EMDR & Cognitive Interweaves:
Clinical Skills and Confidence
Knowing When to Wait...
and When to Intervene
Presented by Vania Miteva, Registered Psychologist
EMDR Accredited Consultant, EMDR Accredited Trainer, ASSYST HEART Trainer, Australasia, EMDRAA Ex-Board member.
Vania Miteva is a Consultant Registered Psychologist based in New Zealand and an internationally recognised EMDR trainer, consultant, supervisor, and humanitarian mental health trainer with more than 18 years of experience in trauma, rehabilitation psychology, and complex mental health. She is registered as a psychologist in New Zealand, Australia, and Bulgaria and has worked extensively across public health, rehabilitation, private practice, and disaster response settings.
Session 1: Wednesday November 11, 2026
Session 1: Wednesday November 11, 2026
Session 1: Wednesday November 11, 2026
EMDR & Cognitive Interweaves: Clinical Skills and Confidence
Knowing When to Wait... and When to Intervene
Vania Miteva, Registered Psychologist
EMDR Accredited Consultant and Trainer
Session 1: Thursday November 12, 2026
Live Online via Zoom
Intermediate
1 YEAR access to the recording
Session 2: Thursday November 19, 2026
$165 USD
Registration is now open
Program Description
Cognitive interweaves are often regarded as one of the most challenging aspects of advanced EMDR practice. While the Standard Protocol relies on the brain's natural Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) system, clinicians frequently encounter situations where processing becomes blocked, repetitive, dysregulated, or fails to generalise. The challenge is knowing when to trust the process and when to intervene.
This workshop provides an advanced, clinically grounded framework for understanding and applying cognitive interweaves with greater confidence. Rather than teaching participants to memorise numerous interventions, the workshop focuses on developing clinical decision-making, helping therapists recognise the nature of processing blockages, formulate why processing has stalled, and select the least intrusive intervention to restore adaptive information processing.
Participants will deepen their understanding of the neurobiology underlying interweaves, including neuroplasticity, the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, Polyvagal Theory, and the role of somatic, developmental, relational, and cognitive processes in trauma resolution. This workshop integrates theory with multiple clinical video demonstrations illustrating the practical application of different categories of interweaves.
Designed for EMDR-trained clinicians, this workshop aims to increase both confidence and clinical flexibility when working with simple, complex, and developmental trauma presentations.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
✔ Explain the relationship between neuroplasticity, the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, and the rationale for using cognitive interweaves.
✔ Compare between spontaneous adaptive processing and genuine processing blockages.
✔ Apply a structured clinical decision-making framework to determine when an interweave is indicated.
✔ Identify at least two (2) common causes of blocked processing and formulate appropriate interventions.
✔ Identify at least two (2) developmental deficits and unmet attachment needs that may require developmental interweaves.
✔ Identify between process, content, relational, developmental, and somatic interweaves.
✔ Apply Polyvagal Theory, the Window of Tolerance, and attachment-informed principles to the selection of interweaves.
✔ Demonstrate confidence in selecting and delivering brief, effective, and clinically appropriate interweaves.
✔ Analyze the practical application of interweaves through clinical video demonstrations.
✔ Use advanced clinical reasoning into EMDR practice while maintaining fidelity to the Standard Protocol and the principles of Adaptive Information Processing.
Who should attend
✔ Psychologists, Social Workers, Psychotherapists, MFTs, LPCs, graduate-level Counselors who have completed Part 1 of a Basic EMDR training
✔ Therapists working with trauma, attachment wounds, and dissociation
✔ Therapists wanting clinical tools for working with psychological defenses and resistance
The Envision Difference
100% Online via Zoom
Live Q&A with
Vania Miteva
1 year access to the recording and materials
Certificate with CE's for home study version
Practical applicable clinical learning
Workshop Schedule - Eastern Time (ET)
Session 1: November 12th, 2026 - from 10:00 am to 1:15 pm Sydney Time
10:00 am - 11:30 am
Foundations
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Neuroplasticity and the Adaptive Information Processing Model
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Understanding Cognitive Interweaves
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When to Trust the Process and When to Intervene
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The Clinical Dilemma: Balancing Spontaneous Processing and Therapist Intervention
11:30 am - 11:45 am
Break
11:45 am - 1:15 pm
Clinical Decision-Makin
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A Five-Step Clinical Decision-Making
Framework-
Recognise
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Formulate
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Select
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Deliver
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Return to Adaptive Information Processing
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Choosing the Right Interweave for the Right Blockage
Session 1: November 19th, 2026 - from 10:00 am to 1:15 pm Sydney Time
10:00 am - 11:30 am
Types of Interweave
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Process Interweaves
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Content Interweaves
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Relational Interweaves
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Developmental Interweaves
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Somatic Interweaves
11:30 am - 11:45 am
Break
11:45 am - 1:15 pm
Clinical Integration
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Examples of popular interweaves, with illustrative video-examples
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Questions and discussion
Continuing Education (CE) Credits:
6 CE credits/contact hours awarded
(3 CE credits for each session)
*CE credits also available for the home study version (watching the recording)!
See our FAQ section below for more information
American Psychological Association (APA)
Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Association of Social Work Board (ASWB)
Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program.
Envision Counselling and Consulting, Inc., #1895, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 1/19/2025-1/19/2028. Social workers completing this course receive 3 clinical continuing education credits per session. (6 credits in total for both sessions)
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
Envision Counselling and Consulting has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7241. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Envision Counselling and Consulting is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)
Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program.
Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)
Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) to sponsor continuing education. This program is approved for 3 CEC per session for a total of 6 CEC for both sessions.
EMDRIA - Pending CEs
NAADAC,The Association for Addiction Professionals - Pending CEs
Please ensure to check with your individual state boards/regulatory body to verify Continuing Education Credit Hours requirements and if the workshop you are planning to take qualifies. Licensing Boards change regulations often and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about a specific course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling.
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About Vania Miteva, Registered Psychologist
Vania Miteva is a Consultant Registered Psychologist based in New Zealand and an internationally recognised EMDR trainer, consultant, supervisor, and humanitarian mental health trainer with more than 18 years of experience in trauma, rehabilitation psychology, and complex mental health. She is registered as a psychologist in New Zealand, Australia, and Bulgaria and has worked extensively across public health, rehabilitation, private practice, and disaster response settings. Vania is an Accredited EMDR Trainer with both the EMDR Association of Australia (EMDRAA) and EMDR New Zealand (EMDRNZ), and an Accredited EMDR Consultant with EMDRAA, EMDRNZ, and EMDRIA. She is currently the only Certified ASSYST HEART Trainer for Australasia, leading the implementation and workforce development of EMDR-based early interventions across Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific following disasters and critical incidents. She served on the EMDRAA Board of Directors from 2014 to 2025, including as President (2019–2021), Chair of the Policy Committee (2022–2025), and member of the Accreditation and Standards Committee (2020–2023), contributing to the development of professional standards, accreditation, and governance within the EMDR profession. Vania has trained hundreds EMDR clinicians and regularly delivers EMDR Basic Training, advanced workshops, consultation, and supervision throughout New Zealand and internationally. Her advanced workshops include EMDR & Cognitive Interweaves: Clinical Skills and Confidence, EMDR Beyond the Third Prong, EMDR in Health Settings, EMDR and Grief, and EMDR Refresher. She has also presented invited webinars and workshops for professional associations, universities, and conferences in New Zealand, Australia, and Europe. Her clinical practice focuses on complex trauma, PTSD, developmental trauma, dissociation, chronic pain, rehabilitation psychology, and medicolegal psychological assessment. She has a particular interest in integrating contemporary neuroscience, attachment theory, neurobiology, and the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model into practical, evidence- informed EMDR interventions. Vania is also actively engaged in humanitarian mental health research. She is the lead author of the peer-reviewed publication A One-Day ASSYST Group Treatment Intervention for Flood Survivors in Bulgaria: A Pilot Study and has presented on humanitarian applications of EMDR at international conferences. She has contributed to public education through professional media, including the Bulgarian podcast Two Sides of the Coin (Bulgarian National Radio) where she discussed EMDR therapy, trauma treatment, and her professional journey. Her teaching philosophy emphasises translating current research into clinically relevant, practical skills that strengthen therapists' confidence, clinical reasoning, and treatment effectiveness while maintaining fidelity to the EMDR Standard Protocol and the Adaptive Information Processing model.