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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_movement_desensitization_and_reprocessing | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:19:40.858329+00:00 | kb-cron |
A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis found EMDR to have a moderate benefit in treating depression, but the number and quality of the studies were low. Positive effects have also been shown for certain anxiety disorders, but the number of studies was low and the risk of bias high. The American Psychological Association describes EMDR as "ineffective" for the treatment of panic disorder. EMDR has been found to cause strong effects on dissociative identity disorder patients, leading to recommendations for adjusted use. A 2023 systematic review of evidence found EMDR's effectiveness in treating mental health conditions of children and adolescents who have been sexually abused is limited.
== Professional practice guidelines == The Institute of Medicine's 2008 report on the treatment of PTSD found insufficient evidence to recommend EMDR, and criticized many of the available studies for methodological flaws including allegiance bias and insufficient controls. The Dutch National Steering Committee on Mental Health Care has released multidisciplinary guidelines which describe "insufficient scientific evidence" to support EMDR in the acute period following a stressful event (2008), but recommend EMDR's use in chronic PTSD (2003). The World Health Organization's 2013 report on stress-related conditions found insufficient evidence to support EMDR for acute symptoms of traumatic stress. Its 2023 guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders recommended EMDR with moderate evidence for adults and children in treating PTSD. The Australian 2013 National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines recommend EMDR for the treatment of PTSD in adults with its highest grade of evidence, noting that "EMDR now includes most of the core elements of standard trauma-focussed CBT (TF-CBT)" and "the two variants of trauma-focussed therapy are not statistically different." As of 2017, the American Psychological Association "conditionally recommends" EMDR for the treatment of PTSD in adults, meaning its use is suggested rather than recommended. A 2017 joint report from the US Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense describes the evidence for EMDR in the treatment of PTSD as "strong." The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's 2018 PTSD guidelines found low-to-very-low evidence of efficacy for EMDR in treating PTSD, but what was available justified recommending it for non-combat-related trauma. The 2018 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies practice guidelines "strongly recommend" EMDR as an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress symptoms.
== Criticism == EMDR is controversial among scholars in the psychological community. It is used by some practitioners during trauma therapy and in the treatment of complex post-traumatic stress disorder. EMDR has been called a purple hat therapy on the grounds that its effectiveness stems from its underlying mainstream therapy (or the standard treatment), not from its distinctive features. Some scholars have criticized Francine Shapiro for repeatedly increasing the length and expense of training and certification, allegedly in response to the results of controlled trials that cast doubt on EMDR's efficacy. This included requiring the completion of an EMDR training program in order to be qualified to administer EMDR properly after researchers using the initial written instructions found no difference between no-eye-movement control groups and EMDR-as-written experimental groups. Further changes in training requirements and/or the definition of EMDR included requiring level II training when researchers with level I training still found no difference between eye-movement experimental groups and no-eye-movement controls, and deeming "alternate forms of bilateral stimulation" (such as finger-tapping) as variants of EMDR by the time a study found no difference between EMDR and a finger-tapping control group. Such changes in definition and training for EMDR have been described as "ad hoc moves [made] when confronted by embarrassing data", argues Richard McNally. EMDR adds a number of techniques that do not appear to contribute to therapeutic effectiveness (e.g., bilateral stimulation). EMDR is classified as one of the "power therapies" alongside thought field therapy, Emotional Freedom Techniques, and others—so called because these therapies are marketed as being superior to established the therapies which preceded them. EMDR has been characterized as pseudoscience because the underlying theory and primary therapeutic mechanism are non-falsifiable and non-scientific. EMDR's founder and other practitioners have used untestable hypotheses to explain studies that show no effect. The results of the therapy are non-specific, especially if directed eye movements are irrelevant to the results. When these movements are removed, what remains is a broadly therapeutic interaction and deceptive marketing. According to neurologist and skeptic Steven Novella:
[T]he false specificity of these treatments is a massive clinical distraction. Time and effort are wasted clinically in studying, perfecting, and using these methods, rather than focusing on the components of the interaction that actually work. Furthermore, Novella argues that investigation into EMDR has been characterised by poor-quality studies rather than tightly controlled trials that could justify or falsify the mechanisms proposed to support it. Novella writes that the research quantity nevertheless means that EMDR has claimed a place among accepted treatments and is "not likely going away anytime soon, even though it is a house of cards built on nothing". EMDR has been characterised as a modern-day mesmerism, with striking similarities, from the sole inventor who devised the system while out walking to the large business empire built on exaggerated claims. In the case of EMDR, these have included the suggestions that EMDR could drain violence from society and be useful in treating cancer and HIV/AIDS. Psychology historian Luis Cordón has compared the popularity of EMDR to that of other cult-like pseudosciences, facilitated communication and thought field therapy. A parody website advertising "sudotherapy" created by a fictional "Fatima Shekel" appeared on the internet in the 1990s. Proponents of EMDR described the website as libelous, since the website contained an image of a pair of shifting eyes following a cat named "Sudo", and "Fatima Shekel" has the same initials as EMDR's founder, Francine Shapiro. However, no legal action took place against the website or its founders.
== Society and culture == Sandra Bullock used EMDR following a home invasion by a stalker in 2014. In 2019, Jameela Jamil said she partook in EMDR therapy to treat her post traumatic stress disorder. In 2021, Prince Harry took a course of EMDR and filmed a session for Oprah Winfrey during a mental health television documentary. In 2022, BBC war correspondent Fergal Keane, who suffered from PTSD, credited his EMDR therapist with helping save his life.
== See also == Abreaction List of topics characterized as pseudoscience Treatments for PTSD
== References ==
== External links == EMDR Institute (US)