Recapping Dr. Ignacio “Nacho” Jarero’s Advanced EMDR Training Here in Delray Beach
Our team has been working for over two years to bring Dr. Ignacio Jarero’s advanced EMDR training to the South Florida area, and it finally happened last month! And honestly, professional experiences like these are remind us why we chose this field. Therapists traveled from across South Florida, with colleagues making the trip from Orlando, the Florida Panhandle, and even one dedicated clinician coming all the way from California. The energy in the room reflected the significance of the occasion: learning directly from one of the most respected figures in the EMDR world.
Meeting a Pillar of the Field
As the host of the workshop, I had the privilege of picking up and dropping off Dr. Jarero (from this point on in the blog I will refer to him as “Nacho”) to and from his hotel for the training. True to form, he was so relaxed and personable. Despite being a total stranger (aside from saying hello to him at a conference years ago), the car rides were totally comfortable and with warm conversation.
Nacho’s bio is incredible. He holds both a Ph.D. and an Ed.D. as both a clinician and researcher, sitting in the top 5% of most-read researchers on ResearchGate, has over 100 published articles, and serves as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Public Health. He is an EMDR Institute Senior Trainer of Trainers and has deployed over 200 times to disaster zones around the world, bringing evidence-based trauma treatment to some of the most challenging environments. During conversation, I found out that he is also the proprietor of several authentic neopolitan-style pizzerias in Mexico where he is from, and that he has a master’s degree in engineering and was a civil engineer before going into the psychology field!
Nacho was genuinely warm, unpretentious, and full of life throughout the training. His personality carried through every hour in a witty, engaging, and deeply passionate way. Dr. Jarero seemed to have a rare ability to take dense clinical material and make it both accessible and riveting. The room was laughing, thinking, and leaning forward all at once. Learning from someone who has spent decades deploying these protocols in disaster zones, refugee camps, and conflict regions around the world gave the training a gravity and authenticity that no textbook can replicate.
One fun fact I learned – Nacho apparently requires a siesta every day after lunch. He said there is some Harvard research showing the benefits of this, and for him it was non-negotiable. When I asked him what he does if he’s not able to take the nap (such as if he’s traveling, doing a project of some type, etc.) and he looked at me with confusion and explained that he always makes sure it happens no matter what. Since there was no spare room in the venue to take his nap, Nacho slept in the backseat of my car! The weather was beautiful, so we found a parking spot under a tree each day and then after lunch it was siesta time.
The Venue
Our friends at Caron Treatment Centers graciously donated the use of their lecture hall for us to conduct the workshop in. We spent two full days at Caron’s Keele Center in Delray Beach, a magnificent, beautiful, state-of-the-art facility where they treat patients in their various programs.
What We Covered: The Protocols
The training was built around Dr. Jarero’s specialized group and intensive EMDR protocols, which he has developed and refined over nearly three decades of humanitarian and clinical work.
The first was the Acute Stress Syndrome Stabilization Procedure (ASSYST) for both individuals and groups. The ASSYST protocol is an evidence-based, early intervention designed for immediate use (hours, days, or weeks) after a traumatic event to reduce distress and stabilize the nervous system. It can also be used during early stages of the full EMDR therapy process to help reduce some of the intensity of the traumatic material to help prepare the client for effective reprocessing.
The next was the EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (EMDR-IGTP) which is the first EMDR protocol designed for individual treatment delivered in a group format. It was born in 1998 literally under a mango tree with sea sand as the floor following Hurricane Pauline in Mexico. He and his wife, Lucina “Lucy” Artigas created the protocol out of necessity due to the vast numbers of people who needed help. Apparently, this protocol has been applied and researched with numerous populations including disaster survivors, healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, orphans in Zambia, refugees in Ethiopian camps, survivors of Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict, cancer patients, and many more. He shared that over 50 peer-reviewed research studies on the EMDR-IGTP have been published in international academic journals, making this one of the most extensively validated group trauma protocols available.
Finally, we learned the EMDR Protocol for Recent Critical Incidents and Ongoing Traumatic Stress (EMDR-PRECI). The EMDR-PRECI was designed for situations where standard EMDR protocols face an unusual challenge: the trauma hasn't ended. In typical EMDR work, there is a post-trauma safety period during which memories consolidate — the event is over, and the person's nervous system has a chance to begin organizing what happened. But many people never have that window. There is no past tense. The EMDR-PRECI conceptualizes this as a cumulative trauma exposure memory network: a web of linked pathogenic memories carrying similar emotional, somatic, sensory, and cognitive content that extends continuously into the present and often generates catastrophic concerns about the future. The EMDR-PRECI adapts each of the eight standard EMDR phases in ways that reflect this ongoing-trauma context.
Learning By Doing
True to the tradition of EMDR trainings, the workshop incorporated structured practicum sections where participants practiced the protocols with one another. This hands-on component is a cornerstone of quality EMDR training — there is simply no substitute for experiencing these approaches from the inside. Practicing with fellow clinicians deepened our understanding of each protocol's mechanics and gave us a felt sense of what clients move through during treatment.
Nacho also led the group of about forty clinicians in an actual demonstration of the Integrated Group Treatment Protocol (EMDR-IGTP) where we targeted our entire continuum of experience as therapists to review and process any stressful or traumatic experiences within that context. It was amazing! And so efficient to be able to treat so many people at the same time.
To Sum It All Up
Honestly, the training was amazing in all aspects. To learn from one of the pioneers in the field was truly an honor and opportunity!
Our therapists are committed to bringing the most effective, evidence-based trauma treatments to clients in Delray Beach and across Palm Beach County. If you're ready to work with a team that invests deeply in their clinical training, Mangrove Therapy Group can offer support. Follow these simple steps to start your therapy journey:
1. Contact Mangrove Therapy Group
2. Meet with a caring therapist
3. Start finding the trained, caring support you deserve!
Other Services Offered with Mangrove Therapy Group
EMDR therapy is not the only service that Mangrove Therapy Group offers. Our team is trained to support clients with a variety of mental health services. Our Delray Beach, FL office, also offers care for:
- Trauma, EMDR intensives, PTSD, and Complex PTSD
- Substance use and process addictions
- Eating disorders and body image concerns
- Grief, loss, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem challenges
- Anger, shame, emotional dysregulation
- “Failure to Launch” issues and life transitions
- CBT and DBT-based support
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