What Is a Safe Place Exercise in EMDR?

What Is a Safe Place Exercise in EMDR?

Short Answer: A Safe Place exercise in EMDR is a simple exercise where you bring to mind a real or imagined place that helps you feel calm, comfortable, or peaceful. You focus on details of the place—such as what you see, hear, or feel—to strengthen your connection with that sense of calm. It is commonly introduced during the preparation phase of EMDR and can be returned to whenever you find it helpful. You may also hear it called a Calm Place or Peaceful Place exercise.

Key Takeaways

• A Safe Place exercise involves imagining a real or fictional place that feels calm, comfortable, or peaceful.
• It is commonly used during the preparation phase of EMDR.
• Your place can be anywhere that works for you; there is no correct setting to choose.
• You may focus on sights, sounds, sensations, or other details that make the place feel vivid.
• Some versions of the exercise may include bilateral stimulation.
• The exercise is a form of resourcing, which means developing tools you can return to when they are useful.
• If the term “Safe Place” does not fit for you, the exercise may instead be called a Calm Place or Peaceful Place.

What Is the Safe Place Exercise?

The Safe Place exercise is one of the better-known preparation and resourcing exercises used in EMDR.
The basic idea is straightforward.
You think of a place that you associate with calm, comfort, peace, or another pleasant feeling.
The place might be somewhere you have actually been, or it can exist entirely in your imagination.
Once you have chosen it, you spend a little time noticing the details and the feelings associated with being there.
The purpose is to make it easier to reconnect with that calm or comfortable feeling when you want to.

What Kind of Place Can You Choose?

Almost any place can work.
For example, you might imagine:

• A beach
• A forest
• A garden
• A quiet room
• A favorite chair
• A lake
• A mountain
• A vacation spot
• A peaceful place from childhood
• An entirely imaginary location

There is nothing special about beaches, forests, or other traditionally relaxing settings.
If your favorite place is sitting on your porch on a quiet morning, that can work.
If you would rather imagine somewhere that does not exist, that can work too.
The important part is what the place brings up for you.

Does It Really Have to Feel “Safe”?

Not necessarily.
Although Safe Place is a widely used name for the exercise, you may also hear terms such as:

• Calm Place
• Peaceful Place
• Comfortable Place
• Special Place

For some people, trying to decide whether a place feels completely “safe” makes the exercise more complicated than it needs to be.
The goal is simply to find an image that helps you connect with a useful positive state, such as calm, comfort, peace, or ease.
For people working through anxiety or stress, a calming-place exercise may also provide a simple way to reconnect with a more settled state.
The label matters much less than whether the exercise works for you.

How Do You Do a Safe Place Exercise?

A Safe Place exercise can be quite simple.
First, bring your chosen place to mind.
Then spend a little time noticing what it would be like to be there.
You might ask yourself:

What do I see?
Maybe you notice trees, water, furniture, sunlight, clouds, or particular colors.

What do I hear?
Perhaps there are waves, birds, wind, music, rain, or simply quiet.

What do I feel?
You might notice warmth from the sun, a comfortable chair, cool air, or the ground underneath your feet.

You can also notice what happens internally as you imagine the place.
Perhaps your breathing becomes a little slower.
Maybe your shoulders relax.
Perhaps you simply notice a pleasant sense of being somewhere you enjoy.
There is no particular reaction you need to produce.

Do You Need to Visualize the Place Clearly?

No.
Some people naturally create very detailed mental pictures.
Others do not.
You do not need to see your Safe Place in your mind as clearly as if you were looking at a photograph.
You might connect more strongly with:

• A sound
• A physical sensation
• A general feeling
• A memory
• A few simple visual details

For example, you might not picture an entire beach clearly but easily imagine the sound of waves and the feeling of warm sand.
That is fine.
The exercise is about connecting with the experience, not testing how well you can visualize.

Can Your Safe Place Be Imaginary?

Yes.
Your Safe Place does not have to be somewhere you have actually visited.
You can create one.
You might imagine a cabin beside a lake even if you have never stayed in one.
You could picture a quiet garden that does not exist.
You could combine details from several places you like into one imaginary setting.
Because the purpose is the feeling associated with the image, the place does not need to exist in the real world.

Can You Use a Real Place?

Yes.
For some people, a familiar real place is easier to connect with.
You might choose:

• Your bedroom
• A grandparent's house
• A favorite vacation destination
• A park you enjoy
• A quiet spot in your home
• Somewhere outdoors where you like spending time

A familiar place can make it easier to remember sensory details because you already know what it looks and feels like.
Again, there is no advantage to choosing a real place over an imaginary one. Use whichever works better for you.

What Details Do You Focus On?

You can focus on whatever makes the experience feel most vivid or useful.
That might include:

• Colors
• Light
• Sounds
• Temperature
• Textures
• Smells
• The feeling of the ground or furniture underneath you
• A sense of space
• The overall mood of the place

You do not need to work through every sense.
If visual details are what you notice most easily, focus on those.
If sound matters more, focus on sound.
The exercise can be adapted to the way you naturally imagine and remember things.

Does the Safe Place Exercise Use Bilateral Stimulation?

Sometimes.
In EMDR, the Safe/Calm Place exercise may be paired with brief bilateral stimulation, such as alternating eye movements, sounds, or tapping.
You keep the calming image or feeling in mind while using the bilateral stimulation.
Other versions of the exercise may simply involve focusing on the place without bilateral stimulation.
Either way, the central idea is the same: strengthening your connection with the calm or comfortable state associated with the place.

Where Does the Safe Place Exercise Fit Into EMDR?

EMDR is traditionally organized into eight phases.
The Safe Place exercise is commonly introduced during Phase 2: Preparation.
Preparation includes learning about the EMDR process and developing resources that you can use as you move through it.
The Safe Place exercise is one of those resources.
Once you know how to use it, you can return to it later rather than limiting it to the preparation phase.

Is a Safe Place Exercise the Same as Resourcing?

The Safe Place exercise is one type of resourcing.
Resourcing is the broader term for identifying and strengthening things that help you connect with useful states such as calm, confidence, support, or capability.
Other resources might include:

• A positive memory
• A supportive person
• A personal strength
• A grounding exercise
• Slow breathing
• A memory of successfully handling something difficult
• An encouraging thought

So a Safe Place can be a resource, but it is not the only kind of resource used in EMDR.

Is a Safe Place Exercise the Same as Grounding?

Not exactly.
A Safe Place exercise usually involves directing your attention toward a calming or comfortable mental image.
Grounding generally involves directing your attention toward the present moment and your current surroundings.
For example, grounding might involve noticing:

• Your feet on the floor
• The chair underneath you
• Objects you can see
• Sounds in the room
• Your breathing

Both can help shift your attention, and both can be used as resources, but they work in somewhat different ways.

Is the Safe Place Exercise the Same as Processing?

No.
During the Safe Place exercise, you are focusing on something associated with a positive or calming state.
During EMDR processing, you are working with the particular memory, thought, feeling, or other target you have chosen for the session.
A simple way to distinguish them is:

Safe Place: focusing on a calming or comfortable resource.
Processing: focusing on the target you are working on with EMDR.

The Safe Place exercise is generally part of preparation and resourcing rather than the main memory-processing portion of EMDR.

What If You Cannot Think of a Safe Place?

You do not need to force one.
If no particular location comes to mind, you can experiment with a different approach.
You might:

• Invent a place
• Combine features from several places
• Think about somewhere comfortable rather than “safe”
• Focus on a positive memory
• Use a different type of resource

For example, perhaps you cannot think of a particular peaceful location, but remembering sitting with your dog on the couch gives you the feeling you are looking for.
That may be more useful than trying to invent a perfect beach or forest.
The exercise is flexible.

What If the Place Stops Feeling Calm?

You can change it.
You are not committed to the first place you choose.
Perhaps you initially imagine somewhere that seems peaceful but then realize the place has memories or associations that make it less comfortable.
You can choose somewhere else.
You can also change details of an imaginary place.
Add something you like.
Remove something you do not.
Move somewhere different.
The purpose of the exercise is to create a resource that is useful to you, not to stick with a particular image once you have chosen it.

Do You Need a Safe Place Before Doing EMDR?

The Safe/Calm Place exercise is commonly used during EMDR preparation, but it is not something you need to perform perfectly.
The point is not to prove that you can become completely calm before beginning EMDR.
It is simply one way of developing a resource that you can return to when you find it useful.
Some people connect strongly with the exercise.
Others prefer different resources.
There is no single calming image that everyone needs in order to have a meaningful EMDR experience.

Can You Use Your Safe Place Outside an EMDR Session?

Yes.
Once you have practiced the exercise, you can use it whenever you find it helpful.
For example, you might return to the image:

• Before an EMDR session
• During a pause
• At the end of a session
• Later in the day
• When you simply want a few quiet moments

The exercise does not belong exclusively to EMDR.
If imagining the place helps you feel calmer or more comfortable, you can use it whenever you choose.

Safe Place Exercises and Self-Guided EMDR

A Safe/Calm Place exercise can fit naturally into self-guided EMDR because it gives you a resource you can use on your own.
A structured self-guided program may introduce a calming-place exercise during preparation and give you opportunities to return to it later.
Because you control the pacing in a self-guided session, you can also pause and use the exercise whenever you find it useful.
The important part is not following one exact image or creating a perfect calming experience. It is finding a resource that works for you.

Conclusion

A Safe Place exercise in EMDR is a simple way of connecting with an image or experience associated with calm, comfort, or peace.
Your place can be real or imaginary, detailed or simple. You can focus on whatever aspects of it work best for you, whether that is what you see, hear, feel, or simply the overall sense you get from imagining it.
There is no perfect Safe Place and no particular image you need to choose. The exercise is simply one form of EMDR resourcing—a tool you can return to whenever you find it useful.