Resource Development & Installation (RDI) Script — Free PDF
Resource Development & Installation based on Korn & Leeds (2002) — scripted Nurturing, Protective, Wise and Mastery anchors with installation BLS cues and stabilisation safeguards.
Free PDF for EMDR clinicians. Get it by email.
What Resource Development & Installation is
Resource Development and Installation (RDI) is the EMDR Phase 2 protocol developed by Deborah Korn and Andrew Leeds (2002) for stabilising clients with complex or developmental trauma before reprocessing begins. Where the standard Phase 2 installs Calm Place and Container, RDI extends preparation by installing positive states, figures and mastery experiences that can be drawn on during reprocessing if the client destabilises.
This PDF gives you a scripted version — suggested therapist wording, BLS cues for resource installation (always short, slow, 4–8 alternations), the four standard anchor categories (Nurturing, Protective, Wise, Mastery), and a future-template rehearsal step that links the resource back to the original presenting challenge.
When to use RDI (and when standard Phase 2 is enough)
Standard EMDR Phase 2 — Calm Place plus Container — is sufficient for most adult clients with discrete, single-incident trauma and adequate baseline regulation. RDI is added when the client's history or presentation calls for stronger Phase 2 preparation:
- Complex, developmental, or attachment trauma
- Chronic affect dysregulation
- Sub-clinical or clinical dissociation (positive DES-II screen)
- Failed Calm Place or Container installation in standard Phase 2
- Preparation for an imminent life stressor (court date, surgery, contact with perpetrator)
For every standard Phase 2 installation, the Resourcing Scripts Collection PDF is the right starting point. RDI is the extension when standard resourcing isn't enough.
How to use the script in session
Read the script lightly — the wording is a guide, not a recitation. Follow the client's images and language. Pause at each check-in cue for the client's response before moving on.
The BLS sets throughout RDI are intentionally short and slow — 4 to 8 alternations per set, slow pace. This is resource installation, not reprocessing. Long or fast sets associate the resource to whatever else is active in the memory network at the time — exactly the opposite of what installation requires. Standard-length eye-movement sets can also make positive memories less vivid and pleasant (Hornsveld et al., 2011).
Install one resource per session if it's the first time, or refresh two existing resources in a single session. The future-template rehearsal step — imagining the resource available in a challenging real-world situation — is what links the installed resource to the contexts where the client will need to draw on it.
The four anchor categories
Nurturing figure. Someone who has made the client feel cared for, comforted, supported. Real or imagined; human, animal, ancestral, spiritual, or symbolic.
Protective figure. Someone or something that makes the client feel safe and protected — who would stand with them.
Wise figure. A source of wisdom — an older self, mentor, elder, teacher, or figure from the client's spiritual tradition who could see the situation clearly and offer guidance.
Mastery experience. The alternative anchor when a figure feels too far away — a memory of the client themselves handling something difficult well. Even small mastery experiences install effectively.
Most clients respond to one or two categories more readily than others. Don't push a category that doesn't land — switch to the next one. If none of the four lands, return to Calm Place and revisit RDI in a later session after more stabilisation work.
What's inside the PDF
- Indication checklist (when to use RDI)
- Step 1: identify the needed quality script
- Step 2: find the resource (Nurturing / Protective / Wise / Mastery scripts)
- Step 3: develop the resource (image, body location, cue word)
- Step 4: install the resource (short slow BLS, repeat 2–4 times)
- Step 5: future-template rehearsal (link to original challenge)
- Step 6: generalise and close (between-session practice plan)
- Stabilisation safeguard for when RDI destabilises
- Reference (Korn & Leeds, 2002; Parnell, 2013)
When RDI destabilises — and what to do
Occasionally a client reports something negative arising during RDI: the figure shifts, an unexpected memory intrudes, the body sensation flips from positive to anxious. Stop the BLS immediately, ground the client, and assess.
The three most common causes:
1. The figure has a trauma association the client hadn't recognised — e.g. the "protective grandfather" who was also dismissive. Switch to a different figure or to a Mastery experience.
2. The quality being installed triggers a defended part — installing "safety" can paradoxically activate parts that hold the conviction that safety is dangerous. This is meaningful clinical data; consider attachment-focused EMDR or parts-aware adaptations before continuing.
3. The client is more dissociative than the Phase 1 screen detected. Re-screen with the DES-II or MID and pause RDI until dissociation has been properly assessed. RDI assumes a coherent enough self-system to install a resource on; deeply dissociative clients sometimes need direct work with the parts system before standard resourcing will hold.
Related on the EMDR guide
Frequently asked questions
Is RDI an EMDRIA-recognised protocol?
RDI is a published, widely used Phase 2 protocol (Korn & Leeds, 2002; Leeds, 2016). Many EMDRIA-approved Basic Trainings introduce it, and it is covered in depth in advanced trainings; check how your own training covered it before using it with complex presentations.
Do I need to install all four anchors?
No. Pick the anchor category that lands for the client — usually one or two work, others don't. Mastery is a useful fall-back when figures feel too distant.
What BLS pace and length should I use?
Short and slow — 4 to 8 alternations per set, slow pace. Long or fast sets associate the resource to other material in the network, which is the opposite of what installation requires.
What if RDI destabilises the client?
Stop BLS, ground, and assess. Common causes: figure has hidden trauma association, quality triggers a defended part, or client is more dissociative than the Phase 1 screen detected. Re-screen for dissociation before continuing.
References
- Korn, D. L., & Leeds, A. M. (2002). Preliminary evidence of efficacy for EMDR resource development and installation in the stabilization phase of treatment of complex PTSD. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(12), 1465–1487.
- Hornsveld, H. K., Houtveen, J. H., Vroomen, M., Kapteijn, I., Aalbers, D., & van den Hout, M. A. (2011). Evaluating the effect of eye movements on positive memories such as those used in resource development and installation. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 5(4), 146–155.
- Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.