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Advanced Training
Incorporating the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) Into EMDR Therapy
This advanced, two-day workshop teaches EMDR therapists how to administer the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), interpret its results, and apply attachment insights throughout the eight phases of EMDR therapy. Participants will practice both administering the interview and responding to it, then explore how to tailor interventions to a client’s attachment strategy.
The course costs $450 and includes 15.5 APA and 15.5 EMDRIA continuing education credits. Participants must have completed an EMDRIA-approved EMDR basic training before registering.
Three Upcoming Opportunities for this Advanced Course: Dates & Venue:
Nov. 7 & 8, 2026 (The Mental Health Collective, 20377 SW Acacia St., Newport Bch., CA 92660)
Dec. 5 & 6, 2026 (The Mental Health Collective, 20377 SW Acacia St., Newport Bch., CA 92660)
Dec. 12 & 13, 2026 (Live Webinar via Zoom)
Course Schedule and Content
Day 1:
8:30 – 10:00 AM
Brief history of attachment theory leading to AAI development; AAI administration logistics
10:00 – 10:15 AM
Break
10:15 – 11:45 AM
Practice AAI interview 1 & debriefing (Breakout Rooms – Role of Interviewer)
11:45 – 12:30 PM
Lunch Break
12:30 - 2:00 PM
Practice AAI interview 2 & debriefing (Breakout Rooms – Role of Speaker)
2:00 – 2:30 PM
Foundations of Attachment Theory: Part I
2:30 – 2:45 PM
Break
2:45 – 5:15 PM
Foundations of Attachment Theory: Part I (con’t)
5:15 PM
End of Day 1
Day 2:
8:30 – 10:30 AM
Foundations of attachment theory: Part II
10:30 – 10:45
Break
10:45 AM – 12:45 PM
AAI application in EMDR Phase One: History Taking & Assessment of the Client
12:45 – 1:30 PM
Lunch Break
1:30 - 2:30 PM
AAI application in EMDR Phase Two: Preparation & Phase Three: Assessment of the Target
2:30 – 3:30 PM
AAI application in EMDR Phases Four thru Six: Desensitization, Installation, and Body Scan, respectively)
3:30 – 3:45 PM
Break
3:45 – 5:45 PM
AAI application in EMDR Phases Seven: Closure & Eight: Re-evaluation; Handling Transference and Countertransference
5:45 PM
End of Day 2
Workshop Abstract
Incorporating the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) Into EMDR Therapy
Clinical application of attachment theory into EMDR therapy may be accurately applied when the client’s hypothesized attachment strategy is well understood by the clinician. Since the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is an open access interview instrument and robustly researched for many decades, its qualitative analysis may be aptly applied to EMDR therapy.
This advanced-level EMDR course teaches participants how to administer the AAI and how to qualitatively interpret its results providing clinical application of attachment theory into EMDR therapy’s eight phases for adult clients.
Participants will engage in dyadic practice experience in both the role of interviewer and respondent (for their own AAI). Participants also will learn direct application of tailored interventions using attachment-based considerations from the AAI throughout the EMDR treatment process.
Learning Objectives
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1
Identify the early attachment theory concepts which led to the development of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI).
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2
Discuss the elements of AAI standard administration and the conditions under which adaptations to AAI standard administration are appropriate.
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3
Describe the expected childhood experience from primary caregivers and the associated state of mind in adulthood.
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4
Name the major attachment classifications for adults, and discuss their similarities and differences as it applies to perception, thinking, emotion, and behavior (including under conditions of stress and/or vulnerability).
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5
Based on the latest global meta-analysis data from Bakermans-Kranenburg et al. (2024), discuss the global distributions and characteristics of the major attachment classifications.
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6
Indicate how the general presentation characteristics of each attachment classification manifest within the EMDR treatment frame.
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7
Discuss how to provide initial client feedback regarding their proposed AAI attachment strategy.
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8
Identify the EMDR Phase Two Preparation interventions that address needed client skills building and stabilization based on attachment strategy.
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9
Differentiate how the major attachment classification presentations may manifest in the reprocessing phases of EMDR therapy.
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10
Within EMDR Phase Seven Closure, discuss how to contextualize debriefing and guide any needed stabilization procedures using client attachment strategy as a lens for communication.
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11
Contrast how the different attachment classification presentations require a unique approach to EMDR Phase Eight Reevaluation.
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12
Discuss how the client’s attachment strategy informs the transference and countertransference relationship in EMDR therapy.
FAQs
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$285.
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Yes, this Distance Learning/Home Study advanced EMDRIA approved course (Approval #:25056-DL04) counts toward 8.0 Credits for membership renewal requirements pertaining to advanced EMDR education.
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Registrants have 90 calendar days from the date of purchase for unlimited viewing, download of handouts, and to progress through the four learning modules.
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Yes, because the course material assumes an EMDRIA-Approved basic training level of knowledge and EMDR Standard Protocol application skill set, registrants must already be EMDR Trained to register for this course.
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Yes, this course includes (8.0) American Psychological Association (APA) continuing education credits toward application for renewal of State licensure to practice mental health services. Please confirm with your State’s licensing board to verify that APA CE credits are applicable for your type of licensure in your State.
Meet your instructor
Christine Sells, Ph.D.
Christine Sells, Ph.D., is Founder and Director of Training at the EMDR Center of Southern California and a Licensed Psychologist (since 1996) practicing in Newport Beach, CA. She specializes in applying attachment theory to complex trauma and dissociative disorders and provides EMDR therapy for children, adolescents, and adults. An EMDRIA Approved Trainer, Approved Consultant, and Certified EMDR Therapist, Dr. Sells mentors clinicians toward EMDRIA Certification and Consultant status. She is a Certified Reliable Coder for the Adult Attachment Interview and holds a Certificate of Reliability in Reflective-Functioning Scoring. Her invited chapter, “Incorporating the AAI in EMDR Therapy,” will appear in the 2nd edition of Clinical Applications of the AAI (2026). She co-presented at EMDRIA 2019 on certification best practices and co-authored a 2020 article on the topic in the Journal of EMDR Practice and Research. She is also ASCH-Certified in Clinical Hypnosis and holds an ISSTD Advanced Certificate. Email: drsells@emdrcalifornia.com.
Enroll Now
☆
Enroll Now ☆
This advanced, two-day workshop teaches EMDR therapists how to administer the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), interpret its results, and apply attachment insights throughout the eight phases of EMDR therapy. Participants will practice both administering the interview and responding to it, then explore how to tailor interventions to a client’s attachment strategy.
The course costs $450 and includes 15.5 APA and 15.5 EMDRIA continuing education credits. Participants must have completed an EMDRIA-approved EMDR basic training before registering.
Three Upcoming Opportunities for this Advanced Course: Dates & Venue:
Nov. 7 & 8, 2026 (The Mental Health Collective, 20377 SW Acacia St., Newport Bch., CA 92660)
Dec. 5 & 6, 2026 (The Mental Health Collective, 20377 SW Acacia St., Newport Bch., CA 92660)
Dec. 12 & 13, 2026 (Live Webinar via Zoom)