Building Your EMDR Toolkit

Creating a Peaceful Place and a Secure Container

EMDR is not only about processing difficult experiences. Before processing begins, we build tools that help you shift your attention, regulate distress, remain connected to the present, and close material safely when the work needs to pause.

The Peaceful Place and Container exercises are generally introduced during the preparation phase of EMDR. Preparation includes assessing readiness, explaining the EMDR process, establishing a stop signal, and developing strategies for managing emotional activation during and between sessions.

These exercises are not tests of imagination. There is no correct image, and your choices do not need to be realistic, logical, beautiful, or impressive. What matters is whether the resource works for your nervous system.

Part One: Your Peaceful Place

What is a Peaceful Place?

A Peaceful Place is an imagined environment that helps your mind and body access a sense of:

• Safety

• Security

• Comfort

• Peace

• Support

• Calm or steadiness

It may be somewhere you have visited, a combination of several places, or somewhere that could never exist in real life. It could be a room inside a tree, a cabin floating among the stars, a warm cave beside the ocean, a library beneath a mountain, or anything else your mind creates.

The goal is not to build the “perfect” place. The goal is to create a place that produces a noticeable positive shift in your present experience. Imagining a calm place is used in EMDR preparation as a self-regulation resource.

A Few Guidelines

Your Peaceful Place should feel:

1. Safe and secure

2. Comfortable

3. Peaceful or regulating

People are usually not included because even loved and trusted people can bring complicated feelings, expectations, memories, or worries into the scene.

Pets and animals are welcome if their presence feels comforting.

You may also include reminders of important people, such as:

• A quilt made by a loving grandmother

• A favorite photograph

• A letter, recipe card, piece of jewelry, or craft

• A familiar chair

• A symbolic light, object, or token

• A scent or sound associated with being cared for

You remain completely in charge of this place. No one can enter unless you deliberately allow it.

Step 1: Choose or Create the Setting

Allow an image, feeling, or idea of a peaceful place to begin forming.

It does not need to appear all at once.

Where are you?

Are you:

• Indoors or outdoors?

• Near water, mountains, trees, fields, firelight, snow, or stars?

• In a small enclosed space or somewhere wide and open?

• On the ground, above the ground, underground, underwater, or somewhere imaginary?

• In a familiar place or somewhere entirely new?

What time is it?

Consider:

• The time of day

• The season

• The temperature

• The weather

• The amount and quality of light

Is it early morning, golden afternoon, nighttime, or a time that does not exist anywhere else?

How are you situated?

Are you:

• Sitting, lying down, standing, floating, swinging, or walking?

• Wrapped in something?

• Supported by a chair, bed, hammock, moss, water, clouds, or something else?

• Near a wall, beneath a roof, inside a boundary, or surrounded by open space?

Notice what position allows your body to feel most protected and comfortable.

What are you wearing?

Imagine clothing that fits the environment and feels right on your body.

It may be:

• Soft

• Warm

• Cool

• Loose

• Weighted

• Protective

• Familiar

• Completely imaginary

You can also imagine shoes, bare feet, blankets, armor, wings, jewelry, or anything else that contributes to your sense of comfort and security.

Step 2: Experience the Five Senses

You do not need equally strong access to all five senses. Begin with whichever sensory details come most naturally.

What do you see?

Notice:

• Colors

• Light and shadow

• Shapes

• Textures

• Distance and space

• The view around you

• Protective boundaries

• Comforting objects

• Animals or pets

• Doors, windows, paths, walls, fences, domes, or other features

What tells your eyes that this place is secure?

What do you hear?

Perhaps you hear:

• Water

• Wind

• Rain

• Fire

• Birds

• Leaves

• Music without words

• A fan, train, or familiar household sound

• An animal breathing nearby

• Silence

How loud or quiet is it?

Are there any sounds that should be softened, removed, or added?

What do you smell?

You may notice:

• Fresh air

• Rain

• Wood smoke

• Flowers

• Soil

• Clean laundry

• Books

• Coffee or tea

• Baking bread

• Pine trees

• Ocean air

• A familiar pet

• No particular smell at all

What do you taste?

You might imagine:

• A warm or cold drink

• A favorite snack

• Mint

• Fruit

• Chocolate

• Salt in the air

• Fresh water

• A comforting meal

• A neutral, clean taste

Taste is optional. It is perfectly fine if nothing belongs here.

What do you feel physically?

Notice:

• The temperature of the air

• The surface supporting you

• Clothing against your skin

• A blanket or pillow

• Sunlight, shade, or a breeze

• The weight or lightness of your body

• Your feet, hands, back, shoulders, jaw, and breathing

• A pet resting against you

• A sense of protection around you

Where in your body do you notice even a small amount of comfort, warmth, openness, calm, or relief?

Step 3: Strengthen Security

Look around your Peaceful Place and ask:

• Is there any way someone could enter without my permission?

• Is anything unpredictable here?

• Is anything uncomfortable, exposed, noisy, dark, bright, hot, cold, or distracting?

• Does my body want more distance, more enclosure, or more room?

• Do I need a door, lock, boundary, shield, guard, alarm, fence, force field, or escape route?

• Would I feel better with supplies, food, water, light, communication, or transportation available?

• Does anything here carry an unwanted memory or association?

Change anything you need.

You are not being rude, unrealistic, difficult, or demanding. This place belongs to you.

You may add, remove, enlarge, shrink, move, rebuild, replace, or completely restart anything.

Step 4: Notice the Shift

Slowly notice your body.

Without forcing yourself to relax, ask:

• What feels different from a few moments ago?

• Has my breathing changed?

• Do I feel heavier, lighter, warmer, cooler, softer, steadier, or more protected?

• Is there even a five-percent increase in comfort?

• Where do I feel that change?

The goal is not necessarily complete calm. A small, reliable shift is useful.

Your therapist may help strengthen the resource using brief bilateral stimulation when clinically appropriate. Do not add self-directed bilateral stimulation unless you and your EMDR therapist have discussed how and when to use it.

Step 5: Practice With a Minor Annoyance

Choose a recent situation that was mildly irritating, inconvenient, awkward, or disappointing.

Use a Subjective Units of Disturbance, or SUD, scale:

• 0 means no disturbance.

• 10 means the highest disturbance you can imagine.

For this practice, choose something that is only a 1 or 2.

Examples might include:

• Getting stuck behind a slow driver

• Spilling a drink

• Receiving a mildly annoying text

• Misplacing an object

• Waiting longer than expected

• Someone interrupting you

• Discovering that an item you wanted was unavailable

Do not use trauma, major conflict, intense fear, grief, rejection, or anything that feels emotionally loaded.

Rescripting the Experience

Briefly remember the minor annoyance.

Then imagine that, instead of responding exactly as you did at the time, you recognized that you needed a pause and brought your Peaceful Place to mind.

Imagine yourself entering or accessing the place.

Notice:

• What you see

• What you hear

• What you smell

• What you taste

• What you physically feel

• How your body is supported

• What tells you that you are secure

• What changes inside you as you remain there

You do not have to pretend that the annoying event never happened. You are practicing giving yourself access to a regulating resource while it is happening.

When you are ready, imagine returning to the situation with whatever additional steadiness, space, choice, or comfort the Peaceful Place offered you.

Assess the Result

Ask:

• Does the Peaceful Place still feel peaceful?

• Did anything from the annoying event enter the place?

• Did I feel secure there?

• Was anything missing?

• Did I need more privacy, comfort, distance, protection, or sensory detail?

• Did the place feel too artificial, demanding, empty, or vulnerable?

• What would make it work better?

Make any needed adjustments and repeat the rescript.

Continue adjusting until the place feels sufficiently secure, comfortable, and accessible.

Step 6: Create a Retrieval Cue

Give your Peaceful Place a simple cue that helps you find it again.

This might be:

• A nickname

• A word

• A short phrase

• A symbol

• A color

• An emoji

• A hand gesture

• An image

• An object you can carry

• A sound or piece of music

My Peaceful Place Cue

Name or nickname: __________________________________

Color: ______________________________________________

Symbol or image: ____________________________________

Emoji: ______________________________________________

Physical reminder or token: ___________________________

Where I feel peace or comfort in my body:

Part Two: Your Container

What is a Container?

A Container is an imagined place where you can temporarily store distressing thoughts, images, emotions, body sensations, worries, memories, questions, or unfinished material.

It is not meant to erase, destroy, deny, or permanently avoid anything.

The message is:

This matters, but I do not have to work on it every moment. I can store it securely and return to it at an appropriate time.

Containment may be used during EMDR preparation, at the end of an incomplete processing session, or when distressing material appears between sessions. It can help a person return attention to present responsibilities without pretending that the material does not exist.

The Three Rules of a Container

Your Container must meet three requirements.

Step 1: Design the Container

Your Container can be anything.

Examples include:

• A safe

• A vault

• A chest

• A suitcase

• A filing cabinet

• A toolbox

• A storage unit

• A cave

• A bunker

• A bank vault

• A refrigerator

• A dishwasher

• A library

• A spaceship

• A locked room

• A treasure chest

• A jar

• A magical portal

• A machine that transforms or organizes material

One person might imagine a dishwasher with an old-fashioned sliding latch. Their difficult material may appear as dirty dishes that are placed securely inside until they are ready to be cleaned and sorted.

The form of the Container does not need to make sense to anyone else.

Step 2: Explore Its Sensory Details

What does it look like?

Notice:

• Size

• Shape

• Color

• Material

• Thickness

• Location

• Interior and exterior

• Compartments

• Doors or openings

• The closing mechanism

• Signs that it is secure

What does it feel like?

Imagine touching it.

Is it:

• Smooth or rough?

• Warm or cool?

• Heavy or light?

• Soft, hard, padded, metallic, wooden, stone, glass, fabric, or something else?

• New, old, futuristic, ancient, ordinary, or magical?

Notice how the latch, handle, button, valve, key, or lock feels in your hand.

What does it sound like?

What sound does it make when:

• It opens?

• Material enters it?

• Items settle into place?

• It closes?

• The lock or latch engages?

Perhaps you hear a click, slide, seal, hum, thud, whoosh, beep, zipper, or complete silence.

What sound tells your nervous system, “It is secured”?

What does it smell like?

It might smell like:

• Wood

• Metal

• Clean fabric

• Fresh air

• A workshop

• A library

• Soap

• Earth

• Nothing at all

Remove or change any smell that feels unpleasant or unsafe.

Step 3: Decide What the Difficult Material Becomes

Difficult material may be easier to contain if it takes a form.

It might become:

• Dirty dishes

• Papers

• Files

• Photographs

• Smoke

• Fog

• Liquid

• Static

• Noise

• Tangled cords

• Stones

• Boxes

• Puzzle pieces

• Movie reels

• Clouds

• Words

• Shapes

• Colors

• Energy

• Something else entirely

You are not changing the truth of what happened. You are giving your mind a manageable way to represent and store material temporarily.

Ask:

• What form does this material naturally take?

• Does each concern need its own compartment?

• Does anything need to be wrapped, labeled, cooled, warmed, cleaned, quieted, fed, or protected?

• Does the material go inside by hand, through a chute, down a conveyor belt, through a tube, through a portal, or in some other way?

• Can I place a copy inside while keeping practical information I need in the present?

• Do I want a written label reminding me what to discuss with my therapist?

  
  

Step 4: Practice the Entire Process

Imagine a small piece of neutral practice material in front of you.

See yourself:

1. Approaching the Container

2. Opening it

3. Preparing the inside

4. Allowing the material to take its chosen form

5. Placing or directing the material inside

6. Making sure it is situated comfortably

7. Closing the Container

8. Engaging the lock, latch, seal, valve, or other security feature

9. Checking that it is fully secured

10. Stepping away

11. Returning your attention to the room and the present moment

Notice what happens in your body after the Container is closed.

Step 5: Practice With a Minor Annoyance

Choose something that currently rates only a 1 or 2 out of 10 on the SUD scale.

Do not use traumatic material for independent practice.

Briefly remember the irritation and notice how it appears in your mind or body.

Then allow the material to take a form.

Perhaps it becomes a dirty dish, file, ball of static, piece of paper, cloud, or object.

Imagine completing the full containment process:

• Open the Container.

• Place the material inside.

• Give it whatever it needs to remain there comfortably.

• Close the Container.

• Secure it.

• Check the lock or seal.

• Notice the sound, movement, and physical feeling of completion.

• Step back.

• Orient yourself to the present.

Now ask:

• Does the material feel sufficiently contained?

• Does my mind believe the Container will hold it?

• Is anything leaking, escaping, rattling, calling out, or trying to break through?

• Does the material feel harmed, trapped, ignored, or abandoned?

• Do I trust that I can retrieve it later?

• Does the Container need to be larger, stronger, quieter, softer, more organized, or more secure?

• Do I need another compartment?

• Does it need a guard, alarm, maintenance system, or backup lock?

• Would a different Container work better?

Adjust the Container and repeat the exercise.

The goal is not to force the disturbance to zero. The goal is to experience a believable sense that the material can remain somewhere secure while you return to the present.

Step 6: Create a Retrieval Cue

Choose a simple cue that helps your mind remember the Container.

My Container Cue

Name or nickname: __________________________________

Color: ______________________________________________

Symbol or image: ____________________________________

Emoji: ______________________________________________

Closing sound: ______________________________________

Lock, latch, seal, or security mechanism:

Where I notice relief or completion in my body:

Using These Tools During EMDR

The Peaceful Place

The Peaceful Place can be used to:

• Practice moving from activation toward greater regulation

• Strengthen access to comfort and supportive internal experiences

• Prepare for later trauma-processing work

• Help settle at the end of a session

• Reorient after difficult material

• Support closure when processing is incomplete

• Identify what safety and comfort feel like in the body

• Rehearse a more supported response to future stressors

The Container

The Container can be used to:

• Temporarily store unfinished material at the end of a session

• Set aside intrusive images, thoughts, or emotions between sessions

• Mark that something is important without processing it immediately

• Separate “I need to remember this” from “I need to experience this continuously”

• Protect sleep, work, parenting, driving, or other present-day responsibilities

• Help the mind transition out of trauma-processing mode

• Bring a sense of order to several competing concerns

The Container is not intended to become permanent avoidance. Material that repeatedly escapes, becomes more intense, or requires constant containment may need attention with your therapist.

Using These Tools Outside EMDR

These resources may also be helpful in ordinary life.

You might use the Peaceful Place:

• Before a difficult conversation

• In a waiting room

• After an overstimulating day

• Before sleep

• While preparing for a medical procedure

• During a short break at work

• When you need comfort but cannot immediately change your environment

• To rehearse responding differently to a manageable future stressor

You might use the Container:

• When a worry appears at bedtime

• When you remember something important during work

• When an issue needs to wait until a scheduled conversation

• When several problems are competing for your attention

• When you need to postpone—not eliminate—emotional work

• When distressing material appears while driving, parenting, or completing another responsibility

A practical option is to pair the imagined Container with a written note:

“This is stored for now. I will discuss it with my therapist on __________.”

This reassures the mind that the concern has not been forgotten.

Strengthening the Pathway

The more ways you connect with a resource, the easier it may become to retrieve.

You can strengthen access by connecting it to:

• Words

• Images

• Colors

• Sensory details

• Body sensations

• Symbols

• Emojis

• Objects

• Drawings

• Written descriptions

• Repeated practice

• Successful experiences of relief

Practice with low-level stress first. Repeatedly pairing the resource with a modest reduction in distress helps make it a more familiar option in your coping toolkit.

These exercises are designed to create a state change, not to resolve the underlying memory by themselves. A resource working well in practice is also not, by itself, proof that someone is ready for trauma processing. Readiness is assessed collaboratively with the EMDR therapist as part of the broader preparation process.

Troubleshooting

Present-Moment Return

After practicing either resource, take time to return fully to the present.

Notice:

• The room around you

• Today’s date

• The surface supporting your body

• Your feet or hands

• Three things you can see

• Two things you can hear

• One neutral or pleasant physical sensation

Take whatever time you need before standing, driving, or returning to another activity.

Important Reminder

These exercises are coping and preparation resources. They are not substitutes for emergency support, direct problem-solving, protective action, or trauma treatment with a qualified clinician.

Do not independently use highly disturbing or traumatic memories to test these exercises. If imagery increases distress, causes significant disconnection, or becomes difficult to stop, return to present-moment orientation and tell your therapist.