I've been thinking a lot about how "safe" doesn't always feel safe for some children. Instead of asking kids to imagine a safe place, I often start by helping them explore places that may have felt safe enough. A cozy chair, a blanket fort, a tent, a treehouse, a hammock. Places where their body may have experienced a little comfort, calm, connection, or ease. This worksheet is one way I introduce the Safe Place resource through a more experiential and child-centered lens. Sometimes children don't need to create safety from scratch. They need help noticing where they've already experienced it. Here's a visual that I sometimes use with kids... sometimes they add to it or leave it just like it is ... or draw in their own. Hope you find it helpful in your work with kids. ❤️

Remember to join us for this week’s EMDR Playground Practice Lab with Waldo Winborn. If you’ve ever wondered what to do when a client’s experience shows up through play, imagery, metaphors, sandtray scenes, sensations, or symbols rather than words, this Practice Lab is for you. Together, we’ll explore how symbols emerge before language, why that matters from a neurodevelopmental perspective, and how symbolic expression can inform all 8 phases of EMDR. More importantly, this won’t just be something you learn about. You’ll have the opportunity to brainstorm, discuss, and practice applying these ideas to your clinical work. You’ll leave with fresh insights, practical strategies, and new ways of understanding the symbolic material that naturally unfolds in therapy. One hour. A little teaching. Collaborative brainstorming. Hands-on practice. Real connection.

Just a reminder that tomorrow we have our EMDR Playground Practice Lab at 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM EST. This month’s practice lab is about Creative Bilateral Stimulation in EMDR therapy. We’ll explore the function of BLS, how it supports dual attention, regulation, pacing, and return to the present, and how we can use developmentally attuned forms such as tapping, eye movements, audio tones, animal-inspired movement, rhythm, art, bilateral play, and sensory tools with clinical intention. We’ll also talk about how to choose forms of BLS that fit the client, the EMDR phase, the nervous system, and the clinical purpose. I’m looking forward to seeing you there. ❤️ Take care, Jackie

Just a reminder that tomorrow we have our EMDR Playground Practice Lab at 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM EST. This month’s practice lab is about Creative Bilateral Stimulation in EMDR therapy. We’ll explore the function of BLS, how it supports dual attention, regulation, pacing, and return to the present, and how we can use developmentally attuned forms such as tapping, eye movements, audio tones, animal-inspired movement, rhythm, art, bilateral play, and sensory tools with clinical intention. We’ll also talk about how to choose forms of BLS that fit the client, the EMDR phase, the nervous system, and the clinical purpose. I’m looking forward to seeing you there. ❤️ Take care, Jackie

I’ve been experimenting with this art activity and can’t stop thinking about it. Instead of creating one container, clients draw a mosaic and each section holds something different. A memory. A feeling. A worry. A strength. A resource. A hope. An unfinished piece of work. What I ♥️ is that nothing has to be pushed away or hidden. Everything has a place!!! The picture seems to help clients take what feels like one giant tangled ball of distress and begin to see the different pieces. I’ve been using it with a few clients and I’m fascinated by how quickly teens are drawn to it, especially compared to the traditional container exercise. It feels like there’s something here around containment, mindfulness, and helping clients hold complexity without becoming overwhelmed by it. Curious what this brings up for you all. What would you call it???