EMDR session log example and free template

By Dr Richard Pomfret, counselling psychologist and EMDR practitioner. Updated 13 October 2026.

A short set log gives you the raw material for your clinical notes and something to return to at the next session. Here is a blank template and a worked example of what EMDR Timer can export.

This is for EMDR-trained practitioners. It is a record-keeping aid, to use alongside your usual clinical record and documentation requirements.

What belongs in a set log?

Keep the information you will want when writing up or reviewing the session: set number, duration, brief notes and any ratings you actually took. In the timer, the set number and duration are recorded when you end a set. Notes, tags and SUD/VoC are optional.

You can also add a session target with baseline ratings. Those fields travel into the text summary, alongside the set log. A short note is a reminder of what happened, rather than a full account of a session.

A shortened example of the export

The numbers and notes below are invented to show the layout. They do not describe a client or an expected treatment result.

EMDR Session - demonstration
Label: Example session
Sets: 3
Total processing time: 2m 5s
SUD: 6 to 4

Set 1: 45s SUD 6 - example note A
Set 2: 38s - example note B
Set 3: 42s SUD 4 - example note C

Set 2 has no SUD entry because no rating was recorded there. A blank is useful information: it should not become a zero, a previous score or a guess. See the SUD and VoC recording guide for the two scales and their separate roles.

How to export your own log

1. Open the timer and create or unlock your PIN.
2. Start and end each set. Add notes or ratings when you choose to record them.
3. End the session and use the summary's copy action to paste the log into your usual record.
4. For Markdown, CSV or print / save as PDF, turn on Extra export formats in Settings. These formats are also available from a saved session in History.

The CSV contains a row per set. Target details and the narrative session summary are in the text, Markdown and print formats. Choose the format that fits the record you need.

Keep the working log private

Use a non-identifying session label and keep notes to what you need. The timer stores sessions encrypted in your browser. Once copied, downloaded or printed, the exported record is outside that protection and needs the same care as your other clinical material.

A text or CSV export is also different from an encrypted backup. To preserve your saved sessions and settings for restoration, use the encrypted backup feature and keep its passphrase somewhere you can recover.

Using the blank template

The download is an ordinary text file you can open and adapt in your own notes system. It includes an optional target section, blank rows for sets and space for your closing note. Add or remove fields to suit your practice. The timer fills its own log automatically; you do not need to import this template.

For the wider workflow, read how I time EMDR sets and what I write down. If you are introducing the tool to a cohort, there is also a printable trainee and supervision guide.