexts.” It is a useful phrase. It is also an easy one to misread.
“Beyond the protocol” should not mean beyond EMDR. It should not mean fidelity stops mattering. And it should not mean every hard case demands a brand-new technique. For most clinicians, the phrase names something more ordinary: what happens after Basic Training, when the client in the room does not match the example in the manual.
That mismatch is not a failure of the model. It is the exact point where case conceptualization has to do more of the work. Complex trauma, dissociation, culture, grief, moral injury, chronic threat, and shame can all make EMDR feel less straightforward. But the real question is rarely “should I be rigid or creative?” The more useful question is: what is the model asking me to pay attention to right now? Is this a readiness problem? A targeting problem? Avoidance? Dissociation? A sequencing issue? Am I trying to push the protocol through a case that needs more preparation first?
Those are the questions that make consultation worth the hour. Good consultation does not pull clinicians away from EMDR – it helps them stay anchored when the case stops being clean. That may be the truest meaning of “beyond the protocol.” Not less fidelity. Better clinical judgment.
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Updated June 15, 2026.
