What the template covers
Five sections, mirroring the protocol’s nine steps:| Section | What you capture |
|---|---|
| Image | The place itself (real or imagined) and an optional name |
| Sensory enhancement | Sights, sounds, smells, textures |
| Feeling and body sensation | The emotion that comes up and where the client feels it |
| Cue word | A single word or short phrase the client uses to access the resource |
| Installation log | BLS sets completed, self-cue tested, disturbance-test result, notes |
When to use it
- Phase 2, session 1 or 2 — after history-taking, before any processing.
- As homework — between sessions, the client practices self-cuing.
- As a closure tool — at the end of an incomplete processing session, the client returns to the calm place so the session doesn’t end with the target unresolved.
- Periodic re-installation — refresh the resource if it starts to lose its accessibility.
A note on the word “safe”
Some clients find “safe” triggering — they’ve never had a safe place, or “safe” carries trauma associations. The template is titled Calm place specifically so you have the option of “calm” instead. Shapiro 2018 explicitly acknowledges the same substitution. Use the word the client can use.How to launch it
In the EMDR Workspace or from the templates picker, search “calm” — the template appears under the EMDR category. The structure follows the protocol order; fill it top-to-bottom as you work through the installation. The bilateral stimulation itself runs in the EMDR Workspace, independently of this template. Capture the BLS set count in the Installation log section once the sets are done.Field-by-field
Image
- Place description — large text field. A real place or an imagined one. Encourage detail.
- Place name — optional short name (e.g. “the cabin,” “the meadow”). Useful for the client’s cue word and for future references.
Sensory enhancement
- Sights — what the client sees in the place.
- Sounds — what they hear (wind, water, a fire, birds, silence).
- Smells — what they smell (often the most evocative anchor).
- Textures — what they feel against skin (sun, sand, water, temperature).
Feeling and body sensation
- Emotion — short description of the affective tone (calm, peaceful, held, settled).
- Body sensation — where in the body the client feels the calm. This is the anchor that gets reinforced with BLS.
Cue word
- Cue word — a single word or short phrase that captures the place. The client will use this between sessions to re-access the resource.
Installation log
- BLS sets completed — integer. Standard practice is short slow sets (4–8 passes) rather than long fast ones.
- Self-cue tested — boolean. Did the client successfully access the place using only the cue word, without your prompt?
- Disturbance tested — boolean. Did the client successfully access the place after recalling a mild current stressor? This is the stress test.
- Notes — anything that didn’t fit the structured fields.
How to read the installation record later
When you re-open the worksheet — at the start of the next session, or weeks later when the resource needs refreshing — the structured fields let you pick up where you left off. The cue word and the sensory details are the most important pieces; they’re the durable anchors. If self-cue tested is unchecked, schedule the test for the next session before any processing begins. If disturbance tested is unchecked, the resource isn’t yet robust enough to be a Phase 7 closure tool. Test it before relying on it for that purpose.Citation
- Daniels, N. — origin attribution (work with veterans, formalized by Shapiro).
- Shapiro, F. (1995, 2001, 2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures. Guilford Press. Phase 2 calm/safe place protocol documented in all editions.
Related articles
Container
The Phase 2 companion. Used as standard closure at the end of every
processing session.
The EMDR Workspace
The bilateral-stimulation surface. Where the installation BLS sets
actually run.