Trauma — Roundup

Trauma Worksheets: Stabilisation, Processing, Integration

Trauma work is phase-based: you don't process what isn't stabilised. This library is organised by Judith Herman's three phases — safety and stabilisation, remembrance and mourning, and reconnection — so the sheet you pick matches the phase the client is actually in.

Updated June 10, 2026

Phase 1 — safety and stabilisation

  • Window of Tolerance — the psychoeducation sheet that reframes hyper- and hypo-arousal for the client.
  • Safe / Calm Place — the guided imagery worksheet used in EMDR preparation and beyond.
  • Container Exercise — for material that surfaces between sessions and can't be metabolised now.
  • Grounding menu (5-4-3-2-1, orienting, temperature) — the client's crisis-toolkit page.
  • Dissociation Grounding — specific reorientation script for switching, freeze or shutdown.

Phase 2 — processing

  • EMDR Target Sequence Plan — the treatment-planning worksheet.
  • EMDR Phase 3 Assessment — the in-session assessment sheet (image, NC, PC, VoC, emotion, SUDS, body).
  • Float-Back — bridge from present-day trigger to earliest matching memory.
  • Flashback Protocol — the client-facing rescue sheet for intrusive re-experiencing.
  • IFS Parts Map + Unblending — for the trauma protectors the client cannot access their Self behind.

Phase 3 — integration and reconnection

  • Trauma Triggers Map — the completed picture of trigger → response → skill.
  • Values Compass — reorienting to what the client wants to build with the recovered capacity.
  • IFS Unburdening — the closing ritual after a protector has released its burden.

Frequently asked questions

What trauma worksheets are safe to use in phase 1?+

Anything focused on stabilisation, psychoeducation or resourcing: Window of Tolerance, Safe/Calm Place, Container, grounding menus. Avoid worksheets that ask the client to describe the trauma narrative in detail (target sequence, float-back) until stabilisation is solid.

Can I use these trauma worksheets without EMDR or IFS training?+

Yes for the stabilisation and integration sheets — those are pan-modality. The phase-2 processing sheets (target sequence, float-back, unblending) are protocol-specific and should only be used inside the modality you're trained in.

How do I know a client is stable enough to move to phase 2?+

Standard criteria: the client can name their window of tolerance, has two grounding skills they use successfully, has a functioning safe/calm place, and can end a session regulated. If any of those four is missing, stay in phase 1.

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