Resource Development and Installation in EMDR

Resource Development and Installation, usually shortened to RDI, is a preparation-phase technique for building up a client's internal coping capacity before asking them to reprocess something difficult. This guide covers what RDI is, who it's for, the basic steps, and how to run it over a video call.

What RDI is

RDI is a set of procedures, developed within EMDR, for identifying a client’s existing or imagined coping resources — a memory, a quality, a supportive figure, a felt sense of strength or calm — and reinforcing that resource using bilateral stimulation. Instead of using bilateral stimulation to process something distressing, you use it to strengthen something stabilizing.

The technique was formalized by Deborah Korn and Andrew Leeds, who published preliminary evidence for its use in the stabilization phase of treatment for Complex PTSD. Their 2002 paper described the approach through two single case studies of adults with histories of childhood neglect and abuse, showing psychometric and behavioral improvements that supported using RDI before or between standard reprocessing work (Korn & Leeds, 2002, Journal of Clinical Psychology). It’s worth being accurate about the size of that evidence base: two case studies is a starting point, not a large trial, though RDI has since become a widely taught and used part of EMDR preparation more broadly.

Who benefits from it

RDI sits in Phase 2 of the standard EMDR protocol — preparation — and is especially useful for clients who:

• Don’t yet have reliable internal resources to draw on when distress spikes mid-session.
• Are working through complex or developmental trauma, where affect regulation itself is part of the clinical picture.
• Show signs of dissociation or emotional flooding that make jumping straight into reprocessing risky.
• Simply need a stronger foundation before tackling a particularly heavy target.

It’s not a mandatory step for every client or every session — many clients with solid coping skills move through preparation quickly — but it’s a tool worth having ready rather than reaching for only after a session has already gone sideways.

The basic steps

1. Identify the need. Decide what kind of resource would help: calm, safety, courage, connection, competence. This is often shaped by what you’ve already seen the client struggle to access.
2. Find the resource. Ask the client for a specific memory, image, relationship, or quality that embodies it. It can be real or imagined — a client with a thin memory bank can use a fictional character, an animal, or a symbolic image just as effectively.
3. Develop it fully. Have the client describe the resource in sensory detail — what they see, hear, and feel in their body when they bring it to mind. The more vivid, the stronger the installation.
4. Install with bilateral stimulation. Once the resource feels solid, add short sets of bilateral stimulation while the client holds it in mind, checking in after each set to confirm the resource feels as strong or stronger.
5. Cue it for later use. Help the client attach a word or brief phrase to the resource so they can call it up quickly — including mid-session, if you need to pause reprocessing and return to stable ground.

Running RDI in a remote session

RDI translates cleanly to video because the work is almost entirely verbal and imaginal before the bilateral stimulation begins — you’re building an internal resource, not relying on props or physical presence.

• Slow down the sensory description step. On a call, it’s easy to rush past the “what do you notice in your body” question. Give it the same time you would in the room; this step is where the resource actually takes hold.
• Watch for flat affect on camera. A resource that isn’t landing often shows up as a flat or hesitant tone rather than words alone. If the client’s energy doesn’t shift when they describe the resource, it may not be strong enough yet to install.
• Keep the cue word visible to you, not just the client. Jot down whatever word or phrase the client chooses. If they need grounding later in the session, or in a future one, you can prompt them with it directly.
• Use CloudEMDR’s controls to keep sets short. RDI sets are typically shorter than desensitization sets — a few passes is often enough. Our remote session guide covers adjusting dot speed and set length on the fly.

Where it fits alongside other tools

RDI pairs naturally with other stabilization approaches. If a client needs a fast, lighter-touch option mid-session, the Flash Technique can lower disturbance on a specific target without the fuller resourcing work RDI involves. If a client moves outside their window of tolerance despite good preparation, grounding techniques are the next line of defense. Think of RDI as the groundwork that makes both of those tools more effective when you need them.