The Meeting Place
A parts-informed EMDR protocol for working with complex, dissociative, and ego state presentations — integrating the Dissociative Table, IFS-informed language, and AIP-aligned trauma processing.
For the clients whose internal world is more complicated than the standard protocol assumes
Many of the clients we serve don’t arrive with a single, unified self ready to process trauma in a linear way. They arrive with internal disagreement, dissociative shifts, protective parts that block reprocessing, and developmental wounds that make the standard EMDR protocol feel insufficient on its own.
The Meeting Place is a parts-informed EMDR protocol that creates an internal space where every part of a client’s system can be present, witnessed, and engaged before, during, and after reprocessing. Drawing on Frances Fraser’s Dissociative Table, Sandra Paulsen’s adaptations, IFS-informed language, and the Adaptive Information Processing model, this protocol gives EMDR clinicians a structured, ethically-paced framework for working with complexity.
This 3-hour live online training takes you through the theoretical foundations, the full clinical protocol across all eight phases of EMDR, contraindications and clinical cautions, and concrete scripting for introducing, facilitating, and closing the Meeting Place across treatment.
What you’ll be able to do after this training
- Describe the theoretical foundations of the Meeting Place protocol, including Ego State Therapy, Structural Dissociation, and Internal Family Systems frameworks
- Explain the Adaptive Information Processing rationale for incorporating internal parts work into EMDR preparation and reprocessing phases
- Apply the Meeting Place protocol during EMDR Phase 2 (Preparation) using developmentally appropriate clinical language
- Integrate IFS-informed language to facilitate parts communication at the Dissociative Table during EMDR Phases 3–6
- Identify contraindications, clinical cautions, and pacing considerations when using the Meeting Place with complex or dissociative presentations
- Distinguish between absolute and relative contraindications across diagnostic presentations
- Demonstrate clinical scripting for introducing, facilitating, and closing the Meeting Place across Phase 2 and reprocessing phases
This training is designed for
- Licensed mental health professionals who have completed an EMDRIA-approved Basic EMDR Training
- EMDR clinicians working toward or maintaining EMDRIA Certification
- EMDRIA Consultants-in-Training and Approved Consultants seeking advanced clinical content
- Therapists working with complex trauma, structural dissociation, or developmental/attachment wounds
- Clinicians whose clients present with parts conflict, blocking beliefs, or internal disagreement during EMDR processing
What this training requires
Completion of an EMDRIA-approved Basic EMDR Training is required to participate and receive CE credit.
This is an advanced training. It assumes working knowledge of the EMDR standard protocol, the AIP model, and Phase 2 preparation work. Participants without Basic EMDR Training will not be issued CE credit.
No prior parts work or IFS training is required, though familiarity with these frameworks is helpful.
With your enrollment
- 3 hours of live, interactive instruction with Q&A
- Comprehensive participant handout with clinical scripts, phase map, and contraindications reference
- IFS-informed language reference card for parts communication
- Recording of the live session, available for 30 days post-training
- Closed captions on the recording
- 3.0 EMDRIA CE Certificate upon verified completion
- Live Q&A and case consultation during the training
Credit details
- Credits Offered3.0 EMDRIA Approved CE Credits
- LevelAdvanced (must have completed EMDR Basic Training)
- FormatLive online via Zoom; recording available for 30 days
- Attendance RequirementFull attendance required for live CE; passing post-test required for CE earned via recording
- Certificate DeliveryDigital certificate within 5 business days of verified completion
- ProviderTurtle Shell Therapy Institute · EMDRIA Approved Provider #26029
- Conflict of InterestJames Nee Hundley, LCSW has no relevant financial relationships to disclose. This training does not promote any commercial product or service.
Continuing education should not be gated by cost
This training offers one full-tuition and two half-tuition Growing Shell Scholarships. Applications close 30 days before the early-bird deadline — July 28, 2026. Trust-based, no financial documentation required.
Learn About the Scholarship →James Nee Hundley, LCSW, Certified EMDR Therapist, EMDRIA Consultant-in-Training
James is the founder of Turtle Shell Therapy Institute and a Certified EMDR Therapist with extensive experience integrating parts work into trauma reprocessing for complex clinical presentations. He maintains a virtual private practice in Colorado specializing in trauma, attachment-focused EMDR, and neurodivergent clients.
James also serves as the Clinical Services Supervisor at a community behavioral health PASA serving adults with intellectual and developmental differences and youth in foster care — populations where parts-informed work is often the difference between processing and re-traumatizing.
His clinical philosophy is grounded in the Turtle Shell Approach: trauma work that meets the nervous system where it actually is, not where the protocol assumes it should be. The mission of his teaching is to give clinicians more than theory — specific, ethically-paced, immediately applicable clinical tools.
Everything you might be wondering
What if I can’t attend the live session?
The training will be recorded, and the recording will be available for 30 days post-training to all registered participants. To earn live CE credit, you must attend the full live session. To earn CE credit via the recording, you’ll need to complete a post-test. CE certificates are issued for either pathway.
Does this training assume I have IFS or parts work training?
No prior IFS or parts work training is required. The Meeting Place protocol is taught from the ground up. However, completion of an EMDRIA-approved Basic EMDR Training is required — this is an advanced training built on top of standard EMDR knowledge.
I need an accommodation — who do I contact?
Please email james.neehundley@turtleshelltherapy.com at least 5 business days before the training. Closed captions are included on the recording. Live captions and additional accommodations are available at no cost.
What is your refund policy?
Full refund up to 14 days before the training. 50% refund 7–14 days before. No refund within 7 days of the training start date. Contact james.neehundley@turtleshelltherapy.com to request a refund.
Will this count toward EMDRIA Certification or Consultant renewal?
Yes — 3.0 EMDRIA CE credits apply toward EMDRIA Certification, Certification renewal, and Consultant status renewal. Please verify current EMDRIA requirements for your specific pathway at emdria.org.
How does the Growing Shell Scholarship work for this training?
One full-tuition and two half-tuition awards are available. The application is a brief three-part email submission — CV, short essay, and one professional reference. Applications close July 28, 2026, with decisions notified by August 4, 2026. Visit the Growing Shell Scholarship page for full details.
The Meeting Place · October 9, 2026
Live online training. 3.0 EMDRIA CE credits. Early-bird pricing $125 through August 28. Recording available for 30 days post-training.
Register Now →"Feel comfortable inside and outside of your shell."