Launching When Everything Is Falling Apart: Behind the Scenes of Building an EMDR Course
If you’ve ever tried to launch something—an EMDR intensive, a group program, a course—while your personal life felt like it was actively imploding, this episode is for you.
In Episode 128 of the Future Template Parent Podcast, I pull back the curtain on what it actually looked like to launch my on‑demand course, The EMDR Intensive Practice Formula, during one of the most destabilizing seasons of my life.
This is not a tidy “here’s how I launched in 30 days” story. It’s a real one.
The Myth of the Clean, Calm Launch
There’s a version of business-building we’re often sold: launch when you’re well-rested, regulated, focused, and resourced.
But for most working parents—especially mothers—that window never comes.
Our lives are a carefully balanced house of cards. When one card shifts, everything feels at risk.
And sometimes, launches happen anyway.
Why I Built an On‑Demand EMDR Intensive Course
After running my 12‑week EMDR Intensive group program multiple times, I knew the content worked. The outcomes were strong. Therapists were booking high‑fee intensives.
But I also knew something else:
Not everyone wants—or can manage—a live group.
Some therapists:
- Don’t have 12 hours for live calls
- Prefer to move at their own pace
- Want immediate access instead of waiting for enrollment cycles
- Learn better independently
The on‑demand version exists for those clinicians. It’s the same roadmap—just without the cohort structure.
What the Course Actually Includes
The EMDR Intensive Practice Formula is a six‑module, clinically and strategically comprehensive training:
- Module 1: Your why, course roadmap, and intensive foundations
- Module 2: Intensive structure, fees, paperwork, and RTIP treatment planning
- Module 3: Marketing basics—clients, referrals, email, and social media
- Module 4: Web copy, SEO, AI tools, and dissociation basics
- Module 5: Advanced clinical skills (ASSIST, CPOS, DNMS, ego states, IFS‑informed EMDR)
- Module 6: GTEP, preverbal trauma protocols, and next steps
It also includes over 30 templates, scripts, and clinical tools.
What It Took to Get This Course Out the Door
Here’s the part no one glamorizes.
To launch, I had to:
- Rewatch and edit 12+ hours of video
- Re‑record 10 lessons
- Create 4 entirely new lessons
- Update every slide deck and resource
- Learn how to use Circle for on‑demand delivery
- Upload and test every asset
- Write a sales page
- Write launch emails
- Maintain my podcast and social media
And that was before life intervened.
What Was Actually Happening Behind the Scenes
During this launch window:
- We were forced into an unexpected move
- My father‑in‑law was diagnosed with—and died from—glioblastoma within weeks
- My husband was traveling back and forth for hospice and funeral arrangements
- I was solo‑parenting, homeschooling, and holding my kids through grief
- We traveled internationally during Thanksgiving
- My autistic daughter underwent major dental surgery under anesthesia
And I kept working.
Not because it was noble. But because sometimes you do what you can with what you have.
What Fell Apart (Because It Did)
Let’s be honest about the cost:
- My house was a mess
- Meals were frozen or drive‑through
- I fell behind on notes
- I missed a payroll
- I canceled commitments
- I fought with my husband
- Self‑care disappeared
This is what “doing it all” actually looks like.
How I Got It Done Anyway
Not through discipline or hustle—but through constraint‑based strategy:
- Five‑ and ten‑minute work blocks
- A constantly updated task list
- Realistic time expectations
- One task per day, no matter how small
- Project management support
- Accountability from a business coach
- Execution support from a fractional marketing officer
And most importantly: not quitting.
What I Want EMDR Therapists to Take From This
You don’t need perfect conditions to build something meaningful.
You need:
- A sustainable model
- Clear priorities
- Support
- And permission to be human
If launching feels hard, it’s not because you’re doing it wrong. It’s because this work is demanding—and you’re probably carrying more than anyone sees.
Final Thoughts
Success doesn’t always look like a massive launch.
Sometimes it looks like finishing the thing anyway.
If you want to learn how to build EMDR intensives with structure, ethics, and sustainability—this course was built for you.
Through December 24, you can take $100 off the EMDR Intensive Practice Formula with code HOLIDAY10.
And whether you buy the course or not, I hope this episode made you feel less alone.
You’re not failing. You’re building—inside real life.
