Since the first edition of this primer in 2009, the author has heard its title pronounced in two different ways by clinicians espousing its usefulness. It was initially titled the EMDR pri-m r and offered as an introductory textbook much like the McGuffey primer, which was widely used in American schools from the mid-19th century. The other is the more informal pronunciation of the EMDR prĪ-m r, like “priming the pump.” The original intent of the EMDR pri-m r was to mirror and to enhance the teachings detailed in Dr. Francine Shapiro’s 1999, 2001, and 2018 texts and her EMDR Institute-sponsored trainings from their inception to the present. However the reader chooses to pronounce it (pri-m r/prĪ-m r), it was the author’s overall intention to encourage the growth of clinicians by preparing them to be more skilled, practiced, and confident in empowering a client’s train down the track to a healthy adaptive destination.

The title of the second edition of this text was changed from An EMDR Primer to An EMDR Therapy Primer to reflect EMDR therapy as a full-bodied psychotherapeutic approach.

A set of tables, called Derailment Possibilities, were peppered throughout the third edition and have been updated in the fourth edition of the primer. These tables have been included to alert the engineer (i.e., the clinician) to the possible obstacles ahead on the track that may cause the train to slow or run off the rails.

The EMDR primer is an introductory textbook that teaches the ABCs of EMDR therapy. Often the guidelines, rules, and criteria that reside here may appear to be strict and unwieldy, and many may judge it by its supposed rigidity. The clinician needs to understand that this is a preliminary text—not the ultimate one. Although fidelity to the protocol is greatly emphasized throughout, the clinician will find their own way with the information provided here or by Dr. Shapiro. No one clinician maintains strict adherence to the fidelity of the standards and protocols originally set forth by Dr. Shapiro. What is important is that, when the clinician does something differently, they understand why they are doing it differently and, if doing so, ultimately helps the client.