Research and Treatment Guidelines for EMDR

EMDR therapy is extensively researched and widely recognized as effective trauma therapy. EMDR therapy is recognized as evidenced-based treatment for PTSD and other trauma and stressor disorders in treatment guidelines published by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the World Health Organization, and a growing number of national and international organizations. Treatment guidelines are based on reviews that evaluate the research of established evidence-based mental health treatments.

EMDR Research Articles and Posts

Research Corner | March 2019

March 31, 2019

This material was published in the EMDRIA magazine Go With That in March 2019. Research Corner | March 2019

Exploring the Intersection of EMDR and Play Therapy

March 1, 2019

By Ann Beckley-Forest, LCSW-R, RPT-S American psychologist, educator, and founder of EMDR, Francine Shapiro’s adaptive information processing (AIP) model proposes that the integration of both positive and negative experiences into…

Brains That Learn Not to Fear

February 15, 2019

Research Callout: Holmes’ (2019) review in Nature journal summarizes how Baek et al’s (2019) article sheds more light on possible mechanisms of EMDR therapy: “A treatment called eye-movement desensitization and…

Research Corner | December 2018

December 31, 2018

This material was published in the EMDRIA magazine Go With That in December 2018. ReResearch Corner | December 2018

Research Corner | September 2018

September 30, 2018

This material was published in the EMDRIA magazine Go With That in September 2018. Research Corner | September 2018

Research Corner | June 2018

June 28, 2018

This material was published in the EMDRIA magazine Go With That in June 2018. Research Corner | June 2018

Compiled in 2022, a list of EMDR meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Meta-analyses analyze evidence based research and are often used for data in treatment guidelines for standardized care. Systematic reviews summarize research on a specific question or topic. In medical or health care fields, they often assess the strength of evidence present in a treatment in the field. This list is an ongoing work in progress.

A 2016 bibliography of EMDR Research with short descriptions, this document covers a wide range of peer-reviewed journal articles about EMDR including meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, non-randomized studies, and reviews of efficacy and treatment models. It also includes international treatment guidelines and recommendations from mental health agencies.