Therapeutic Healing With Resourcing Techniques

Building Emotional Resilience

By Melanie Rivera, Integrative Therapist & Wellbeing Coach

Many people feel stuck in a dark place after experiencing overwhelming events. It can sometimes feel like an upward climb in order to see the light in the darkness. Resourcing techniques provide the small but powerful steps that offer safety, strength, and support along the journey.

Whether you’re seeking tools for healing yourself or a fellow therapist who helps clients, this post will clarify key concepts like resourcing, EMDR resourcing, and somatic practices in an easy-to-understand way.

What are Therapeutic Resourcing Techniques?

In therapy, resourcing techniques are therapeutic tools that help individuals draw on internal and external sources of support to weather emotional storms.

In simple terms, resourcing means deliberately focusing on things that make you feel safe, calm, or strong, so that when trauma-related stress arises, you have some built-in coping capacity. These resources can be positive memories, supportive images, or even pleasant body sensations – anything that cultivates an inner feeling of safety and comfort. By practising resourcing, we learn to shift our focus away from pain or anxiety towards more positive experiences, which in turn builds resilience and self-regulation skills. This fosters an embodied sense of safety and support – essentially teaching our nervous system how to settle down again after being activated by stress.

Chronic stress and/or trauma often leave people feeling on edge or overwhelmed, as if their nervous system is “stuck” in fight-or-flight mode. Resourcing directly addresses this by gently bringing the nervous system back into a zone of comfort.

Trauma-informed therapists emphasise resourcing in the early stages of therapies such as EMDR, so that clients have a safe base to return to when things get intense. Before exploring difficult memories with clients, it’s crucial to establish a sense of stability. By strengthening a base of positive feelings and support, resourcing widens a person’s “window of tolerance” – the optimal zone in which they can handle emotions without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down.

Building a Safe Foundation for Healing

One therapy where resourcing plays a central role is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing). EMDR is a well-researched therapy that helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories. Before an EMDR therapist guides you to revisit any painful memory, they will first engage you in "EMDR resourcing", a preparatory phase focused entirely on your comfort and stability. 

EMDR Resourcing is all about accessing your internal strengths and positive experiences – basically tapping into “the strenghts in your life”. During this phase, you won’t be asked to talk about the trauma at all. Instead, you’ll concentrate on things that make you feel secure or cared for, while gentle techniques are integrated to reinforce those positive feelings.

Bilateral eye stimulation is a hallmark of EMDR – similar to rapid eye movement in sleep (REM), this rhythmic eye movement is created by following moving fingers or an object, hand taps, or sounds that alternately engage both sides of the brain and naturally creates the eye movement.

In the resourcing stage, therapists typically use slow, soothing bilateral stimulation (for example, knee tapping or having you follow a moving ball or light with your eyes) to help “install” the positive resource in your nervous system. This means that as you focus on a calming image or memory, the back-and-forth stimulation deepens the sense of calm and helps your body latch onto it. Clients often describe EMDR resourcing exercises as “calming,” “peaceful,” even “fun” – it can be a surprisingly pleasant experience!

Crucially, no traumatic material is brought up during resourcing; that hard work comes later, once you’ve built up enough support inside. By the end of the resourcing phase, you should feel more grounded and equipped with some trusty coping tools before moving on to process painful memories.

Types of Resourcing Techniques

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to resourcing — which is why it can be so beautifully personalised. Here are just a few forms it might take:

Somatic Resourcing

• Safe place visualisation (like the Peaceful Place meditation)

• Grounding breath or body scanning

• Gentle self-touch (hand over heart, weighted blanket, soft movement)

Cognitive Resourcing

• Affirmations that are truthful and compassionate

• Reframing or grounding mantras

• “Remembered safety” visualisations

  
  

Creative Resourcing

• Journaling or expressive writing

• Creating a calm space at home

• Rituals that bring structure and comfort

Some resourcing practices can be done in the moment — others are built up in regular sessions. Here's a deeper dive into different types...

Peaceful Place Visualisation

 You imagine a peaceful or safe place in detail – it could be a real spot (like a quiet beach or your grandma’s kitchen) or an imaginary safe haven – where you feel completely at peace. The therapist guides you to notice sensory details (the sight of the sunset, the sound of ocean waves, the smell of cookies baking) as you mentally “step into” this scene. This creates a kind of psychological sanctuary that you can return to whenever you start feeling anxious or overwhelmed.

In EMDR, pairing this visualisation with gentle tapping or eye movements reinforces the feeling of safety, so later your mind can return to this safe place quickly when needed. As trauma expert Dr Arielle Schwartz notes, “your body and mind will not release the effects of stress and trauma until you can feel safe now” – so developing a true sense of safety is a top priority.

Container Exercise

The container is an imaginary strong, secure container (like a heavy chest with a lock, a vault, or even a magic box) where you can “put away” distressing thoughts and feelings. In EMDR resourcing, the therapist might guide you to envision taking any current worries, fear, or emotional pain and placing them into this container, then firmly closing it. This mental exercise creates a safe distance between you and the overwhelming material. You remain aware that the difficulties exist, but you have contained them for now so they don’t flood you.

Many people find this gives an immediate sense of relief or lightness. You are in control of the container – only you can open it, whenever you feel ready. With a few rounds of tapping or eye movement while visualising the container, your mind learns that it can set boundaries on distress. This way, you know at any point, if things get too intense, you have a place to temporarily lock up the pain and reground yourself in the present.

Creating An Inner Resource Team (built up in sessions)

Nurturing Figure

 Here you call to mind a figure that embodies unconditional care and comfort. It might be a real person (a beloved relative, a mentor, a friend) or an imaginary character (even a spiritual figure or a kind persona you invent).

The key is that thinking of this figure makes you feel supported, loved, and understood. In the exercise, you imagine this nurturing figure offering you compassion or protection, and you focus on the warmth and reassurance that gives you.

For example, you might picture a grandparent hugging you, or a gentle presence sitting beside you. With bilateral stimulation, those feelings of being nurtured get amplified and “stored” in your body as a resource.

Protective Figure

 Similar to the above, but this time you choose someone or something that makes you feel safe and defended. This protective figure could be a real protector (like a loyal friend, a therapist, or even a protective pet) or a symbolic one (such as imagining a guardian angel or a superhero at your side). You concentrate on the sense of security and courage this protector gives you – for instance, “I’m not alone; I have strong support guarding me.” 

Again, the therapist may ask you to notice how your body feels when you imagine this protective presence (perhaps your chest relaxes or you feel lighter) and use tapping to solidify that empowered feeling.

Comforting Animal

Many people find solace in the company of animals. In this resourcing technique, you might visualise a comforting animalby your side. It could be a cherished pet (your dog or cat), an animal you’ve always felt drawn to (like a wise owl or calm horse), or even an imagined creature that symbolises comfort.

You pay attention to the feelings of warmth, companionship, and safety that arise when you think of this friendly animal nearby. Perhaps you feel a smile, a warmth in your heart, or a sense of loyal protection. Those sensations can be anchored with bilateral stimulation. This resource often taps into deep, wordless emotions of safety — the steady loyalty of a pet or the grace of a wild animal can be very soothing to imagine.

The Purpose Of Resourcing

Resourcing techniques all serve the purpose of instilling a feeling of safety, strength, and calm in your body. During resourcing, you might notice a shift in your emotions or even in your bodily sensations — for example, your tight shoulders may relax, or your breathing slows down. It’s not uncommon for clients to feel a notable shift in emotions and physical sensations after practising resourcing.

There Is Science Behind Resourcing Too!

By recalling positive experiences (or creating new positive imagery), our nervous system is able to respond as if something good is happening now. This works because the brain and body often don’t distinguish between real and imagined experiences – if you vividly imagine yourself in a peaceful place, your nervous system reacts almost as if you are actually there. So, just as recalling a traumatic event can flood you with fear, recalling a positive, supportive experience can immerse you in a felt sense of calm and comfort.

Another benefit of resourcing is that it’s portable. Once you and your therapist have developed, say, your Safe Place or nurturing figure resource, you can use it outside of therapy whenever you need emotional grounding. In EMDR, the therapist will encourage you to practise these resources in between sessions so that they become second nature.

Over time, you’re effectively filling your toolbox with coping skills: maybe you’ll do a quick container visualisation to set aside anxiety before a stressful meeting, or recall your safe beach scene at night when you’re trying to sleep. Many clients in therapy report that having these personalised resources makes them feel empowered – they have new ways to soothe and centre themselves, even when life gets challenging.

And while EMDR resourcing is one step in a larger therapy process, it is so helpful that it can be a helpful process in itself for anyone who wants to cultivate more positivity and calm in their life.

Resourcing vs. Processing

It’s important to understand that resourcing is not the same as directly processing distress or trauma. Rather, it’s a crucial preparatory step. Think of resourcing as building an emotional safety net; processing (like the later phases of EMDR or other trauma-focused therapies) is when you gradually confront and work through the traumatic memories themselves.

Both are pivotal in healing, but they serve different purposes. Resourcing gives you stability and coping tools, while trauma processing in therapy aims to reduce the distress of the trauma and reshape those memories in a healthier way.

For clients, knowing they have resources at the ready can make the hard work of processing much more tolerable. They might pendulate – moving in and out of the hard material – using their resources whenever needed to regain a sense of safety.

In fact, phase-oriented trauma treatments often begin with a resourcing or stabilisation phase before any memory processing, precisely to ensure preparation and safety.

If you’re starting trauma-informed therapy, expect to spend some time on resourcing – and this can’t be rushed. This foundation will support you during and after the deeper process work.

Somatic Practices: Body-Based Resourcing

Chronic stress and trauma don’t just affect our thoughts and emotions – they live in the body too. Ever noticed a tight jaw, a knotted stomach, or a racing heart when you feel anxious or triggered? Those are somatic (bodily) symptoms of trauma and chronic stress. Somatic therapy focuses on helping the body release this pent-up tension and return to a state of balance.

In somatic approaches (such as Somatic Experiencing, developed by Dr Peter Levine, or Sensorimotor Psychotherapy), resourcing is just as important – but it often has a more physical nature. The goal is to help your nervous system learn how to calm itself and reconnect with feelings of safety through body awareness and movement, not just through thoughts.

Somatic therapists often talk about regulating the nervous system – essentially teaching your body that it can go from a state of high alert back to relaxation. According to Arielle Schwartz, resourcing is the practice of inviting our mind and body to attune to sensations of safety or goodness, however small they may be. By paying attention to even the tiniest felt sense of “okayness” – maybe the subtle comfort of a warm cup of tea in your hands, or the grounded feeling of your feet on the floor – you begin teaching your nervous system that it can experience stress and then come back to calm.

A Gentle Retraining Process

Over time, your body gets better at shifting out of panic or numbness and into a more balanced state. In integrating somatic practices into therapy sessions, the therapist might guide you to notice what’s happening inside your body in the present moment (for example: “Can you sense the chair supporting you? What does the anxiety in your chest feel like – tight, hot, cold? Okay, now let’s see if there’s any place in your body that feels neutral or better.”) By building awareness of bodily sensations, you can find parts of the body that feel safer and use those as anchors when you delve into tougher memories.

Many somatic resourcing techniques parallel the ideas we discussed in EMDR, but they emphasise physical actions or sensations as the resource.

Body-Based Practices

Here are some commonly used body-based practices to foster safety and grounding for clients:

Grounding Exercises

Grounding means connecting with the here and now through your senses. When trauma symptoms pull you into flashbacks or panic, grounding brings you back to the present and into your body. Simple techniques include pressing your feet firmly into the floor and noticing that solid contact, or looking around and naming five things you see in the room.

You might also try the classic 5-4-3-2-1 technique – identify 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste. These sensory cues send a message of “right now, I am safe.”

Even something as straightforward as running water over your hands can work wonders: for instance, run cool water over your hands, then switch to warm, paying close attention to the sensations. This can gently redirect your mind away from distressing thoughts and back to the comfort of a simple physical experience.

Grounding exercises are often the first go-to resourcing tools because they’re easy to do anytime, anywhere, to quickly find a bit of stability.

Breathwork

Our breath is deeply connected to our nervous system. When we’re anxious or in trauma mode, our breathing becomes rapid and shallow.

By consciously slowing and deepening your breath, you can activate your body’s calming system (the parasympathetic nervous system). One common exercise is diaphragmatic breathing: inhale slowly through your nose (letting your belly expand) for a count of four, hold for a moment, then exhale gently through your mouth for a count of four or longer.

Another technique is to breathe in a word that represents what you want (e.g. “peace”) and breathe out a word you want to let go of (e.g. “fear”). The beauty of breathwork is that it’s always available – your breath can be a grounding anchor in any crisis. Research has long shown that breathing exercises reduce anxiety and help regulate emotions, which is why nearly all trauma therapies (even non-somatic ones) teach some form of breath awareness.

Rhythmic Movement and Exercise

Trauma often gets “stuck” in the body as pent-up energy. Moving your body in intentional ways can help discharge that stress energy and remind your body it’s safe. Somatic therapies sometimes involve gentle rhythmic movements – for example, shaking off is used in techniques like Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) to literally shake off stress. You might stand and softly shake your arms, legs, and torso as a way to loosen up intense feelings.

Dancing, stretching, yoga, or tai chi can also serve as resourcing practices, as they let you experience your body as a source of strength and fluidity rather than pain. Even a short walk outside while mindfully feeling the ground under each step can be regulating.

One somatic approach, pendulation, involves gently swaying or oscillating your attention between a sensation of tension and a sensation of ease in the body. This back-and-forth movement (much like a pendulum) helps the nervous system learn that it can move into a feeling and then come out to safety again – building tolerance.

Any rhythmic or mindful movement that feels good to you can be a resource – you’re teaching your body that it can move, breathe, and release, rather than hold everything in.

Self-Soothing Touch

We often underestimate the power of touch to communicate safety to the body. Self-soothing touch techniques allow you to give yourself the reassurance you might crave from another person.

For example, you can try the “butterfly hug” – cross your arms over your chest and gently tap your shoulders or upper arms alternately (left, right, left, right), like butterfly wings flapping. This method, which actually originated in EMDR, provides bilateral stimulation and a feeling of being held at the same time.

Another simple exercise is placing one or both hands over your heart and noticing the warmth and pressure – this can activate feelings of care and calm. Dr Peter Levine suggests a self-hug where you cross your arms and rest your hands on your shoulders or upper arms, giving a light squeeze. This posture can make the body feel “contained”, which translates into a sense of safety.

Similarly, gently stroking your arms or cheeks, or cradling your face in your hands, can send signals of comfort. These touches might sound simplistic, but when you’re in a triggered state, they help ground you in your body and remind you that you are here, in the present, and in control. Many survivors find that over time, their body starts to associate these self-touch gestures with relaxation.

Mindfulness and Visualisation

Somatic therapies often incorporate mindfulness practices – which simply means staying aware of the present moment with acceptance.

Mindfulness meditation can be a resource in itself. For example, doing a guided body scan (slowly moving your attention from head to toe, observing sensations without judgement) helps ground and release tension.

Visualisation is also used, sometimes similar to EMDR imagery, but with a bodily twist. A somatic therapist might guide you to imagine a “shield of light” protecting you, or to visualise a calming colour spreading through your body as you inhale. These mental exercises create positive physiological responses.

In fact, Harvard Health Publishing notes that somatic therapy employs techniques like titration – approaching traumatic memories in tiny, manageable doses – and resourcing, which in this context means recalling people or places that promote a sense of safety. Whether through meditation, imagery, or prayer, engaging the mind can directly affect how safe the body feels.

It’s worth noting that somatic approaches are often used in integrative therapy and EMDR.

Resourcing is a concept that crosses many methods. For instance, a therapist might have a client do a few minutes of deep breathing and grounding (somatic resourcing) before doing an exercise from CBT, or they might incorporate a safe place visualisation into a yoga-based therapy session.

Integration is Key

In trauma treatment, integration is key – the mind and body work together. Indeed, many modern trauma therapies recognise that to truly heal, we must address both the psychological narrative and the bodily stored stress. That’s why you’ll find resourcing techniques in psychosensory therapies like EMDR and Somatic Experiencing, in mindfulness-based stress reduction, in Havening (which uses soothing touch and visualisation), and even in newer modalities.

All these approaches share the idea that first, we must help you feel safe and present – and then the deeper healing can unfold.

A Gentle Reminder

While these somatic practices can be tried at home (and many therapy clients do find them helpful as self-care tools), it’s always best to learn them with a trained therapist if you can. A therapist provides a safe container and can tailor exercises to your unique needs, especially if certain techniques trigger uncomfortable feelings.

As you get the hang of them, you’ll likely start incorporating these calming strategies into your daily routine.

Over time, small habits – like doing a grounding exercise each morning or a breathing drill every night – can significantly strengthen your ability to self-regulate. And if one strategy doesn’t resonate, that’s okay – trauma healing is deeply personal. You might prefer yoga over visualisation, or find that grounding with your dog is more resourcing for you than doing a body scan.

The beauty of resourcing is that there’s no one-size-fits-all – any practice that helps you feel more stable and safe is a valid resource.

Empowering Your Healing Journey

Healing from trauma is never linear — but resourcing techniques can be the small yet powerful anchors that support you along the way. These practices remind you that calm is accessible, even in challenging moments. Whether you're a client just beginning therapy, or a fellow practitioner seeking grounded tools, these techniques offer a bridge between overwhelm and inner steadiness. You don’t have to face it all at once — and you don’t have to face it alone.

Try a simple resourcing practice today — like the Peaceful Place visualisation — and reflect on what part of you most needed that space. That one moment of calm can become a foundation. From there, resilience grows.

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References:

Harvard Health Publishing (2023) What is Somatic Therapy?. [online] Harvard Health. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-somatic-therapy-202307072951 [Accessed May 2025].

Tora Therapeutics (n.d.) Resourcing for Safety and Stability. [online] Available at: https://toratherapeutics.com/resourcing-for-safety-and-stability [Accessed May 2025].

Trauma Therapist Institute (n.d.) Essential Techniques for Effective EMDR Resourcing. [online] Available at: https://www.traumatherapistinstitute.com/blog/Essential-Techniques-for-Effective-EMDR-Resourcing [Accessed May 2025].

Schwartz, A. (n.d.) Resources for Trauma Recovery. [online] Dr Arielle Schwartz. Available at: https://drarielleschwartz.com/resources-for-trauma-recovery-dr-arielle-schwartz [Accessed May 2025].

Ross, S. (n.d.) Resourcing, Pendulation & Titration: Practices in Somatic Experiencing. [online] Available at: https://sarahrossphd.com/resourcing-pendulation-titration-practices-somatic-experiencing [Accessed May 2025].

PsychCentral (n.d.) Somatic Therapy Exercises for Trauma. [online] Available at: https://psychcentral.com/lib/somatic-therapy-exercises-for-trauma [Accessed May 2025].