EMDR COUPLES Framework: Deeper Connections II, Putting the Pieces Together
In couples therapy, the relationship is the client. This training gives you a structured way to use EMDR and EFT together to work with the space between partners, not just the individuals in the room.
Early-bird code CF26 saves $80 through November 18, 2026 (Central)
Join virtually or in person · Secure checkout · Zoom link in your account · CE certificate issued upon attendance verification · EMDRIA-Approved EC Provider #15007
Presented by
Kenya Rocha,
MS, LMHC, NCC
EMDRIA Approved Trainer & Consultant · Clinical Supervisor · Bilingual Therapist (EN/ES)
Couples enter therapy caught in cycles shaped by attachment injuries, trauma, and stored memory. The relationship is the client.
Assessment and intervention in couples work has to stay in service of the space between partners: the relational system through which they experience safety, threat, meaning, empathy, accountability, intimacy, and repair. Standard EMDR training builds the individual-processing skill set. It does not, on its own, tell you how to work when the client is the relationship.
- Trauma and past experience activate emotional responses inside the couple system, not just inside one partner, and individual-focused case conceptualization can miss that entirely
- Clinicians often lack a structured way to map a couple's negative interactional cycle before deciding how or whether to bring EMDR processing into the room
- Assessing a couple's readiness for EMDR processing, and sequencing targets across both partners, is rarely taught as its own clinical skill
- Cultural, generational, and contextual influences on how partners make meaning of conflict are easy to miss without a framework built for relational work
- Kenya Rocha's COUPLES Framework and Six Constructs of Intimacy were built specifically to close that gap
Designed for licensed clinicians who have completed EMDR Basic Training and want a structured approach to couples and relational work.
Therapists & Counselors
LPCs, LMHCs, and licensed counselors extending individual EMDR skills into couples and relational work.
Social Workers & Psychologists
LISWs, LMSWs, and psychologists working with couples presenting with attachment injuries and relational trauma.
LMFTs & Other Master’s-Level Practitioners
LMFTs and master’s-level clinicians whose caseload centers relational and couples-based treatment.
The COUPLES Framework and Six Constructs of Intimacy: a structured approach for bringing AIP, EMDR, and EFT into relational treatment.
This advanced, two-day training presents the COUPLES Framework and Six Constructs of Intimacy, original integrative models developed by Kenya Rocha, MS, LMHC, NCC. Together, these models provide a structured approach for incorporating the Adaptive Information Processing model, EMDR therapy, and Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples into relational treatment.
You’ll learn to identify how trauma becomes activated between partners, map and de-escalate negative emotional cycles, and evaluate the relational conditions necessary for emotional safety and intimate connection. The training addresses collaborative resourcing, co-regulation, cultural and contextual influences, readiness for EMDR processing, relational target-sequence planning, and the management of EMDR preparation, processing, and integration within the couple system.
Topics Covered
- Trauma, AIP, and the couple system: how past experience shapes present relational activation
- Cycle identification and EFT integration: mapping triggers, meanings, and protective responses
- Cycle de-escalation and empathic engagement through EFT-informed intervention
- Culture, context, and relational meaning across generational and cross-cultural couples
- Relationship-based stabilization, co-regulation, and clinical indicators of EMDR readiness
- Relational target-sequencing that links past experience, present triggers, and future response
- Managing EMDR preparation, processing, and integration through the COUPLES Framework
- Structured couple case simulation integrating EFT, AIP, and EMDR decision-making
By the End of This Training, You Will Be Able To:
Ten learning objectives spanning couple-system case conceptualization, EFT-informed de-escalation, readiness assessment, and integrated EMDR processing within the couple.
01
Explain how trauma and past experiences activate current emotional responses within the couple system through the Adaptive Information Processing model.
02
Map a couple’s interactional cycle by identifying two triggers, associated meanings, and emotional and behavioral responses.
03
Apply two principles of Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples that promote relational safety, emotional engagement, and accountability.
04
Use an EFT-informed empathy-building intervention to de-escalate a couple’s negative emotional cycle.
05
Apply two culturally responsive interventions that address generational, cultural, and contextual influences in cross-cultural couples.
06
Demonstrate three relationship-based strategies that support co-regulation and emotional stabilization between partners.
07
Assess a couple’s readiness for EMDR processing using three clinical indicators within the couple system.
08
Develop a relational target-sequencing plan that links past experiences, present triggers, and desired future responses.
09
Demonstrate use of the COUPLES Framework to manage EMDR preparation, processing, and integration within couples therapy.
10
Apply integrated EFT, EMDR, and COUPLES Framework concepts during a structured couple case simulation.
A Framework Designed to Apply Starting With Your Next Couple
When clinicians have a structured way to map a couple’s cycle, assess readiness, and sequence targets across both partners, EMDR processing stops being something layered on top of couples work and becomes part of how the relationship itself gets treated.
From cycle de-escalation and cultural responsiveness to target sequencing and integration, the strategies in this training are built to move directly into your clinical work with couples.
12 CE hours · Secure checkout · Code CF26 saves $80 through Nov 18
Everything You Need to Know
Live Training
$479.99$399.99
Early bird · Save $80 before November 18, 2026 (Central)
Join Virtually In-Person at MFCCSecure checkout · Instant confirmation
Early-bird code: CF26 · Ends Nov 18, 2026 · Standard price $479.99 after
- Two-day live training, 12 CE hours · virtual or in-person at MFCC
- 90-day access to the event recording
- Clinical Reference Materials
- EMDRIA continuing education credit · submission pending, hours to be confirmed
- CE certificate issued upon attendance verification
Six Instructional Hours Each Day
Day 1
Understanding and De-escalating the Couple’s Relational Cycle
- 9:00–10:30Trauma, AIP, and the Couple System
- 10:45–12:00Cycle Identification and EFT Integration
- 1:00–2:30Cycle De-escalation and Empathic Engagement
- 2:45–4:30Culture, Context, and Relational Meaning
Day 2
Preparing and Managing EMDR Processing With Couples
- 9:00–10:15Preparing and Resourcing the Couple
- 10:30–12:00Linking Targets and Formulating the Plan
- 1:00–2:30Managing EMDR Through the COUPLES Framework
- 2:45–4:30Clinical Application and Practice: Case Simulation
Lunch and breaks are scheduled between sessions and excluded from CE time. Total CE instructional time: 12 hours.
Kenya Rocha, MS, LMHC, NCC
EMDRIA Approved Trainer & Consultant · Clinical Supervisor · Bilingual Therapist (EN/ES)
Kenya Rocha is a nationally recognized EMDR trainer with 30+ years of clinical leadership, 500+ clinicians trained, and a reputation for teaching that is both rigorous and deeply human.
The COUPLES Framework and Six Constructs of Intimacy are original integrative models Kenya developed to bring the Adaptive Information Processing model, EMDR, and Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples together into a single structured approach for relational treatment.
Read Kenya’s Full BioFrequently Asked Questions
Accreditation & Compliance Information
EMDRIA Credit
EMDR & Beyond is an EMDRIA-approved EC Provider (#15007). This program has been submitted for EMDRIA continuing education credit; approval and final credit hours are pending confirmation and will be posted here once received.
Certificate & Attendance Requirements
Certificates are issued electronically after attendance verification and completion requirements are met. To receive CE or EMDRIA credit for live virtual or in-person attendance, participants must attend the entire program in real time. Partial credit is not available, and viewing a recording does not qualify for live credit.
Accreditation Learning Objectives
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Explain how trauma and past experiences activate current emotional responses within the couple system through the Adaptive Information Processing model.
- Map a couple’s interactional cycle by identifying two triggers, associated meanings, and emotional and behavioral responses.
- Apply two principles of Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples that promote relational safety, emotional engagement, and accountability.
- Use an EFT-informed empathy-building intervention to de-escalate a couple’s negative emotional cycle.
- Apply two culturally responsive interventions that address generational, cultural, and contextual influences in cross-cultural couples.
- Demonstrate three relationship-based strategies that support co-regulation and emotional stabilization between partners.
- Assess a couple’s readiness for EMDR processing using three clinical indicators within the couple system.
- Develop a relational target-sequencing plan that links past experiences, present triggers, and desired future responses.
- Demonstrate use of the COUPLES Framework to manage EMDR preparation, processing, and integration within couples therapy.
- Apply integrated EFT, EMDR, and COUPLES Framework concepts during a structured couple case simulation.
Cancellation Policy
Refunds are available within three (3) days of course purchase, less a $50 processing fee. Purchases made after this period are non-refundable.
Grievance Policy
Written grievances should be submitted to Kenya Rocha at kenya@emdrandbeyond.com. Grievances will be reviewed and, when appropriate, corrective action will be taken.
ADA & Conflict of Interest
This course complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). There is no known commercial interest or conflict of interest related to this workshop. Accommodation requests: contact Kenya Rocha.
December 3–4, 2026 · Live Hybrid · 12 CE Hours
Join virtually or in person at MOSAIC Family Counseling Center in Urbandale, IA. Early-bird pricing (code CF26) ends November 18, 2026. Registration closes December 1, 2026.
EMDRIA-Approved EC Provider #15007 · APA CE Sponsor · Secure checkout · Instant confirmation
