RI-EMDR: The Gentle Revolution in Trauma Therapy (Part 1)
- Claudia Wolf
- Nov 6
- 5 min read
If you're a therapist, a curious client, or someone with parts who are feeling wary at the mention of “processing,” you're not alone.
I fell even more in love with EMDR therapy when I discovered Relational Integrative (RI) EMDR- a gentle, flexible, and spiritually attuned approach to trauma work that brings together evidence-based practice and deep human wisdom.
I had already been playing with integrating parts work and somatic awareness into my EMDR practice, especially with clients who felt overwhelmed or did not respond well to rigid protocols. But finding RI-EMDR gave structure to what I was intuitively doing- and showed me that I wasn’t alone. It offered language, community, and permission to work relationally, spiritually, and ethically with the full complexity of my clients’ experiences.
It provided my therapist part a long exhale of relief.
What is RI-EMDR?
RI-EMDR was developed by Michele Bowes and Amy English, two relational, intuitive, and very real therapists. Their approach resonates strongly with my own practice, and it’s no surprise. They are Accredited Mental Health Social Workers, EMDR Consultants, and Advanced Clinical Resource Therapists. They also happen to be excellent humans: quirky and human. One is a recent romantasy convert and not afraid to spruik the joys to others, and the other once tried to tuck a carpet python into her childhood bed.
At its heart, RI-EMDR is about honouring the whole person- not just the symptoms. It combines traditional EMDR with a rich integration of other therapeutic approaches:
Parts work (including Resource Therapy)
Attachment theory and attachment-informed EMDR
Somatic and nervous system practices, including Polyvagal Theory
Mindfulness and imagery rescripting
Intergenerational healing, spiritual insight, and collective consciousness
Michele and Amy developed the model because their work- relational, attuned, and intuitive, didn’t always fit within the structure of standard EMDR. So they built something that made more room. A model that could hold the complex, layered, and deeply human process of healing.
What Makes RI-EMDR Different?
It isn’t just about completing all eight phases in order. It is about moving at the pace of the nervous system, fostering trust, and staying with the client’s internal rhythm. RI-EMDR is deeply relational. It recognises that for many people, particularly those harmed in relationships, the therapeutic relationship itself can be a central part of healing.
It is flexible, spiritual, and neurobiologically grounded. It offers depth and nuance to clients working through childhood trauma, collective pain, or systemic harms. It meets people where they are, not where a manual says they should be. As Amy describes:
“We invite our participants to go through a process of learning and unlearning. We deeply respect the duality of evidence-based, Western ways of working, but we make room for non-colonial ways of wisdom, Indigenous and collective ways of working.”
Is It Still EMDR?
Yes, and.
RI-EMDR holds the structure of EMDR lightly. Bilateral stimulation and desensitisation remain central, but they are blended with practices that honour story, image, sensory experience, dream, and meaning-making.
This is not EMDR as performance or perfection. It is EMDR that welcomes your protective parts, your spiritual beliefs, your ancestors, and your humour. There is space for what feels real, not just what can be measured.
In my own work, RI-EMDR has allowed me to stay connected to clients who might otherwise dissociate or freeze when trauma content arises. When they are not willing or able to engage in processing (or remaining session time does not permit this), I can draw from a plethora of Resourcing techniques that I learned in my RI-EMDR training.
Sometimes we stay with one image or part for a full session, allowing it to speak or shift to a place of empowerment. At other times, we work with dreams, ancestral symbols, or the strongest parts of a person that can navigate the problems being reported. It’s not always linear- but it’s always meaningful.
Weird, Wobbly, and Wonderfully Human
One of the things I most appreciate about RI-EMDR is its willingness to sit with the unknown. “We love the weird,” Michele and Amy say. “We honour the inexplicable.”
You know those clients that almost whisper to you their quietly held beliefs, waiting for your reaction?
Having a way to not just validate or support them, but actually integrate those beliefs into EMDR, is an incredible gift.
RI-EMDR makes room for all of it- without needing to explain it away. This aspect of RI-EMDR isn’t something that all folk are looking for- but for some of my clients, the experience of the therapy meeting them in this space has been profound.
Because trauma work is not just about survival. It is about remembering what is wise and intact inside us, even when the world has tried to convince us otherwise.
Why RI-EMDR Matters
As someone who works with complex trauma, identity, neurodivergence, and deep relational wounds, I cannot overstate how much relief this approach offers- both for clients, and for me as a therapist.
It allows your parts to be heard, without fear or urgency
It doesn’t rush the body, or override its pace
It doesn’t pathologise your dreams, beliefs, or inner world
It creates space for collaboration, not compliance
It offers techniques that support processing, regulation, and relief – wherever you are in your healing
RI-EMDR reminds us that therapists are not technicians. We are human. We carry stories and parts too.
I know it’s changed the way I show up in the room. I’m more attuned to my own parts- the ones that want to help, the ones that feel unsure, and the ones that carry hope. RI-EMDR has taught me that the relationship is the method, and that repair happens through presence, not perfection.
If you’ve felt boxed in by traditional EMDR, or if you are seeking something relational, creative, spiritually grounded, and emotionally attuned, RI-EMDR might be exactly what your nervous system has been asking for.
Your therapy practice doesn’t need to be rigid, disconnected, or colonised.
It can be relational. Gentle. Curious. Whole.
RI-EMDR Training: You can learn more about RI-EMDR and the Seva team’s trainings at www.sevatraining.com.au
Fishbowls: Michele and Amy offer live demonstrations of their work- a respectful and generous opportunity to witness Relational Integrative EMDR in practice. Sign up here
Wolf Therapeutic Community Experiences
Relational Integrative Intensive EMDR Program: If you’d like to experience RI-EMDR from the client’s seat- I offer a retreat-inspired 2 day, 3 day, or 6 day RI-EMDR Intensive Immersions.
Advanced Parts Work Training:
If you're a therapist (EMDR trained or not) looking to build a solid, parts-informed foundation for your therapy practice, you are also warmly invited to join one of my upcoming Resource Therapy training events and follow on Consultation groups.
February 3rd and 4th 2026 Foundation– a nourishing, homestead style 2 Day training on the Surf Coast
April 2026- online 2 Day Resource Therapy training.
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