As you’re hearing the buzz about EMDR intensives more and more, you might be wondering if there’s research supporting so many therapist’s decision to offer these more lengthy sessions. The landscape of research is always evolving and I can gladly say that since I started doing EMDR intensives in 2021, there has continued to be more research coming out further validating the use of EMDR intensives. 

The short answer is: EMDR intensives are an effective, reliable & promising approach to treating PTSD quickly and with good patient retention rates.  

My goal for this blog post is to give you an overview of my take-aways from the research and also link you to articles that I have found helpful. This is not a comprehensive list of current research articles and of course we can expect that there will be more articles published after I post this blog. I hope you find this as a starting point if you are interested in having these references for your own clinical practice and/or to share with clients or colleagues who are curious about what the research says. 

EMDR Intensives work for treating complex trauma with adults

I’m going to give you the breakdown of three studies in the following format: 

• Objective: what was the objective of the research study testing?
• Study participants: who were the participants in the study?
• Structure of EMDR treatment provided: How did they provide EMDR in this study?
• Conclusion: What conclusions did the researchers draw?
  
  

Intensive EMDR to Treat Patients With Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Series (Bongaerts, Van Minnen & de Jong, 2017)

• Objective: Do more frequent sessions improve treatment outcomes with EMDR?
• Study participants: 7 adults meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria of PTSD and the ICD-11 criteria of complex PTSD
• Structure of EMDR treatment provided: 
• 2 weeks of treatment sessions: 4 days of EMDR (2x 90 minute sessions per day); 3 days off; 4 days of EMDR (2x 90 minute sessions per day)
• Psychoeducation & physical activities incorporated into the program in between and after EMDR sessions 
• No phase 2 (emotional regulation skills, relaxation skills, safe place exercise etc) provided prior to treatment sessions
• Research Conclusion: 
• Doing EMDR therapy in an intensive format is possible
• EMDR therapy in an intensive format can decrease PTSD symptoms without causing other symptomatic issues 

Effectiveness of an intensive treatment programme combining prolonged exposure and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing for severe post-traumatic stress disorder (Van Woudenberg, C et al, 2018)

• Objective: Is an intensive format effective for treating severe PTSD?
• Study participants: 347 adults meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for PTSD
• Structure of EMDR treatment provided:
• 90 minutes Prolonged Exposure therapy (PE) in the morning
• 90 minutes EMDR therapy in the afternoon 
• Psychoeducation & physical activities incorporated into the program in between and after PE & EMDR sessions 
• 2 week treatment period with 4 days of treatment each week
• No phase 2 (emotional regulation skills, relaxation skills, safe place exercise etc) provided prior to treatment sessions
• Conclusion: 
• EMDR therapy in an intensive format significantly decreased the severity of PTSD symptoms 
• EMDR therapy in an intensive format is safe and effective 
• A major benefit of the intensive format is patient retention 

Intensive outpatient treatment for PTSD: an open trial combining prolonged exposure therapy, EMDR, and physical activity (Auren, Trude Julie Brynhildsvoll et al., 2022)

• Objective: Is an intensive format effective for treating PTSD within a public healthcare setting?
• Study participants: 89 adults; 29 chose intensive format over individually spaced out treatment sessions 
• Structure of EMDR treatment provided: 
• 2 week treatment period, 4 consecutive days per week
• 90 min of individual Prolonged exposure (PE)
• 45 minutes of physical activity (PA)
• 45 minutes lunch break 
• 90 minutes of individual EMDR
• 45 minutes of group psychoeducation
• Conclusion: 
• The intensive therapy format was effective for treating PTSD
• Participants also had decreased anxiety & depression symptoms
• Participants reported increased well being & interpersonal functioning
• High participant retention rates

My take-aways from these studies

What stands out the most to me from these studies is that the intensive format for EMDR was effective for treating complex trauma with adults. I think it is important to remember that in a research setting the intake and assessment process looks a lot different than it might look for many outpatient clinical settings. Also the total treatment time of 24 hours total within two weeks (in all 3 studies) is a lot of treatment time! In comparison to my EMDR intensives this would be double what I am usually offering for one set of intensive sessions (3-4 days x 3 hours each). 

The integration of additional psychoeducation and sports activities in these studies also stood out to me. These are important components of preparation and integration time that occurred outside of the EMDR session time. I love seeing this incorporated into the program that was implemented in this study, and this is also a good reminder that within the “EMDR intensive” that we offer there is a place for incorporating additional modalities within the overall structure of the program. 

EMDR Intensives are effective across many settings and populations

Every article that I have read about research on EMDR intensives has concluded that it is effective and a promising option for treating PTSD quickly. This has been shown to be true across a variety of participant populations too. Here are some more examples with some quick conclusions.

A five-day inpatient EMDR treatment programme for PTSD: pilot study (Zepeda Méndez, Mayaris et al., 2018 )

• PTSD symptoms significantly improved after a five-day inpatient treatment program including EMDR and trauma-informed yoga to treat PTSD. 
• It is possible to do intensive EMDR treatment
• EMDR in an intensive format is reliable for improving PTSD symptoms quickly

Epigenetic impact of a 1-week intensive multimodal group program for adolescents with multiple adverse childhood experiences (Kaliman, P et al, 2022) 

• A one-week residential intensive treatment program for adolescents that incorporated EMDR therapy reduced PTSD-related symptoms and increased attention/awareness-related outcomes

Shifting to Trauma-Informed Care in Inpatient Psychiatry: A Case Study of an Individual with Dissociative PTSD Undergoing EMDR Therapy (Winkler, O et. al, 2023)

• Implementing trauma informed care improved patient treatment outcomes
• Example of using Katie O’Shea’s EMDR Early Trauma Protocol in an intensive format within 3 hour sessions 5 days/week 

I hope we continue to see more research about EMDR intensives! 

I have several of these articles linked on my private practice website on a page explaining EMDR intensives for prospective clients to read about when considering working with me for an EMDR intensive. In my own experience practicing EMDR in the intensive format compared to a one-hour ongoing weekly format, I have seen that the EMDR intensive format provides a better therapeutic container for focused EMDR therapy and I have been able to get through more EMDR targets and bring faster relief to my clients during an intensive. It is encouraging to see that my clinical experiences are matching that of the research.