Choosing an IEMT Practitioner: A Public Guide – The British Board of Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT)

INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC

Questions that help you understand a practitioner’s qualifications, service and responsibilities before you decide.

A practical guide to making an informed choice about IEMT.

Start with the person’s qualifications and role

Ask the practitioner what IEMT training and assessment they have completed, whether they are currently an Association member and what other professional qualifications they hold. These are separate pieces of information.

An IEMT certificate identifies training and assessment in the technique. It does not, on its own, make someone a doctor, psychologist or another regulated healthcare professional. If a practitioner uses an additional professional title, ask how that qualification or registration can be checked.

The Association maintains a voluntary register. A voluntary listing is not government approval or a guarantee of an outcome. Use the register and the relevant professional body to check the status the practitioner actually claims.

Ask whether the service fits your concern

Describe what you are seeking help with and ask why the practitioner considers the proposed work appropriate. They should be able to explain the limits of their role and when another service or professional would be more suitable.

Where you are already receiving care, discuss how the proposed work relates to it. IEMT training alone does not authorise advice to stop medication or replace medical assessment.

Ask	The answer should make clear
What experience do you have with concerns like mine?	Relevant training, experience and the limits of competence.
What would a session involve?	The proposed process, participation required and opportunity to ask questions.
What evidence supports this?	What is known, what remains uncertain and the absence of a promised result.
What if this is not suitable for me?	How the practitioner would reconsider the plan or help identify another route.

Understand the process before agreeing

IEMT uses structured questions and guided eye movements in work with emotional responses, memories and aspects of self-experience. A practitioner should explain what they propose in language you understand.

Detailed disclosure of every part of a memory is not inherently required for IEMT memory work. You can ask what information is needed and why. Your practitioner still needs enough information to consider suitability and professional responsibilities.

You should know the fees, cancellation arrangements, confidentiality limits, how records are handled and how to raise a concern. Recording a session requires its own clear agreement.

Your participation remains voluntary

You can ask for clarification, decline a question or procedure, request a pause or end the session. Consent remains relevant throughout the work rather than being settled permanently by an initial form.

Tell the practitioner about visual discomfort, dizziness, nausea, pain or difficulty following the movements. The Association’s standards require the procedure to stop when concerning symptoms or significant distress occur.

For remote sessions, discuss privacy, the suitability of the screen and camera, and what will happen if the connection fails. The practitioner needs to be able to observe the work adequately.

Discuss outcomes realistically

The Association describes the evidence for IEMT as limited and emerging. Some people report benefit, but neither a testimonial nor an individual experience can promise what will happen for you.

Ask how you and the practitioner will review the concern that brought you to the session. You should be able to report improvement, no change, a mixed response or worsening without pressure to give a positive answer.

A useful question

“If I notice no benefit or feel worse, how will we review that, and what would happen next?” The answer helps you understand the practitioner’s approach to uncertainty and responsibility.

Checking information and raising concerns

The Association’s register, current policies and complaints information are the relevant places to check its membership and professional arrangements. For another claimed professional registration, use that profession’s own register.

The Association’s Complaints Officer receives and investigates complaints. Serious matters may then be referred through the Director to the Board under the published arrangements. The Board operates within a voluntary professional system; it does not replace statutory services or award compensation.

The links below provide the current sources for checking these arrangements.