Is EMDR an Evidenced-Based Treatment for Depression? A Review of the Literature

Wood, Emily; Ricketts, Thomas C.

doi:10.1891/1933-3196.7.4.225

Cited by 23 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Many EMDR proponents claim it can be used for far more than just PTSD (Shapiro, 1995(Shapiro, , 2005. This clinical case series complements clinical reports of the success of EMDR to treat depression (Bae, Kim, & Park, 2008;Grey, 2011), but the literature still lacks a large randomized controlled trial to provide confirmation of efficacy and effect size (Wood & Ricketts, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…As there is little research on EMDR and depression (Wood & Ricketts, 2013), this study followed the Medical Research Council guidelines (Craig et al, 2008) and began with a feasibility study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Four randomized controlled trials into EMDR for PTSD have also reported significant improvements in comorbid depression (Arabia, Manca, & Solomon, 2011;Ironson et al, 2002;Lee, Gavriel, Drummond, Richards, & Greenwald, 2002;van der Kolk et al, 2007). However, there is little research into EMDR for clients who have a primary diagnosis of depression without PTSD; this is limited to case studies and clinical reports (Wood & Ricketts, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

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EMDR as a treatment for long‐term depression: A feasibility study

2017

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ObjectiveCurrent treatments for long‐term depression – medication and psychotherapy – are effective for some but not all clients. New approaches need to be developed to complement the ones already available. This study was designed to test the feasibility of using an effective post‐traumatic stress disorder treatment for people with long‐term depression.DesignA single‐case experimental design with replications was undertaken as a feasibility study of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in treating long‐term depression.MethodsThirteen people with recurrent and/or long‐term depression were recruited from primary care mental health services and given standard protocol EMDR for a maximum of 20 sessions. Levels of depression were measured before and after treatment and at follow‐up, clients also rated their mood each day.ResultsEight people engaged with the treatment; seven of these had clinically significant and statistically reliable improvement on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Daily mood ratings were highly variable both during baseline and intervention.Conclusions EMDR is a feasible treatment for recurrent and/or long‐term depression. Research on treatment efficacy and effectiveness is now required.Practitioner points EMDR may be an effective treatment for depression. EMDR could be considered if first‐line approaches (CBT and counselling) have been tried and failed. EMDR may be particularly helpful for service users with a history of trauma.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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EMDR as a treatment for long‐term depression: A feasibility study

2017

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“…It is currently being used as a treatment for a wide range of disorders that follow distressing life experiences ( Shapiro and Maxfield, 2002 ). Several books, conference presentations, and case reports suggest its applicability in treating depression too ( Wood and Ricketts, 2013 ; Luber, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as Adjunctive Treatments for Recurrent Depression: The European Depression EMDR Network (EDEN) Randomized Controlled Trial

et al. 2018

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Background: Treatment of recurrent depressive disorders is currently only moderately successful. Increasing evidence suggests a significant relationship between adverse childhood experiences and recurrent depressive disorders, suggesting that trauma-based interventions could be useful for these patients.Objectives: To investigate the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) in addition to antidepressant medication (ADM) in treating recurrent depression.Design: A non-inferiority, single-blind, randomized clinical controlled trial comparing EMDR or CBT as adjunctive treatments to ADM. Randomization was carried out by a central computer system. Allocation was carried out by a study coordinator in each center.Setting: Two psychiatric services, one in Italy and one in Spain.Participants: Eighty-two patients were randomized with a 1:1 ratio to the EMDR group (n = 40) or CBT group (n = 42). Sixty-six patients, 31 in the EMDR group and 35 in the CBT group, were included in the completers analysis. Intervention: 15 ± 3 individual sessions of EMDR or CBT, both in addition to ADM. Participants were followed up at 6-months.Main outcome measure: Rate of depressive symptoms remission in both groups, as measured by a BDI-II score <13.Results: Sixty-six patients were analyzed as completers (31 EMDR vs. 35 CBT). No significant difference between the two groups was found either at the end of the interventions (71% EMDR vs. 48.7% CBT) or at the 6-month follow-up (54.8% EMDR vs. 42.9% CBT). A RM-ANOVA on BDI-II scores showed similar reductions over time in both groups [F(6,59) = 22.501, p < 0.001] and a significant interaction effect between time and group [F(6,59) = 3.357, p = 0.006], with lower BDI-II scores in the EMDR group at T1 [mean difference = –7.309 (95% CI [–12.811, –1.806]), p = 0.010]. The RM-ANOVA on secondary outcome measures showed similar improvement over time in both groups [F(14,51) = 8.202, p < 0.001], with no significant differences between groups [F(614,51) = 0.642, p = 0.817].Conclusion: Although these results can be considered preliminary only, this study suggests that EMDR could be a viable and effective treatment for reducing depressive symptoms and improving the quality of life of patients with recurrent depression. Trial registration: ISRCTN09958202.

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“…The current findings indicate that the application of such interventions may be extended to adults with depression. Such interventions include eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR; Wood & Ricketts, 2013) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (Seagal et al, 2002;Ma & Teasdale, 2002). However, research exploring the efficacy of these approaches has not ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT…”

Section: Clinical Relevance and Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%