Online Training That Works: A Psychologist’s Experience With Resource Therapy

Psychologist Leigh shares her online clinical training in Resource Therapy experience

As more therapists turn to Telehealth and online professional development, a common question arises:

Can experiential, trauma-informed training really work online – especially when it involves parts work and deep emotional processing?

Leigh, a psychologist with a special interest in trauma and dissociation, had the same question before enrolling in the Resource Therapy training program offered online by the Australian Resource Therapy Institute (ARTI). Leigh holds senior qualifications as a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Couples therapist, and Psychosomatic Therapist.

After completing the full training, she is now officially a Clinical Resource Therapist. She shares her answer with warmth, clarity, and conviction

What Surprised Her Most

Leigh admits she was initially unsure if such an experiential modality could truly be taught online.

I didn’t know if I’d feel connected, or if I’d get the practical experience I needed. But I was pleasantly surprised – it felt real, engaging, and very connected. The demos were brilliant, and the small group practice made it easy to try things out safely.

The structured format, real-time demonstrations, and rich interaction offered by the live Zoom sessions helped her feel immersed in the material, just as she would in an in-person setting.

Confidence With Complex Cases

As a trauma-informed psychologist, Leigh was drawn to Resource Therapy’s clear protocols and strong ethical foundation. What she gained was a renewed sense of confidence in working with complex clients.

“I use parts language in my work already, but RT gave me practical tools I can use right away. It’s strengths-based, respectful, and incredibly powerful – especially with clients who feel stuck, overwhelmed or fragmented.”

With the ability to work safely with Vaded States, negotiate Retro patterns, and access Conflicted States with precision, she now has a more structured approach to help clients move forward.

Why She Recommends It

For clinicians unsure about online training, Leigh’s message is simple:

“Give it a go. I wasn’t sure either, but I’m so glad I did. You’ll feel supported, you’ll practise a lot, and you’ll walk away with tools you can use immediately – online or in the room.”

What Is Resource Therapy?

Resource Therapy is a trauma-informed, strengths-based psychotherapy developed by Professor Gordon Emmerson. It helps clinicians access and work directly with the personality parts (called Resource States) that carry unresolved emotions or unhelpful patterns. The training includes 15 treatment actions, clear protocols, and targeted interventions for a wide range of presentations – from PTSD and anxiety to depression, addiction, and relationship distress.

The training is suitable for psychologists, counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers, EMDR clinicians, and anyone working with trauma or parts.


🎥 Watch Leigh’s Testimonial


Want To Learn Resource Therapy Online?

We offer live, interactive online training throughout the year. Whether you’re new to parts work or looking to deepen your trauma toolkit, Resource Therapy provides a powerful and respectful way to help clients heal.

  • ✅ Live Zoom sessions with experiential practice
  • ✅ Learn to map, access, and resolve Resource States
  • ✅ Suitable for online and in-person clinical work
  • ✅ Endorsed by psychologists, EMDR and DBR therapists across Australia

👉 View upcoming training dates and program info

🎯 Resource Therapy vs Other Parts Therapies: The Model Built for Action

A strength based approach with Conditions of Resource States at Sea

“Insight without action is like diagnosis without treatment.”
– A sentiment many seasoned therapists know all too well.

As trauma therapy continues to evolve, clinicians are embracing parts-based approaches that honour the complexity of the human psyche. But not all parts models are created equal.

You’ve probably heard of Internal Family Systems (IFS), Ego State Therapy, or even the parts-based elements that emerge within EMDR sessions. But if you’ve ever felt something missing – structure, clarity, or real-time transformation – it may be time to explore what makes Resource Therapy (RT) so uniquely effective.

Let’s compare four popular modalities using what matters in clinical practice:

ApproachAccess to PartsProtocolsPathology DiagnosisReal-Time Action
IFS⚠️ Sometimes❌ None⚠️ Conceptual only✅ Yes
Ego State✅ Direct⚠️ Variable❌ None⚠️ Sometimes
EMDR⚠️ Indirect✅ Yes❌ None✅ Yes
RT✅ Direct✅ Yes✅ Formal system✅ Always

1. Access to Parts – Who’s in the Captain’s Chair?

All four models work with parts – or internal voices and states – acknowledging that our psyche is not a single voice, but a crew.

Where IFS and Ego State offer reflective access, and EMDR may surface parts indirectly through trauma targets, Resource Therapy takes you straight to the part that needs help – fast.

Using Vivify Specific (Action 2), RT locates the exact Resource State holding distress, unmet needs, or outdated beliefs, and brings it forward to speak for itself.

“RT does not just observe the part. It gives it a voice, a seat at the table, and a path to healing.”
– Gordon Emmerson, PhD

2. Protocols – Structure or Stumble?

Therapists know that when trauma, resistance, or emotional overwhelm enters the room, structure matters.

  • IFS is exploratory and open-ended.
  • Ego State Therapy can vary significantly among practitioners.
  • EMDR brings excellent structure, but not state-specific treatment.
  • RT offers a clear, flexible system with 15 targeted Treatment Actions.

Whether you need to express, clear introjects, relieve emotional pain, or build internal strength, RT gives you the tools to act with purpose.

3. Pathology Diagnosis – Can We Map What Needs Treating?

Here’s where Resource Therapy steps into its own.

Many models avoid pathologising parts – a welcome shift. But what if we could offer non-judgmental diagnosis that guides treatment?

  • IFS affirms that all parts are good, but lacks a diagnostic map.
  • Ego State Therapy and EMDR avoid classification usually.
  • RT introduces a structured, compassionate diagnostic system:
    • Vaded States – carrying unmet emotional needs
    • Retro States – stuck in old roles or protections
    • Conflicted States – caught between opposing drives
    • Dissonant States – wrong part in the captains seat
    • Normal Condition of States – right part out with appropriate skills to suit the occasion

This means you can identify what is stuck and know exactly how to treat it.

Think of RT as the Google Maps of parts therapy – locating the issue and showing you the route out.

4. Real-Time Action – Can We Change the State in the Session?

Many therapists feel stuck in insight. The client knows what’s wrong… but nothing changes.

  • IFS fosters beautiful awareness, but often delays transformation.
  • Ego State Therapy may stop at catharsis.
  • EMDR creates desensitisation, but not always internal change.
  • RT enables the client to change from within, in the moment.

When a client speaks from their Vaded State and gets relief, or when a Retro State steps aside and a stronger self emerges – that is RT in action.

“RT is like a laser pointer for the psyche – precise, effective, and immediately transformational.”
– Clinical RT Graduate

A Quick Story

Anna had done IFS and EMDR. She could name her parts. She had insight. But every time she was triggered by her partner, she collapsed into silence and shame.

Her therapist used RT. Within minutes, they accessed the exact state holding the freeze. Anna spoke from the part, not about it. They cleared the internalised introject, processed the hurt, and anchored her back to strength.

“I’ve spent years understanding my trauma. But this is the first time I actually felt it shift.”

That is the power of action. That is Resource Therapy.

Why Therapists Are Switching to RT

RT is not a blend of parts models. It is a clinical evolution.

  • ✅ A full internal diagnostic system
  • ✅ Immediate access to the presenting state
  • ✅ Action-based treatment, not talk-based delay
  • ✅ Designed for both brief and complex trauma work
  • ✅ Integrates seamlessly with EMDR, Imago, DBR, and more

“RT is the structured answer to the parts therapy movement.”

You Belong With Us

If you are a therapist who wants more than insight…
If you want a parts therapy that does more than label…
If you want change, not someday, but now, Resource Therapy is waiting for you.

Join a movement of clinicians who believe in healing with heart and action.

🌟 Clinical RT Training 2025 – Enrol Now

  • Online Program starts 31 August / 1 September 2025
  • Bali Intensive Program returns in 2026
  • Led by Philipa Thornton & Chris Paulin – Psychologists & Master Trainers
  • Fully accredited. Experiential. Clinically practical.

“Every therapist should be trained in this. RT changed how I work – and how I heal.”
– Recent Graduate

🔗 Learn more and enrol at resource therapy training dates and fees

From Bali With Gratitude: A Global Celebration of Resource Therapy

ResourceTherapyClinicalCertificationBali

Resource Therapy Clinical Training & International Conference – A Huge Success

The Australia Resource Therapy Institute (ARTI) has just returned from a transformative month in Bali, Indonesia, where we hosted two landmark events:

  • Completion of the Hybrid Clinical Resource Therapy Training for mental health professionals
  • The first-ever Resource Therapy International World Conference

Held in the lush surrounds of Ubud, these events brought together a passionate community of clinicians and educators from across the globe to deepen skills, share research, and celebrate the evolution of parts-based healing. We met Ernst from Zurich, great to see you, Richard from Hong Kong, our new Indonesian friends William, Robin, Flora and crew. Old Aussie friends and finally meeting Alkha, our RTI Executive delegate.

Why Resource Therapy Is Gaining Global Momentum

In a world increasingly turning to parts-based therapy for lasting trauma recovery, Resource Therapy is standing out as a leading modality that is both powerful and practical.

Developed by Professor Gordon Emmerson, PhD, Resource Therapy:

  • Accesses parts directly, not symbolically or imaginatively
  • Offers 15 targeted clinical actions for real behavioural and emotional change
  • It is brief, strengths-based, trauma-informed, and DSM-5 aligned
  • Supports work with dissociation, betrayal trauma, grief, anxiety, neurodiversity, chronic pain, and more
  • Can be integrated with EMDR, CBT, somatic therapies, and clinical supervision models

Whether you are a psychologist, trauma therapist, counsellor, hypnotherapist, EMDR practitioner, or coach, Resource Therapy gives you clear tools to work at the root cause.

Highlights From Bali 2025

Our time in Bali was rich in learning, connection, and clinical depth. Highlights included:

  • 🔄 Live demonstrations of RT Actions with complex trauma/ DID clients
  • 🧠 Insightful presentations on dissociation, betrayal, couples work, chronic pain, cultural diversity, ADHD, OPIs, Depression, Memory Reconsolidation, and RT for business coaching
  • 🚢 Interactive group work using the ship metaphor and parts mapping
  • 🌏 Attendees from Australia, Indonesia, Germany, the UK, Canada, and beyond
  • ✨ Community bonding, shared meals, and even a few monkeys on the line!

Our conference theme, ‘Happy Parts, Healthy Self: Our Resources’, came to life through experiential workshops, advanced supervision, and the warmth of our global RT community.

Group photo of Resource Therapy International speakers and guest Bali World Conference 2025 Ubud with Gordon Emmerson and President of RTI Philipa Thornton
Group photo of Resource Therapy International speakers and guests, Bali World Conference 2025, Ubud, with Gordon Emmerson

Become Part of the Next Generation of Resource Therapists

If you are ready to take your clinical skills to the next level, our next Clinical Resource Therapy Program begins on 31 August 2025.

This fully online, internationally endorsed training is led by:

  • Philipa Thornton – President of Resource Therapy International
  • Chris Paulin – Consultant Psychologist with over 40 years of experience

Join us and you will:

  • ✔️ Learn how to identify, access, and heal wounded Resource States
  • ✔️ Work confidently with trauma, anxiety, grief, betrayal, and dissociation
  • ✔️ Receive supervision and support from Australia’s leading RT educators
  • ✔️ Gain a Certificate endorsed by Resource Therapy International

Spots are limited – Learn more here

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