Safe Place
Guided Calm Safe Place Visualization
Create a mental refuge where you feel calm and safe. A fundamental EMDR protocol exercise you can practice between sessions to strengthen your self-regulation capacity.
What is the Safe Place?
The Safe Place (or Calm Safe Place) is a guided visualization technique from the EMDR protocol developed by Francine Shapiro. It belongs to Phase 2 (Preparation) and aims to provide the patient with an internal resource of calm they can access during moments of distress.
During installation in session, the therapist guides the patient to imagine a place -- real or imagined -- where they feel completely safe and at peace. The image is reinforced with bilateral stimulation and associated with a cue word that allows quick access to that feeling of calm.
Between sessions, the patient practices mentally returning to this place. With repetition, access becomes faster and more intense, creating an increasingly effective self-regulation tool.
How to practice
- 1
Find a quiet place where you can sit comfortably without interruptions for 10 minutes.
- 2
Close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Inhale through your nose, exhale slowly through your mouth.
- 3
Imagine a place where you feel completely safe and calm. It can be a real place you've visited, an imagined place, or a combination of both.
- 4
Notice the details: what do you see around you? What colors are there? What sounds do you hear? Is there a scent? What temperature do you feel on your skin?
- 5
When the image is vivid and you feel calm in your body, choose a word that represents that place (for example: "beach", "forest", "refuge").
- 6
Repeat that word mentally while maintaining the image. Feel how the calm spreads through your body.
- 7
Practice returning to this place several times a day, especially before sleep or during moments of tension.
When to use it
The Safe Place is especially useful in these situations:
Between EMDR sessions, when intense memories or emotions related to processing surface. It's your first-line tool for self-regulation.
Before bedtime, to facilitate the transition to sleep and reduce nervous system activation.
During moments of anxiety or stress, as a quick regulation technique. With practice, simply closing your eyes and saying your cue word is enough.
Before difficult situations, like a challenging meeting or a doctor's visit. Briefly accessing your Safe Place can help you face the situation more calmly.
Evidence and references
- Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
- Leeds, A. M. (2016). A Guide to the Standard EMDR Therapy Protocols for Clinicians, Supervisors, and Consultants (2nd ed.). Springer.
- Korn, D. L., & Leeds, A. M. (2002). Preliminary evidence of efficacy for EMDR resource development and installation in the stabilization phase of treatment of complex PTSD. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(12), 1465-1487.
