EMDR Therapy Quarterly

Authors: Bram van der Boom and Lizet Wolters

Introduction

In the treatment of personality disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder (BPD), the psychotherapeutic community has long emphasised long-term interventions such as dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), mentalisation-based therapy (MBT) and schema therapy. These treatments often span years, offering gradual and sometimes incomplete progress. However, a compelling new application of Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is beginning to challenge conventional paradigms, with promising results from short-term, intensive trauma-focused interventions.

Psyflix, a “Netflix for therapists,” is an educational platform created by Tim Wind and Bram van der Boom that seeks to film entire treatments of real patients as educational material for therapists.

This article reports a discussion between Lizet, a former BPD patient, and Bram van der Boom, a psychiatrist. Lizet’s therapy was recorded for Psyflix. She underwent a transformative four-day EMDR treatment. The article not only recounts her journey through 25 years of traditional mental healthcare but also offers clinical insight into the mechanisms and potential of EMDR when applied to complex personality disorders.

Background: A long road through the mental health system

Lizet’s trajectory through the mental healthcare system began at age 14 and spanned over two decades. Diagnosed with BPD, she experienced nearly every form of conventional therapy: psychodynamic therapy, group therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), schema therapy, psychomotor therapy, creative therapies and more.

Despite high functioning in her professional life, Lizet describes an inner emptiness, chronic emotional distress and repeated episodes of suicidality. It was only after a serious medical crisis (cancer) that the façade of functionality collapsed. A subsequent referral to a personality disorders clinic did not lead to relief but rather deepened her sense of alienation and despair. As she described, “Twelve months later, I was completely lost… and had decided to leave.”

The turning point: A different kind of invitation

Lizet eventually came across a Psyflix advertisement seeking patients to take part. The call offered EMDR treatment for BPD, led by Laurian Hafkemeijer (recipient of the Francine Shapiro Award) and Prof Ad de Jongh. What struck her immediately was the simple yet profound question, “Why have you never had trauma therapy?” This was particularly striking given that she had been in therapy almost continuously for 25 years. She enrolled in the Psyflix filming and treatment, which provided her with ten EMDR sessions over four consecutive days. What followed was a therapeutic experience unlike any she had ever encountered – one that finally allowed her to access and process deep-seated emotional wounds. The treatment began with the formation of a case conceptualisation, clustering the traumas from her youth, followed by nine sessions of EMDR treatment for each trauma she had listed. Ad and Laurian employed techniques such as EMDR 2.0, cognitive interweaves and flash forwards.

Why EMDR? And why now?

Lizet’s story underscores a critical insight – the therapeutic system had for years focused on modifying her behaviour, rarely exploring the underlying emotional injuries. EMDR’s approach (starting from a visual, sensory and emotional entry point into memories) enabled Lizet to finally reach the root of her suffering.

Mechanism of change: The ‘unfolding’ in EMDR

What differentiated EMDR for Lizet wasn’t just the content – it was the process. Rather than starting from labels or diagnoses, the sessions invited open exploration. She was asked to describe what she saw and felt, not what she thought was expected. The sessions were patient-led, and the pacing was uniquely supportive.

Transformation: What changed post-treatment?

Importantly, EMDR did not “fix everything” in four days. What it did do was create space for healing by lifting the emotional blockages. And within that space, the possibility to learn new things emerged. Only after Lizet’s core beliefs that “I am a monster” and “my worth is defined by others (especially by my parents),” had been desensitised, could she begin to open herself to new experiences. She was finally able to learn how to connect with herself, with the people around her and with life itself. It marked the beginning of a profound shift from merely surviving to truly living.

What changed shortly after her treatment was her diagnosis; a test before the treatment confirmed her BPD diagnosis, and a test three months after the treatment showed the diagnosis was no longer there. A year post-treatment, this was still the case.

The role of recognition and non-recognition

In a pivotal moment, her therapist, Ad de Jongh asked, “Should I now tell you that you are okay?” For Lizet, the absence of reassurance forced her to confront the need for self-recognition. Therapy moved from placating the wounded child to empowering the adult.

Lizet’s case challenges the notion that personality disorders stem from inherently ‘disordered’ personalities. She emphasises, “I wasn’t born with borderline. My behaviours were adaptations. Nobody is born a problem.” Bram supports this view, arguing that personality disorders are better understood as complex adaptations to various forms of trauma. From his perspective, what we label as disordered behaviour often reflects the imprint of relational wounds, attachment disruptions or chronic emotional neglect, rather than an intrinsic flaw in personality.

Implications for clinical practice

1. Trauma comes in many forms – not just Criterion A trauma, but also traumas like neglect.
2. Consider including EMDR or even starting with EMDR as part of personality disorder therapy.
3. Short-term, intensive EMDR may be viable.
   
   

Looking ahead: Expanding the model

Although further research is necessary, the latest studies show promising results. (Snoek et al., 2025; Kolthof et al., 2022). If further research confirms that EMDR is effective as a treatment for personality disorders, it may prompt a complete reassessment of how we understand and treat personality disorders across the board. Bram stresses that this could spark a revolution in mental healthcare for patients with personality disorders that is unprecedented.

Conclusion

This positive news story represents more than a personal healing story. It suggests a paradigm shift. For decades, mental health professionals have accepted that the treatment of personality disorders must be slow and painstaking. But Lizet’s story opens the door to a new reality – that even in the most complex cases, profound transformation is possible, and sometimes in a matter of days.

What remains is for the field to follow through with further research, with humility, rigour and an open mind.