research supporting emdr:

Brain imaging can show this process in action, as EMDR assists all cognitive, emotional and even physical – “body memory” - elements to resolve safely.

Effectiveness of EMDR:

RESEARCH STUDIES

Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of therapy significantly quicker and with fewer sessions.

  • More than 30 positive controlled outcome studies have been done on EMDR therapy. Some of the studies show that 84%-90% of single-trauma victims no longer have post-traumatic stress disorder after only three 90-minute sessions.

  • Another study, funded by the HMO Kaiser Permanente, found that 100% of the single-trauma victims and 77% of multiple trauma victims no longer were diagnosed with PTSD after only six 50-minute sessions.

  • In another study, 77% of combat veterans were free of PTSD in 12 sessions.

  • Approximately 20 controlled studies have investigated the effects of EMDR and have consistently demonstrated that the use of EMDR effectively eliminates/decreases the symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTSD), trauma, eating disorders, panic attacks, complicated grief, dissociative disorders, phobias, pain disorders, performance anxiety, addictions, sexual and or physical abuse and mood disorders for the majority of clients.

There has been so much research on EMDR therapy that it is now recognized as an effective form of treatment for trauma and other disturbing experiences by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization, and the Department of Defense. Given the worldwide recognition as an effective treatment of trauma, you can easily see how EMDR therapy would be effective in treating the “everyday” memories that are the reason people have low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and many other problems that bring them in for therapy.