EMDR Therapy Quarterly

EMDR Publications Database

A selected summary of recent research added to the EMDR Publications Database

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

We begin this update by highlighting the systematic review of EMDR for children and adolescents with PTSD funded by EMDR UK and conducted by myself and colleagues at the University of Sheffield (Sutton et al. 2025).  Our review found that EMDR treatment (delivered three months or more post-trauma) produced a significant and large effect size compared to waitlist or usual care.

For substance use disorders, a meta-analysis showed EMDR produced moderate-to-high effect sizes for craving, PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms, though its effect on overall addiction severity was not significant (Seok et al. 2025). In adult justice-involved populations, EMDR is noted as a promising approach for improving mental health outcomes, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression, but evidence regarding behavioural change is inconsistent, and methodological limitations prevent definite conclusions regarding the effectiveness of trauma-focused therapies (Sousa et al. 2025). 

Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs)

An RCT evaluating effectiveness of Attachment-Based EMDR (AB-EMDR) for adolescents with bullying-related trauma symptoms compared to standard EMDR therapy, found that AB-EMDR yielded greater reductions and faster reductions in trauma and anxiety compared to standard EMDR (Mahmood et al. 2025). Another RCT in an adolescent population added to the database this update found that EMDR-focused group counselling (G-TEP) significantly reduced exam anxiety among middle school students (Dinc & Kilic 2025).

Demonstrating the clinical versatility of EMDR, in an RCT of patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (a chronic autoimmune disorder), EMDR led to significant improvements in dissociation, alexithymia, depression, anxiety, stress, trait anger, emotional regulation, and enhanced quality of life, post-treatment and sustained at 3-month follow-up (Macarenco et al. 2025).

Research Protocols

Three protocols for ongoing EMDR trials have been added to the database this update, with two taking place in the UK:

• Reducing Psychosis Risk (UK):  A trial to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a future randomised controlled trial to determine the efficacy of EMDR and trauma focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) in people with At-Risk Mental States (ARMS) (Varese et al. 2025).

• Trauma-AID (UK): Evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of psychoeducation and emotional stabilisation (PES) with EMDR plus treatment as usual for reducing symptoms of PTSD in adults with intellectual disabilities, compared with treatment as usual alone (Wilner et al. 2025).

• Online therapy vs. in person therapy in youth study (Netherlands): comparing the results of online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and EMDR therapy to in-person treatment in young people aged 12–18 requiring mental health support (Brake et al. 2025).

War-Related PTSD

Two RCTs conducted with mental health professionals during the Russian-Ukrainian War have been added to the database this update:

• Palen et al. (2025) investigated a virtual early intervention (EMDR G-TEP) in reducing symptoms of wartime psychological distress in Ukrainian mental health clinicians and found that the group receiving EMDR experienced improvement across 3 time points.
• Quaranta-Leech et al. (2025) found that the EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol for Ongoing Traumatic Stress—Remote for PTSD symptoms, subjective well-being and resilience in mental health professionals living and working in Ukraine during the war, reported a significant reduction of PTSD symptomology as reported on PCL-5 at 6-week follow-up.

Children and Adolescents

In addition to the systematic review and RCTs mentioned above, a study investigating a single-session of Urdu-translated EMDR-IGTP-OTS was found to be effective, feasible, and acceptable in reducing psychological distress in adolescents, and provides direction for an RCT within the context of Pakistan (Mustafa et al. 2025).

What else has been added to the database this quarter?

The most recent update to the database was in January 2026, when 71 new publications were added. Newly added publications can be easily viewed by clicking on the ‘NEW’ tag. Within the NEW tag, you can then select further tags of interest to see what has recently been added for specific topics and research types. Table 1 provides an overview of the topics and study designs added to the database this quarter. Please note that topic areas are not mutually exclusive; some publications may appear in more than one category.

Table 1: New research by topic and study design

Topic	Number of new publications added	Study Designs
Children and Adolescents	9	Systematic Review, Narrative Review, RCT, Quasi-Experimental, Protocol, Bibliometric
PTSD	9	Systematic Review, Narrative Review, RCT, Research Protocol, Case Study, Observational, Retrospective, Cross-Sectional
Group Treatment	4	RCT, Quasi-Experimental, Retrospective, Qualitative
Online EMDR	4	Systematic Review, Qualitative, Research Protocol, Case Study
Complex PTSD	3	Case Studies
Mental Health Professionals	3	RCT, Qualitative
Physical Health	2	RCT, Case Study
Addiction	2	Systematic Review, Pilot Study
Anxiety	2	Narrative Review, Quasi-Experimental
Chronic Pain	2	Dissertation/Thesis, Non-English Language study
EDI	2	RCT, Research Protocol
Depression	2	Systematic Review, Treatment Protocol
Prisoners	2	Systematic Review, Qualitative Research
Refugees	2	Pilot Study, Quasi-experimental
Specific Phobia	2	Narrative Review, Case Report
Sucicidality	2	Systematic Review, Case Study
Therapist Perspectives	2	Cross-sectional, Qualitative
Autism Spectrum Disorder	1	Dissertation/Thesis
Bilateral Stimulation	1	Mechanisms of Action
Eating Disorders	1	Cross-Sectional
Flash Technique	1	Quasi-Experimental
Grief	1	Case Study
Intellectual Disabilities	1	Research Protocol
Intensive EMDR	1	Qualitative
Military Personnel	1	Case Study
Perinatal	1	Secondary analysis of an RCT
Psychosexual Disorders	1	Pilot Study
Psychosis	1	Research Protocol
Substance Use Disorder	1	Meta-analysis

How we populate the database (methods)

The EMDR Publications Database is developed collaboratively with the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) and is provided as a free resource for Association members. If you have not yet accessed this useful resource, you can find out how to do so in the members’ area of the EMDR UK website.

The EMDR Publications Database is a collection of peer-reviewed research and dissertations/theses focusing on EMDR. It contains over 2000 references, many of which have access to the full text. The references are categorised by ‘tags’ (keywords) relating to the clinical area and study type, allowing for easy browsing. The database can also be searched using specific terms of interest.

Searches to populate the database are conducted on the following international databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, and PTSDpubs.

The next update of the publications database will be in April 2026, but in the meantime, if you have any queries or comments, you are welcome to get in touch at: a.sutton@emdrassociation.org.uk.

If you are an EMDR UK member and wish to request access to the database, please email the team at the University of Sheffield: emdrdatabase@sheffield.ac.uk

Disclaimer: this update reports study findings only; the research included in the database has not been assessed for quality, and we recommend that evidence users do so before applying recommendations into practice. You can find out more about critical appraisal of research here: EMDR UK Association research webinars: Developing critical analytic skills – EMDR Therapy Quarterly