Learning Like an Artist: What EMDR Therapy and Improv Have in Common

“First you learn the steps. Then you start dancing with the client.”

Most creative practices follow the same arc: you start with technique, then move into freedom. Music, painting, performance, therapy—it’s all the same. Mastery comes when form gives way to flow.

EMDR is no different.

At first, the therapist follows the manual. The standard protocol. The “here’s how we do it.” This is essential—clients need that containment. But within that structure, something else wants to emerge:

Improvisation.

Consider the world of dance performance. Dancers may train for months with choreography structured “by the numbers”—every movement timed and sequenced. But once on stage, anything can happen: a slip, a missed cue, a spontaneous choice. In that moment, what matters most is Presence. If the dancer gets caught up in having made a “mistake”, they lose the ability to respond in real time. They freeze. But if they stay open, the “mistake” becomes a new proposal. A fresh moment—something raw, something true.  

The same happens in therapy. Just like a performer learns to stay open and respond to what’s unfolding in real time, so do we. We’re reading the client’s voice, face, body, tone. We’re sensing when to pause, when to deepen, when to back off. It’s not guesswork—it’s attunement.

And sometimes we might not get every word right. We might miss a cue. We might overstep or underreach. But if we remain Present—if we stay attuned—we can move with what unfolds. And the client stays with us. When that happens, the session doesn’t just feel correct—it feels honest.

As therapists, we need to give ourselves permission to get it wrong. Not carelessly—but consciously. As long as we understand what’s happening and remain engaged, each moment becomes an opportunity to reconnect, revise, and move forward.

That kind of authenticity can’t be scripted. It has to be felt. And it comes from showing up, testing, and adjusting—over and over—until our inner compass learns to lead.

When we trust that process, the client does too. Together, we move.

~ Jordan Shafer/nmm