Top 5 EMDR Resourcing Techniques You Can Do Online With Your Therapist

If you’re considering EMDR therapy online — especially as an international client — you might be wondering:

How do EMDR techniques work over video?
And more specifically:
Can resourcing still feel safe and effective if we’re not in the same room?

The answer is a confident yes.
EMDR resourcing techniques are some of the most flexible and powerful tools in online trauma therapy. They’re designed to help your nervous system feel more grounded, safe, and resilient — no matter where you are in the world.

Here are five of the most commonly used EMDR resourcing techniques that therapists use successfully in virtual sessions.

Why Resourcing Matters in Online EMDR

Resourcing is part of Phase 2 of the EMDR 8-phase protocol — the preparation stage. Before diving into trauma memories, your therapist helps you build emotional and somatic tools for safety, stability, and self-regulation.

When working with clients online (across time zones or languages), these techniques are crucial. They:

• Build trust between you and your therapist

• Offer tools to manage intense feelings

• Reduce anxiety or emotional flooding

• Strengthen your internal sense of safety

Let’s look at five powerful resourcing tools that work beautifully over Zoom or telehealth platforms.

1. Safe or Calm Place Visualization

One of the foundational techniques in EMDR resourcing, the Safe Place (also called Calm Place) helps create an internal sanctuary.

How It Works Online:

Your therapist guides you to imagine a place where you feel safe, calm, and peaceful — it could be real or imagined. You’ll describe the sights, sounds, and sensations of that place, while practicing deep breathing or bilateral stimulation (BLS), like self-tapping.

Great for: Anxiety, PTSD, first-time EMDR clients
Why it works online: You can return to this place mentally anytime between sessions — it becomes your emotional “home base.”

2. Container Technique

Trauma work can stir up intrusive thoughts or feelings. The Container technique helps you learn how to set those aside — temporarily — so they don’t overwhelm your system.

How It Works Online:

You imagine a secure container (a vault, a box, a safe) where you can mentally “place” troubling thoughts. You and your therapist may use tapping or breathing as you visualize closing and locking the container.

Great for: Clients with racing thoughts or intrusive memories
Why it works online: It creates a sense of mental control that supports emotional boundaries.

3. Nurturing or Protective Figure

This technique uses guided imagery to help you connect with a source of emotional support — a real person, imaginary figure, animal, or even spiritual symbol that brings comfort.

How It Works Online:

Your therapist will help you describe this figure in detail — what they look like, how they speak, how they make you feel. You’ll then strengthen the connection with BLS or self-tapping.

Great for: Clients with attachment trauma, low self-worth, or loneliness
Why it works online: You can access this figure between sessions when self-soothing is needed.

4. Lightstream Visualization

The Lightstream technique uses imagery of light to gently clear or wash away emotional distress.

How It Works Online:

Your therapist might guide you to imagine a warm, healing light flowing through your body — dissolving or melting emotional pain as it moves. This technique often uses calming voice guidance and slow breathwork.

Great for: Somatic distress, grief, anxiety
Why it works online: It’s gentle, deeply relaxing, and doesn’t require any physical tools.

5. Tapping for Self-Soothing (Online Bilateral Stimulation)

Bilateral stimulation (BLS) is the heart of EMDR, and yes — it works online. During resourcing, it’s often used to “install” positive states like calm or confidence.

How It Works Online:

Your therapist teaches you how to self-tap — usually by alternating taps on your shoulders, knees, or the backs of your hands — while you focus on a calming image or phrase.

Great for: Strengthening any resourcing image
Why it works online: It’s simple, physical, and easy to do from anywhere in the world.

Bonus: Combining Techniques for Greater Impact

Many online EMDR therapists will combine these tools based on your needs. For example:

• Safe Place + Nurturing Figure

• Lightstream + Tapping

• Container + Breathing Techniques

This personalized approach is especially helpful in international therapy, where culture, language, and individual experiences can shape what feels safe.

Final Thoughts: Resourcing Is the Foundation of Healing

Whether you’re beginning EMDR from abroad, or you're already in therapy and need to deepen your sense of emotional safety, these techniques are powerful and portable.

You don’t need to be in the same room as your therapist to create a deep, grounded, and effective internal resource system. Your nervous system can feel held — even through a screen.

Ready to experience these techniques for yourself?

I offer EMDR therapy online to international clients seeking trauma-informed care. Resourcing is always the first step — and you’ll never be rushed.

Get in touch today and start building the tools to heal safely, from anywhere in the world.