EMDR Therapy: An Introduction
Free Introductory Course
Instructor: Curt Rouanzoin, PhD
Curtis Rouanzoin, PhD, co-founder, past co-president, and Director of Training for EMDR Professional Training, was trained by Francine Shapiro in EMDR from 1991 to 1992. He worked with the EMDR Institute as a Facilitator (1992) and then Senior Trainer until 2017. Throughout the years, he has worked to develop the highest quality EMDR Basic Trainings as well as Advanced Trainings in Complex PTSD and Dissociation.
Dr. Rouanzoin is EMDR Certified, an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, and an EMDRIA Approved Instructor in EMDR Therapy. He has trained mental health practitioners in EMDR Therapy both nationally and internationally. Internationally, Dr. Rouanzoin traveled with Dr. Shapiro to Columbia on a Congress Against Violence and to pave the way for future EMDR trainings. He also traveled to Japan with Dr. Andrew Leeds to train the first groups of clinicians there.While at Hope International University, where he taught for 22 years and developed the Marriage and Family Therapy Program, he created the first graduate-level university course in EMDR (1995).
Dr. Rouanzoin has conducted more than 45,000 hours of EMDR Therapy sessions with clients across all gender, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds. He receives referrals for situations ranging from military/police/first responders to Complex PTSD/Dissociative Disorders as well as peak performance in athletics and theater/performing arts.
As both a Licensed Psychologist (PSY7809) and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT8790), Dr. Rouanzoin understands the professional and clinical demands of both. His early training provided a solid foundation for the extensive post-graduate education he has received.
Dr. Rouanzoin has spoken on panels and made presentations regarding EMDR Therapy at EMDRIA, ISTSS, California Psychological Association, Anxiety Association of America, Orange County Psychological Association and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Rouanzoin was a founding member of the Traumatic Stress Network (TTSN) in Southern California. TTSN was the first regional Basic Training in EMDR in conjunction with the EMDR Institute. As a founding board member and second President of EMDRIA, Dr. Rouanzoin helped develop the Standards and Training Committee.
Instructor: Michelle Gottlieb, Psy.D.
As Co-Founder, President, and CEO of EMDR Professional Training, Michelle Gottlieb, PsyD, MFT, LPCC, is an experienced clinician with over 30 years of clinical experience. Dr. Gottlieb is an EMDRIA Certified Therapist, an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, and an EMDRIA Approved Trainer.
After years of working in therapy or families, individuals, and children, Dr. Gottlieb discovered EMDR in 2000. She soon completed her EMDR Certification and began using EMDR therapy within her practice. The rapid and positive results she saw with her clients created an urgency to go further with EMDR therapy.
Dr. Gottlieb’s private practice is in Fullerton, California, where she specializes in complex trauma and chronic pain/illness. She also holds an adjunct faculty position in the Graduate program for the Department of Counseling at California State University, Fullerton.
Michelle is the author of the book Balance and Change (2004) and writes an ongoing column for The Fullerton Observer, by the same title. She co-hosts the EMDR Chat podcast and has co-published the article, “Reducing the Cost of Caring: Indirect Trauma Exposure on Mental Health Providers” (2023).
If anyone is passionate about EMDR therapy, Michelle is, and she’s passionate about teaching it to other clinicians. Participants who have been trained by Dr. Gottlieb often comment that she makes complex material easy to understand and apply with a special talent for creating a light and enjoyable environment for learning.
Dr. Gottlieb is an international presenter and most recently presented at EMDR Asia in Mumbai, India, in January 2026.
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EMDR Therapy: An Introduction
Free Online Course
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- Free
- Online Course
- 90 Day Enrollment
Course Description, Learning Objectives, Schedule
Course Description
This introductory course explores what EMDR Therapy is and the underlying theories and research that support it. The course gives historical perspective, discoveries, and current use in today's mental health landscape.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Define EMDR therapy, including its historical development and the theoretical foundations that support its use in contemporary mental health practice.
- Explain the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model and the proposed mechanisms of change underlying EMDR therapy.
- Describe the effects of trauma on emotions and behavior, including the three prongs and eight phases of the EMDR therapy process.