Is EMDR Effective?
EMDR is a type of psychotherapy that is evidenced-based to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and is also commonly used to treat anxiety, depression, fears, or performance challenges. Evidenced-based means that there have been credible, controlled studies to evaluate the effectiveness. There are over 30 positive, controlled studies to date that confirm the effective use of EMDR. EMDR treatment can be effective in a relatively brief span of time. A large study conducted by HMO Kaiser found that 100% of participants in their study who had experienced a single-trauma, and 77% of their participants who had experienced multiple traumas, no longer met PTSD diagnosis after only six 50-minute EMDR sessions. Other studies have yielded results that participants reduced symptoms to no longer meet diagnostic limits of PTSD after only three 90-minute sessions. EMDR is accepted and recognized worldwide as an effective treatment for trauma, and is acknowledged by the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization. Over 100,000 clinicians worldwide use EMDR to assist their clients heal from trauma.