The short answer
The three-pronged approach is EMDR's treatment-planning architecture: every complete course of EMDR processes past memories that laid down the maladaptive network, present triggers that activate it now, and a future template for handling the same situation adaptively. Skip a prong and gains tend not to generalise — the classic pattern is a client whose touchstone memory is at SUD 0 but who still freezes in the meeting room.
Reviewed by the EMDR Assist Clinical Team, EMDR-trained clinicians.
Educational reference material for EMDR-trained clinicians. It does not replace EMDRIA-approved Basic Training, consultation, supervision, or clinical judgement, and it is not medical advice.
Prong 1 — past
The earliest memory that established the negative cognition is the touchstone. Feeder memories are the later experiences that reinforced it. Standard sequencing: touchstone first, then the worst memory, then the most recent — although with fragile clients many clinicians open on the most recent and least activating.
Prong 1 is complete when each past target holds at SUD 0, VOC 7, and a clear body scan at reevaluation — not at the end of the session it was processed in. See selecting EMDR targets and target sequence planning.
Prong 2 — present
Present triggers are the current stimuli that still fire the network: a tone of voice, a smell, a type of conversation, a body sensation. Each one is assessed and reprocessed as its own target with its own image, NC, PC, VOC, emotion, SUD, and body location.
Many present triggers collapse on their own once the touchstone clears — that generalisation is expected. Reassess before assuming a trigger still needs its own session.
Prong 3 — future
The future template installs an adaptive rehearsal: the client imagines the anticipated situation going well, paired with the positive cognition and short sets of BLS. Include a "movie check" — run the whole scene start-to-finish and process any disturbance that appears. Prong 3 is what converts symptom relief into behavioural change, and it is the most frequently skipped part of the protocol.
Worked example
- Presenting problem — panic when speaking up at work; NC "I'm not safe."
- Past — age 7, humiliated reading aloud in class (touchstone); age 14, mocked in a school assembly; age 26, publicly corrected by a manager.
- Present — team meetings, being asked an unexpected question, hearing a raised voice.
- Future — presenting at next month's all-hands, calmly, holding "I can handle this."
Frequently asked questions
What is the 3-pronged approach in EMDR?
It is EMDR's treatment-planning framework: process past memories that created the maladaptive network, present triggers that activate it now, and a future template for handling the situation adaptively. All three prongs are required for a complete course of EMDR.
Do you always have to do all three prongs?
Yes for a complete protocol. Present triggers often resolve spontaneously after the past prong clears, but they must be reassessed rather than assumed, and the future template should always be installed.
What order do the three prongs go in?
Past, then present, then future. Within the past prong the standard order is touchstone, worst, most recent — though fragile or highly dissociative clients may start with a less activating recent memory.
What is a future template in EMDR?
A rehearsal of an anticipated situation going well, paired with the positive cognition and short sets of bilateral stimulation, followed by a start-to-finish 'movie check' to catch remaining disturbance.
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