EMDR WITH DANI AND ALLY

From Protector Parts To Progress: Rethinking "Stuck Points" In EMDR

• Dani & Ally • Episode 10

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0:00 | 13:26

What Are Common "Stuck Points" In EMDR And How Do Clinicians Help Clients Through Them?

Stuck EMDR isn’t a dead end—it’s a message from the system that something important needs attention. We unpack the most common stall points we see in the therapy room and share exactly how we restore movement with care: looping on the same image, an analytical part that overthinks every set, dissociation that blurs the present, and shame that pulls clients out of connection. Along the way, we offer the small, precise adjustments that change the course of a session without overwhelming the client.

We walk through how to spot meaningful shifts using clear clinical markers and somatic cues: fidgeting that signals rising activation, collapsed posture that hints at shame, and the quiet drift of hypoarousal. You’ll hear how we pause reprocessing to return to stabilization, use shorter sets to respect the window of tolerance, and provide simple psychoeducation so clients can say, “I’m going numb,” or “I’m far away,” giving us a shared map for action. When looping persists, we consider whether the target is too complex, whether a protector part is withholding permission, or whether missing adaptive information needs to be introduced.

Cognitive interweave is our go-to tool for subtle, strategic nudges. We keep it light: a present-oriented question, a reminder of current safety, or a reflection that invites the capable adult self to step forward. With highly cognitive clients—yes, the lawyer and engineer crowd—we normalize skepticism, name the protector part, and invite balance: less explanation, more sensation. We broaden the work to include rumination patterns and OCD features when they appear, and we integrate body awareness so the head, heart, and nervous system can move together.

If you’re a clinician looking to refine EMDR case conceptualization, recognize stuckness early, and use parts work, interweaves, and pacing with precision, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more therapists find practical EMDR strategies that make sessions safer and more effective.

To learn more about EMDR WITH DANI AND ALLY visit:
https://www.DaniandAlly.com
EMDR WITH DANI AND ALLY
254-230-4994

SPEAKER_04:

Hey there, I'm Danny from Ontario, Canada. And I'm Allie from Texas.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to EMDR with Danny and Allie, your go-to space for collaborative consultation that connects and grows one clinician at a time. I'm your voice guide, not Danny, not Allie, here to introduce your hosts, Danny in Ontario, Canada, and Allie in Texas. Together they train clinicians around the globe and offer EMDR therapy that's as supportive as a great pair of walking shoes. Steady, reliable, and just what you need to walk alongside your clients. Whether you're a seasoned therapist or just starting your EMDR journey, you're in the right place to connect, learn, and grow without having to log thousands of miles. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01:

When EMDR feels like it hits a wall, there's usually more happening beneath the surface, and clinicians have powerful tools to help clients move forward. Welcome everyone. Great. Doing great. Good. Well, it's great to see you both. Let's dive into today's question. What are common stuck points in EMDR and how do clinicians help clients through them?

SPEAKER_03:

For sure. One of the ones that I see really often is when clients become sort of over-engaged with that analytical part of them that is sort of, you know, they're really stuck in left brain. And so there's a part of them that needs to sort of understand what's going on through the processing. And so they just kind of keep going back to needing to analyze what's happening rather than allowing their entire body to sort of experience and engage with it. And just there's that part of them, that analytical part that's blocking. And so one of the things that can be really helpful is doing some work to sort of understand or befriend or connect with that part a little bit more to understand the job of that part when it started to show up for them. And um, so I pause the reprocessing sometimes when that's happening and then kind of go back and do a little bit of work with that, with that part.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, the other, like if a client is also looping or repeating material and kind of uh reporting, talking about the same image or the same thoughts or the same emotions, and they just kind of are acting and feeling like they're on this loop. Sometimes there's other reasons why that's happening. Sometimes that uh trauma is too complex, and so it has uh we have to break it down sometimes, or a part of their self is actually blocking it, so they may have a protector part that's blocking them from being able to go there, and so we need to gain permission sometimes uh to continue going. Um and there also could be more dissociation that we need to take into consideration and understand that, provide some psychoeducation, helping them understand what's going on, maybe sharing about the window of tolerance if there's some hypo arousal happening or hyper-arousal happening and what that looks like, sounds like, feels like, using pictures and things to help them um see that and understand that. So they're not afraid of dissociation, but they're able to embrace it and see how much that their brain and body was trying to protect themselves during that time. And now that they're in a different place, they don't have to do that anymore.

SPEAKER_01:

It's a lot that goes into it. So when a client is stalling during that reprocessing, what signs help clinicians determine whether it's just a blocking belief, it's a dysregulation issue, or something else entirely?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I mean, there's a whole bunch of things. And I always say it depends on the client and depends on the situation. But I love that you're you're doing your EMDR research because you said blocking belief, which is all the time. It could be a whole bunch of things, but um, when they sort of one of the the key things is they'll just kind of keep coming back to the same place over and over and over again, and so that's looping. And um, and so you want to sort of um offer something there that's adaptive to sort of get them to be able to kind of like break up that loop a little bit. Um, and so there could be there could be some missing adaptive material in that area that we need to sort of do some work with.

SPEAKER_01:

And Ali, how do you differentiate between whether this is a real stuck point and a client or a client just simply needs more resourcing or stabilization?

SPEAKER_02:

A lot of the time those go really hand in hand. So we're going back to phase two in the process the whole time because you know that whether that looks like we may need to do shorter sets in between as we're reprocessing with the client, but we're always checking in with the client as well to see how they're doing and what they are wanting to do and how they're wanting to move forward or pull back a little bit. And if they're they're needing to pull back a little bit, then it's super helpful to explore that. Like, why do you need to pull back? You know, have we hit some other roadblocks where there's some fear of the unknown? There's uh fear of what will I be like without this trauma? Who would I be without this? Um, there's a lot of different factors that go into that.

SPEAKER_01:

And Danny, what role does cognitive interweave play when clients can't move past a particular belief and they're really stuck on a belief or an image?

SPEAKER_03:

Absolutely. That's sort of what I was referring to earlier, and I didn't name it. When you're sort of offering that adaptive information to a client, uh, you want to offer just the tiniest little bit of something that is going to break up that stuck point. Um, and so it could be something that reorients to the present is one of my favorite ones, or reminds them of the context of what happened. Um, so it's like, you know, how old are you now? Um something like that, or you know, what would your what would your little girl part say to your adult part now, or what would she notice is different about you now in this moment to sort of get the client to be able to tap into that present orientation or that capable self. Um so yeah, you're offering the tiniest little bit because you don't want to take them out of activation, but um, to get the boat over the rocks in the water.

SPEAKER_01:

I like that analogy. So, Ali, are there specific somatic cues that clinicians should be paying attention to when deciding how to intervene?

SPEAKER_02:

I think it sometimes if they are the client is presenting like a numbing feeling, or um they are getting more fidgety or more um worked up looking, you know, more fidgety in movement, or the opposite. They go inward and they're just maybe looking down or not connecting, able to give um eye contact. Those are some of the ones that stand out to me the most.

SPEAKER_03:

So shame being something that comes up for me when Allie's describing that, and that really being a block for a lot of people and needing to go back and do some work with the shame as well.

SPEAKER_02:

And it's interesting because that's where different, you know, clients are so different because it's going to look different in different clients' lives. And so helping them have that psychoeducation background so that they're able to start identifying that themselves is extremely helpful. They can start saying cue things like, you know, I'm really starting to feel numb now, or I'm not really feeling like I am present. Those are our verbal cues once we provide that education to our clients, you know, that it's okay to say that, help us know and understand so that we can better help you. And let's do some techniques to help you feel a little more in the room, a little more present with what we're doing.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Danny, you mentioned earlier this like kind of stuck in their head. So, how do you help clients who become really overly analytical of the process and stuck in their head during that reprocessing?

SPEAKER_03:

One of the most common things that comes up with people who are being really overly analytical is like this, and again, blocking belief around does EMDR actually work? Um, so sometimes I'll just directly, you know, sort of ask that question or sort of bring it up. It seems like there's a part of you that really doesn't think this is gonna work or this just seems really woo-woo to you, and sort of like just calling out the elephant in the room. Or um, there's different ways to just work with that sort of part that is protecting. And so, but I like to get the client to name it as a protector, and so I'll sort of do some work with them to help them to sort of recognize where and how this part of you shows up and why, what is its job? Um, but yeah, it's it also can be um quite often like a rumination piece. And so sometimes I'll go back and do some work around rumination. Um, it can be part of OCD or the OCD can be a part of the sometimes complex trauma. And so if you notice that stuff showing up, it's really uh helpful to kind of go back and do some support around rumination, breaking up those thoughts. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And Ali, uh before we close out, any other uh recommendations that you have for clients on strategies when uh when a client is stuck in that repeated loop on the same material without shifting?

SPEAKER_02:

I think sometimes it's helpful to remind, especially those really cognitive people, like your lawyer types and ones that are more prone to overintellectualizing, right? Or that kind of being their protector place. I definitely like to bring that in the room and and talk about that and you know, give the ill the illustration or the, you know, that they are not just a robot, that just just that part of your brain robots can do most of the time, but you are also created as a human. So you have the emotions and the body sensations, and that's what sets you apart. So helping them remember that part and helping them remember like the other side of their brain. So I'm I'll encourage my intellectuals, my lawyer types, I'll encourage them or challenge them sometimes to use the other part of their brain and remember that they also have that creative side as well. So we don't want to just live and camp in one side, we want to come over to the other side. And so they may have in the process of working through targets, they may have more input for actual things that they are remembering with words. And so I'll remind them also in between sets, and also what emotions do you notice? Where you notice that in your body, because they may not connect with that as naturally as someone who operates more in the other side of the brain, but the goal is that we're integrating those two, and I think sometimes that's another area where people are stuck and reminding them we're not just a brain walking around, we're a brain and a heart and a body, and all the things that that walking around and that sets us apart. So, how can we welcome that? Because so many don't grow up with knowing their emotions and that being a safe place, and so that has to be reminded in the process. Emotions are good, emotions are helpful, they're our compass. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, that's powerful stuff. Well, I appreciate you both so much. Thank you for breaking this all down. It was very insightful, and we will see you next time.

SPEAKER_04:

Hey there, I'm Danny from Ontario, Canada, and I'm Allie from Texas.

SPEAKER_00:

That wraps up another insightful episode of EMDR with Danny and Ally, where our slogan, collaborative consultation that connects and grows, one clinician at a time, isn't just catchy. It's our mission. Want more tools, training, or just need to ask Danny or Allie a question? Visit Dannyandally.com or call or text 254-230 4994. Thanks for tuning in. And remember, the best healing starts with connection.