Académie Impact

Questions about EMI


If you suffer from a post traumatic syndrome or experience frequent flashbacks from a difficult situation, EMI is most probably an intervention that can help you. The following information is meant to answer your questions and what to expect from an EMI practitioner.

1. Who can practice EMI?


The EMI practitioner must have a bachelor or a master degree in a mental health discipline (psychologist, psychotherapist, medical doctor, social worker, counselor) and must be a certified therapist. After the 15 hours level 1 workshop on EMI, the practitioner is required to complete a 10-hour supervision in order to appear on our reference list and be recognized as a certified EMI practitioner. Therefore, if a therapist pretends to be a certified practitioner and doesn’t appear on our list, it’s because this therapist is not a certified practitioner. Many therapists read the EMI book and start using the technique without appropriate supervision and training – we would not recommend that you go for such treatment as we believe it would not be a safe procedure.

2. How does an EMI treatment unfold?


The first session will be dedicated to the evaluation; your EMI practitioner needs to make sure you can be helped with EMI and therefore, no EMI should be provided during a first session. If you can be helped with EMI, at an appropriate time, your therapist will start the EMI therapy. You will be asked to focus on the recurrent or traumatic event you experienced and while follow the therapist fingers with your eyes, without moving your head, for about 10-15 seconds at a time. Between each movement, which will vary in directions, he will collect the new information that came out of it. You may retrieve visual, auditory, physical, emotional information. Sometimes thoughts or smell may be more present. It is like collecting new pieces of puzzle at every eye movement sequence. At the end, you will have a completely different experience of that event.

3. Duration, frequency and cost


An EMI session last usually 1h30 for an adult or teenager and about 30-60 minutes for a child. Children are seen every week while adults and teenagers receive a treatment every other week. Usually, one to five treatments are enough for most clients for a single problem. The cost is usually between 85$ – 120$ per hour.

4. Where can I find a certified EMI practitioner?


On our website, you will find a directory under Therapists Directory. Enter your postal code to access the list of practitioners near your location, along with a description of their specialties, titles, etc. We have practitioners in about twenty countries.

5. What kind of complains can be helped with EMI?


Any recurrent memory, phobias, nightmares, PTSD, natural tragedy, witnessing of dramatic situations, victim of sexual abuse, victim of violence or other criminal acts, recent or from your childhood, among others, can be addressed with EMI. EMI can also be useful to help you come to a difficult decision, get over a heartbreak or the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job.

6. Is there a minimum age?


Children from 3-4 years old can be helped with EMI or as soon as they can focus long enough on the eye movements.

7. What can I expect after an EMI?


Just like watching a movie will bring some recalls in the following hours and days, an EMI treatment will generate lots of flashbacks, interferences in the following 24-72 hours. Sometimes intense physical reactions can be experienced, going from very positive to very uncomfortable, depending on how you registered the difficult situation you went through. Once the memory has been “ecologically” integrated in your neurology, you will experience a feeling of freedom associated with a boost in your energy level.