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EMDR / Trauma TherapyEvidence & Dosage

PTSD, eye movements, and study effectiveness.

Studies last updated

Evidence at a glance

Total studies
1,000
With abstract
49
Meta / Systematic / RCT
159
Highly cited
50
Publication years
1988–2026

EMDR / Trauma Therapy in the context of Mental

This topic is part of our "Mental" world. There you'll find methodology, evidence and the highest-impact levers — plus the order in which they sensibly build on each other.

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Top studies on EMDR / Trauma Therapy

Ranked by influential-citation count and publication year.

  1. A multidimensional meta-analysis of psychotherapy for PTSD.

    Am J Psychiatry2005Meta-Analysis200 influential citations

    <h4>Objective</h4>The authors present a multidimensional meta-analysis of studies published between 1980 and 2003 on psychotherapy for PTSD.<h4>Method</h4>Data on variables not previously meta-analyzed such as inclusion and exclusion…

    Finding: Psychotherapy for PTSD leads to a large initial improvement from baseline.

  2. Meta-analysis of the efficacy of treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder.

    J Clin Psychiatry2013Meta-Analysis200 influential citations

    <h4>Objective</h4>Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important mental health issue in terms of the number of people affected and the morbidity and functional impairment associated with the disorder. The purpose of this study was to…

  3. Psychological therapies for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults.

    Cochrane Database Syst Rev2013n=476Meta-Analysis200 influential citations

    <h4>Background</h4>Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a distressing condition, which is often treated with psychological therapies. Earlier versions of this review, and other meta-analyses, have found these to be effective, with…

    Finding: In adults with chronic PTSD, individual trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy was more effective than waitlist or usual care for reducing clinician-rated PTSD symptoms.

  4. Psychological treatments for adults with posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Clin Psychol Rev2016Meta-Analysis200 influential citations

    Numerous guidelines have been developed over the past decade regarding treatments for Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, given differences in guideline recommendations, some uncertainty exists regarding the selection of…

  5. A meta-analytic review of prolonged exposure for posttraumatic stress disorder.

    Clin Psychol Rev2010n=675Meta-Analysis198 influential citations

    Two decades of research demonstrate the efficacy of exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The efficacy of prolonged exposure (PE), a specific exposure therapy program for PTSD that has been disseminated throughout the…

    Finding: Prolonged exposure was more effective than control conditions for PTSD at post-treatment on primary outcome measures.

  6. Exposure therapy for PTSD: A meta-analysis.

    Clin Psychol Rev2022n=492Meta-Analysis187 influential citations

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with high morbidity and functional impairment in the absence of effective treatment. Exposure therapy for PTSD is a trauma-focused treatment that typically includes in vivo and/or imaginal…

    Finding: The individual exposure-based therapies examined were similarly effective.

  7. Psychological interventions for ICD-11 complex PTSD symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Psychol Med2019n=51Meta-Analysis166 influential citations

    Background The 11th revision to the WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) identified complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) as a new condition. There is a pressing need to identify effective CPTSD interventions.…

  8. Psychological treatments for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. Systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Br J Psychiatry2007n=38Meta-Analysis147 influential citations

    <h4>Background</h4>The relative efficacy of different psychological treatments for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is unclear.<h4>Aims</h4>To determine the efficacy of specific psychological treatments for chronic…

    Finding: Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, stress management, and group cognitive-behavioural therapy improved PTSD symptoms more than waiting-list or usual care.

  9. Psychological treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

    Cochrane Database Syst Rev2007n=33Meta-Analysis111 influential citations

    <h4>Background</h4>Psychological interventions are widely used in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<h4>Objectives</h4>To perform a systematic review of randomised controlled trials of all psychological treatments…

    Finding: Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy/exposure therapy significantly reduced clinician assessed PTSD symptoms immediately after treatment compared with waitlist/usual care.

  10. EMDR v. other psychological therapies for PTSD: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.

    Psychol Med2024n=346Meta-Analysis101 influential citations

    <h4>Background</h4>This systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) examined the overall effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)…

Frequently asked

What does the evidence say about EMDR / Trauma Therapy?
Psychotherapy for PTSD leads to a large initial improvement from baseline.
What dosage was studied?
• psychotherapy • Psychological therapies, including individual trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TFCBT), eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), non-trauma-focused CBT, supportive therapy, non-directive counselling, psychodynamic therapy, present-centred therapy, group TFCBT, and group non-TFCBT (Not reported)
Are there safety considerations for EMDR / Trauma Therapy?
• not reported • Greater drop-out occurred in active treatment groups. • No serious adverse events were reported in the abstract. • Not reported in the abstract.

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