How Can You Plan for Grounding Before Processing?

How Can You Plan for Grounding Before Processing?

Short Answer: Before Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) processing, it can help to know one or two simple ways to reconnect with the present if you need them. Grounding might involve noticing your feet on the floor, looking around the room, slowing your breathing, focusing on a neutral body sensation, or using a familiar calming image or object. You do not need to become completely calm before EMDR, and you do not need a long list of techniques. The goal is simply to have a few workable options that help you stay connected to the present while approaching difficult material.

Key Takeaways

• Grounding is one part of EMDR preparation.
• You do not need to feel perfectly calm before processing.
• One or two grounding strategies that actually work for you may be enough.
• Grounding can use your surroundings, breathing, body awareness, movement, imagery, or familiar objects.
• It helps to practice grounding before you need it rather than learning everything in the middle of processing.
• Grounding should help you reconnect with the present, not distract you from every difficult feeling.
• You can pause during processing and use grounding when needed.
• With self-guided EMDR, planning grounding beforehand can help you manage your own pacing and pauses.

What Does Grounding Mean in EMDR?

Grounding generally means reconnecting your attention with what is happening here and now.

During EMDR, you may be thinking about something from the past while also remaining aware that you are in the present.

That ability to notice both the target and the current environment is sometimes called dual awareness or dual attention.

EMDR preparation is designed in part to help people maintain that present-moment connection during processing. EMDR training standards specifically include developing regulation skills, maintaining dual awareness, and establishing procedures for pausing when needed.

Grounding Does Not Mean Eliminating Emotion

A common misunderstanding is that you need to become completely calm before EMDR can begin.

You do not.

You can feel:

• Nervous
• Sad
• Angry
• Uncertain
• Emotionally activated

and still remain sufficiently present to participate.

Grounding is not necessarily about making every uncomfortable feeling disappear.

It is more about being able to notice:

“I am thinking about this difficult experience, and I also know where I am right now.”

Current EMDR guidance describes readiness in terms of functional abilities such as maintaining dual awareness and using regulation strategies, rather than requiring complete emotional calm.

Why Plan Grounding Before Processing?

It is easier to use a strategy you already understand than to invent one when you are concentrating on a difficult target.

Before processing begins, you can identify:

• What helps you reconnect with your surroundings
• What helps you slow down
• What body sensations feel neutral or steady
• Whether movement helps
• Whether imagery helps
• Whether a familiar object is useful

EMDR's preparation phase includes developing tools that can be used during processing and at the end of sessions.

Planning ahead does not mean assuming the session will be difficult.

It simply means knowing your options.

Start With One or Two Strategies

You do not need ten grounding exercises.

Too many choices can sometimes make preparation feel more complicated than it needs to be.

Instead, choose one or two strategies that feel natural.

If you experience anxiety, choose a grounding strategy that helps you notice your surroundings without requiring you to feel completely calm.

For example:

Strategy 1: Feel your feet against the floor.

Strategy 2: Look around the room and name several things you can see.

That may be enough.

If those strategies do not help, you can try something else.

The goal is not to create a perfect grounding routine. It is to identify something practical that helps you return attention to the present.

Use Your Physical Environment

One of the simplest grounding approaches is noticing what is around you.

You might look around and identify:

• The wall
• A window
• A chair
• A lamp
• A picture
• The floor beneath you

You can also notice:

• Colors
• Shapes
• Sounds
• Light
• Temperature

This gives your attention clear information about your present surroundings.

You do not need to perform a complicated exercise.

Sometimes simply looking around the room and reminding yourself where you are is enough.

Use Contact With the Floor or Chair

Physical contact with the environment can also help.

You might notice:

• Your feet pressing against the floor
• Your back against the chair
• Your hands resting on your legs
• The weight of your body in the seat

The point is not to force relaxation.

You are simply noticing something that is happening right now.

Can Breathing Be Used for Grounding?

Yes, if you find it helpful.

You might take a slower breath and notice:

• Air entering your nose
• Your chest or stomach moving
• The exhale leaving your body

You do not need to breathe according to a precise count unless that personally helps.

For some people, breathing is calming.

For others, looking around the room or using physical sensations works better.

Grounding should be individualized rather than treated as one universal technique.

What About a Calm or Safe Place Image?

Some EMDR preparation uses imagery, sometimes called a calm place, safe place, or similar resource.

You may imagine:

• A familiar room
• A beach
• A forest
• A favorite place
• A completely imagined setting

The useful part is not creating a perfect image.

It is whether the image brings some sense of steadiness, comfort, or orientation.

EMDR preparation commonly includes developing resources that can support regulation before and during later phases.

If imagery does not work well for you, another grounding method can be used instead.

Can You Use an Object?

Yes.

A familiar object can provide something concrete to notice.

For example:

• A smooth stone
• A blanket
• A pillow
• A small object with texture
• A meaningful item

You might notice its:

• Weight
• Shape
• Temperature
• Texture

The object itself is not doing EMDR.

It is simply providing a present-moment sensory reference.

Can Movement Help?

For some people, yes.

Grounding might include:

• Stretching your hands
• Moving your feet
• Rolling your shoulders
• Standing briefly
• Taking a few steps

Small movements can make it easier to reconnect with your body and surroundings.

You do not have to remain perfectly still throughout preparation.

Practice Before the Processing Phase

A grounding strategy is generally more useful when you have tried it before relying on it.

You might practice for a minute during preparation.

Ask yourself:

• Does this actually help me notice the present?
• Does it feel natural?
• Is it distracting?
• Would I remember to use it?
• Do I prefer another method?

EMDRIA's preparation guidance emphasizes developing and practicing regulation skills before moving into active reprocessing.

You are looking for something usable, not something impressive.

Know How You Will Pause

Grounding planning should also include knowing that you can pause.

Before processing begins, it can help to know how you will communicate:

• “Stop.”
• “Pause.”
• “I need a minute.”
• “Can we slow down?”
• “I need to look around the room.”

EMDR preparation standards specifically include establishing expectations around a stop signal before reprocessing.

Knowing that you can interrupt the process can make grounding easier because you do not have to keep going while trying to reorient yourself.

When Might You Use Grounding During Processing?

You may decide to ground if you notice that you are having difficulty staying connected to the present.

For example, you may want to pause if:

• You lose track of the room
• It becomes difficult to follow the process
• You cannot hear or respond clearly
• You need a moment to reconnect with your surroundings

The purpose is not to stop every difficult feeling.

EMDR processing naturally involves approaching distressing material.

Grounding becomes useful when you need to reconnect enough to continue participating in the process.

Grounding Is Not the Same as Avoiding the Target

If grounding becomes a way to immediately move away from every uncomfortable emotion, it may interfere with staying connected to the material being processed.

The goal is balance.

You are not trying to:

avoid the memory completely

or

become overwhelmed by the memory.

Instead, the aim is to remain sufficiently present while allowing processing to continue.

This is the practical purpose of dual attention in EMDR.

What If Your First Grounding Strategy Does Not Work?

Try another one.

People vary in what helps.

You may discover that:

• Breathing is useful
• Breathing is distracting
• Visual orientation works better
• Movement works better
• Body sensations are easier to notice
• Imagery feels natural
• Imagery does not help at all

Grounding is not a test.

The useful strategy is the one that actually helps you reconnect with the present.

Do You Need a Grounding Routine After Every Set?

No.

You do not need to interrupt the natural flow of processing simply because grounding techniques exist.

Use them when they are useful.

During ordinary processing, you may remain present without needing a grounding exercise at all.

Grounding is a resource, not a requirement that must be repeated constantly.

What If You Need More Grounding Practice?

That can simply mean spending more time in preparation.

Some people become comfortable with grounding quickly.

Others need more practice finding strategies that work.

EMDRIA notes that preparation can vary in length and that some people benefit from more time developing resources before reprocessing begins.

That does not mean something is wrong.

It means preparation is doing what it is supposed to do.

Can Grounding Help Between Sessions?

Yes.

The same strategies can also be useful outside the session.

For example, you might use grounding if a memory or thought comes to mind later and you want to reconnect with what you are doing now.

You do not need to analyze everything that appears between sessions.

You can simply notice it and return attention to the present when that feels useful.

What About Online EMDR?

With therapist-guided online EMDR, it can help to prepare the physical environment as part of grounding.

That might mean:

• Sitting somewhere comfortable
• Having enough privacy
• Reducing interruptions
• Knowing what objects are around you
• Keeping water nearby
• Knowing what you will do if the connection drops

EMDRIA guidance for online EMDR recommends creating a private, comfortable setting and reviewing resources and grounding during preparation.

Your own room can become part of the grounding process because you can deliberately orient to familiar surroundings.

What About Self-Guided EMDR?

Grounding planning can be particularly useful with Virtual EMDR, because the program is self-guided and you manage your own pacing, pauses, and available visual or audio bilateral stimulation settings.

Before beginning, you might ask yourself:

• What grounding strategy works best for me?
• Can I notice my surroundings easily?
• Do I know that I can pause?
• Is my environment quiet enough to focus?
• Is there a familiar object nearby if I want one?
• Do I have enough time that I will not feel rushed?

If you need to pause during the session, you can reconnect with the room, use your grounding strategy, and decide when or whether you want to continue.

That does not mean self-guided EMDR is inherently risky.

It simply means that, because you control the session yourself, it helps to know what resources you want available beforehand.

Conclusion

Planning for grounding before EMDR does not require an elaborate routine.

You may only need one or two simple ways to reconnect with the present.

That could be:

• Feeling your feet on the floor
• Looking around the room
• Slowing your breathing
• Noticing a neutral body sensation
• Using a calming image
• Holding a familiar object
• Moving your body briefly

EMDR preparation specifically includes developing resources that support regulation and dual awareness during processing.

The goal is not to become perfectly calm before starting.

It is simpler than that:

Know what helps you reconnect with the present, practice it before you need it, and remember that you can pause and use it whenever the process calls for it.