Scientific and Research Committee update
Scientific and Research Committee update
By Jonathan Hutchins
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In August, Beverly Coghlan stood down as research officer for the Association. The committee wishes to both recognise and give its sincere thanks to Beverly for her instrumental role in the committee over the past few years and her contributions to the research strategy, peer-reviewed data base and to initiating the SCHARR review of the evidence base for EMDR for PTSD since the NICE guidelines in 2018. Her contributions will help inform the next stages of the SRC work.
The committee would also like to thank Mary Clare De Echevarria and Shelley Bradley-Scholey for their contributions over the years to the SRC, and we wish them well in their future endeavours now they have stood down.
Research and academic liaison
We have also appointed Anthea Sutton as the new Research and Academic Liaison for the Association. She introduces herself below.
“I have been working in health research at the University of Sheffield (UoS) since the early 2000s. My background is in library and information science. After a year as a graduate trainee in an academic library followed by a postgraduate degree, I joined ScHARR (School of Health and Related Research as it was then known) in my first professional post on an eight-month contract, and I have been there ever since. I started as a Research Assistant, and through various job titles and departmental changes, I am now a Research Fellow at the School of Medicine and Population Health, which incorporates SCHARR (Sheffield Centre for Health Research).
Most of my role at UoS is working on evidence synthesis projects such as systematic reviews, and I was delighted to lead a review in collaboration with EMDR UK on treatment and prevention of PTSD in adults, children and adolescents (the journal article is currently in press). Additionally, I oversee the EMDR publications database, which you can access as members (please request an invitation from here if you haven’t joined yet). Through these projects, I have gained a deeper understanding of EMDR UK’s work, and collaborating with practitioners has been a career highlight.
When Beverly Coghlan told me she was stepping down as research officer, my initial reaction was disappointment, as I have enjoyed working with her immensely, and I have learned a lot. However, upon seeing the new post advertised (which included an academic liaison component) I started to think that along with my disappointment, came an exciting opportunity. Following application and interview, I was delighted to be offered the role. I will continue working at UoS four days a week and will dedicate the rest of my working time to EMDR UK.
I look forward to working with the Association and meeting more of its members. I am passionate about research methodologies, tools and technologies for evidence synthesis, and professional learning (I lead an online programme of courses at UoS). I hope to bring these skills to the Scientific Research Committee and continue my journey in contributing to EMDR research and the fantastic work the Association does.”
Next steps
The planned next steps for the SRC over the next year are to develop a series of webinars for members on developing a research project, applying for funding and being supported in publication. These webinars will be free to members. Anthea and I are currently mapping these out, and we will update the membership when we can go live with them. In addition, we plan to consider the idea of developing an EMDR research centre or hub where members can be supported to develop projects and be assisted with applications for funding.
Call for poster submissions for the next annual conference
This year’s venue is the vibrant city of Liverpool, and the conference takes place on the 21 and 22 March 2025. We invite all members to submit abstracts for poster presentations but please note that space is limited. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase your research and practice and contribute to the growing body of knowledge on EMDR. Abstracts should be around 250 to 300 words in length and include:
- Introduction – covering the goal of the study or background to practice
- Methods – basic study design or what you did in practice
- Results – a summary of the major findings or treatment outcomes, if it is a practice paper
- Discussion – including the interpretation of results (or treatment outcomes), conclusions, broader implications and suggestions for future research.
Please email your abstracts to Anthea Sutton at a.sutton@emdrassociation.org.uk