EMDR in the Treatment of Depression – The EMDR DeprEnd Protocol

Severe depression is one of the most common mental disorders and affects between 15-20 % of the general population in their lifetimes. Although many psycho-therapeutic and pharmacologic interventions exist that are considered to be effective in depression, the treatment results are often less than satisfactory. High relapse rates (ranging at 50% after two years), unsatisfactory remissions, and suicidal risks are among the major problems. EMDR is internationally recognized as one of the most effective tools to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (WHO 2013). More and more studies now show that stressful life events play a major role also in depressive disorders. Therefore, it makes sense, that EMDR comes more and more into focus as a new intervention tool in the treatment of depressive disorders. Our European EDEN study group has conducted research on the subject since 2007, published 5 controlled studies (three of them RCTs), and treated at least 500 depressive patients using our DeprEnd manual. The studies and our cases show that EMDR is at least equal to CBT treatment in depression (equivalence) but seems to result in more complete remissions than other interventions. EMDR may also lead to a decreased risk of relapses, as an incomplete remission increases the risk of relapse 5 times. In the workshop, the evidence will be presented and our treatment manual (DeprEndr protocol) will be introduced.