OFFICIAL TERMINOLOGY UPDATE • SEPTEMBER 2026

Clarification of the IEMT Name

From “Integral Eye Movement Therapy” to “Integral Eye Movement Technique”

The Association for IEMT Practitioners is adopting Integral Eye Movement Technique as the preferred wording for the method previously described as Integral Eye Movement Therapy.

This clarification is intended to improve public understanding of what IEMT is, what IEMT training provides and how practitioners should describe their work. It does not represent a change to the method itself.

In summary: Integral Eye Movement Technique is the method. The therapeutic or professional context in which it is used is determined by the individual practitioner’s wider qualifications, role, competence and scope of practice.

Why the terminology is changing

The word therapy can describe a broad category of professional practice. It may also be understood by members of the public as implying a particular professional status, level of clinical training or regulated qualification.

The word technique, by contrast, identifies a specific method that may be used by an appropriately trained practitioner within a range of professional settings.

  • Therapy describes a broader category or context of professional practice.
  • Technique describes the particular method taught and delivered by IEMT practitioners.

Integral Eye Movement Technique may be incorporated into therapeutic, coaching, counselling, psychological, medical, wellbeing or other professional work where this is appropriate to the practitioner’s role and qualifications. The context in which IEMT is used will therefore depend upon the practitioner’s wider training, experience, professional responsibilities and scope of practice.

Professional titles and scope of practice

Completion of an approved IEMT training course qualifies a person to describe themselves as an IEMT practitioner, subject to the relevant training, certification and membership requirements.

IEMT training does not, by itself, confer the broader professional title of therapist. Nor does it provide a regulated clinical, medical, psychological, psychotherapeutic or counselling qualification.

Practitioners who describe themselves using a wider professional title should hold suitable qualifications, experience or professional standing independent of their IEMT training, and must work within the limits of their competence and professional role.

The IEMT name and professional identity

The established abbreviation IEMT remains unchanged. When referring to the method taught or practised, the preferred full wording is:

Integral Eye Movement Technique

Appropriate professional descriptions include:

  • Practitioner of IEMT
  • IEMT Practitioner
  • Practitioner of Integral Eye Movement Technique
  • Coach who uses Integral Eye Movement Technique
  • Counsellor, therapist or other suitably qualified professional who incorporates Integral Eye Movement Technique into their work

Any reference to a wider professional title should accurately reflect the practitioner’s independent qualifications and professional status.

Why the website domain remains unchanged

The website domain www.integraleyemovementtherapy.com will remain in use.

The domain is an established public address associated with the history and wider field of IEMT. Retaining it provides continuity for members, practitioners, trainees and members of the public who already know or search for IEMT under its former name.

Keeping the established domain does not alter the preferred terminology for the method. Across the website and in future public communications, Integral Eye Movement Technique will increasingly be used when referring to the practice delivered by IEMT practitioners.

The continued use of the word “therapy” within the domain should therefore be understood as an established historical and institutional identifier. It is not a statement about the professional status of every person trained in IEMT.

Why the British Board’s name remains unchanged

The British Board for Integral Eye Movement Therapy will also retain its established name.

The Board’s name identifies the professional body responsible, within its remit, for standards and oversight relating to IEMT. It represents the wider professional field within which Integral Eye Movement Technique is taught and used.

  • The British Board for Integral Eye Movement Therapy is the established name of the professional body.
  • Integral Eye Movement Technique is the method delivered by trained practitioners.

Retention of the Board’s name should not be interpreted as suggesting that IEMT training alone qualifies every practitioner as a therapist.

What will change

The Association will gradually introduce the updated wording across:

  • the Association website and practitioner directory;
  • new and revised certificates;
  • course descriptions and advertising;
  • membership and training materials;
  • social-media profiles and promotional materials; and
  • public and professional communications.

What will not change

The terminology update does not alter:

  • the IEMT model, principles or method;
  • the content or structure of approved training;
  • established training and assessment standards;
  • the validity of existing qualifications or certificates;
  • practitioner membership requirements;
  • professional, ethical or safeguarding expectations;
  • the governance arrangements of the Association or the British Board; or
  • the responsibility of practitioners to work within their competence and professional scope.

Existing certificates remain valid and do not need to be reissued solely because they use the former wording.

Implementation and transition

The change will be introduced gradually over the coming months. Trainers, practitioners and members are asked to adopt Integral Eye Movement Technique when creating new materials and whenever existing materials are reviewed or replaced.

We recognise that printed materials, existing certificates and content embedded in established systems cannot always be replaced immediately. Existing materials do not need to be withdrawn solely because they use the former wording, provided that they remain otherwise accurate and appropriate.

Professional clarity and public confidence

This change does not diminish IEMT or the work of its practitioners. It reflects the continuing development and professional maturity of the field.

By distinguishing the technique from a practitioner’s wider professional status, the Association can describe IEMT more accurately, communicate more clearly with the public and reduce the possibility of misunderstanding.

This clarification supports responsible practice, public confidence and the long-term development of IEMT.