What is the safe place exercise?

It is an imagery exercise: you picture a place, real or imagined, linked with calm and safety, explore what you see, hear and feel there, then pair it with a cue word. That word later helps you return to the same state more quickly.

It is also called the calm place. Safe does not promise anything: it is a place where you feel good, not a perfect place.

Why is it used in EMDR?

In EMDR therapy, it belongs to the preparation phase: before any work on difficult memories, the therapist helps the person set up a calm state to lean on. EMDRIA notes that setting up this calm or safe state is a tenet of that phase.

The exercise then works as a resource: somewhere to return at the end of a session or when an emotion becomes too strong. It has been little studied on its own, and is presented here as a wellbeing exercise.

How do you do it, step by step?

Choose a place that soothes you, close your eyes, describe it with all your senses, notice what you feel in your body, then choose a word that sums it up. Take two or three slow breaths while repeating the word silently.

If no image comes, that is not a failure. Start from one detail: a colour, a temperature, a sound. The place can build up little by little, from one time to the next.

  • Choose a place that soothes you, real or invented.
  • Look around: colours, light, shapes.
  • Listen: what sounds can you hear?
  • Feel: the temperature, the air, what you touch.
  • Notice where the calm settles in your body.
  • Choose a cue word, such as beach or garden.

What if the exercise brings up difficult emotions?

Simply stop, open your eyes and come back to the room you are in. A place can sometimes carry painful memories too. If so, choose another, more neutral place, or one that is entirely imagined.

If this kind of exercise regularly brings distress, talk to a professional. It is not a sign of weakness: some people need support to build this sense of safety.

How does EMDR Pocket support the exercise?

The My safe place session lasts four minutes. Short, slow sets of light alternate with prompts to picture your place. At the end, you choose a cue word, which the app then brings back in its calming sessions.

Your cue word stays on your iPhone, like the rest of your journal. The session is part of EMDR Pocket Complete.