Your First Tool: Calm Place
Before we go into any theory, let us give you something you can use right now.
Calm Place is a visualisation technique from EMDR’s Phase 2 (Preparation). It creates an internal resource — an imagined place of safety and calm — that you can access any time activation rises. We use it throughout this program whenever we move into more challenging material.
- Choose a place — real or imagined, indoors or outdoors. Somewhere that feels safe, calm, and pleasant. It does not need to be perfect. It just needs to feel settled.
- Bring it to life — what do you see? What sounds are there? What does the air feel like? What does the place smell like? Build the sensory detail until the place feels real.
- Notice the feeling — as you settle into the image, notice what happens in your body. Where do you feel the calm? Chest? Shoulders? Stomach? Let yourself rest there.
- Give it a name — choose a single word that captures this place. “Beach.” “Forest.” “Garden.” “Home.” This word becomes your anchor.
Once you have your place, add bilateral stimulation (BLS). Cross your arms over your chest and alternate gentle taps — left, right, left, right — at a comfortable pace. Or alternate taps on your knees. 20–30 slow taps while holding the image of your Calm Place. Notice how it feels.
This is your stabilisation tool. Practice it daily until it becomes second nature — so that when you need it, it is already reliable.
Some people find it difficult to visualise a calm place, or find that negative material intrudes. This is common, particularly with complex trauma. If this happens, try a neutral place rather than a pleasant one — somewhere that simply feels neither threatening nor activating. A library, an empty room, a bench in a park. Neutral is fine.