Effectiveness of EMDR for decreasing symptoms of over‐arousal: A meta‐analysis

Abstract

A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in the treatment of symptoms of over-arousal and comparing effectiveness in the treatment of anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Thirty-two effect sizes from randomized controlled trials were included in the analysis. Findings were mixed, indicating that EMDR was more effective than alternative viable treatments in the treatment of overarousal, but that true effect may range from 210% of a standard deviation favoring EMDR to 66% of a standard deviation favoring alternative viable treatments. No statistically significant differences for effectiveness were noted in the use of EMDR when treating anxiety versus trauma. Our findings indicate that on average, EMDR may be beneficial, but there is an equivalent chance that future applications with similar samples could result in findings regarded as considerably or categorically ineffective.

A meta‐analysis of neurofeedback for treating substance use disorders

“…Finally, it is also important to note that participants’ racial/ethnic identities were not provided since all our studies were conducted internationally. The lack of data pertaining to participant racial/ethnic identities in studies located outside of the United States is commonly noted in meta‐analyses (e.g., Balkin et al., 2021; Russo et al., 2022) since researchers outside of the United States rarely, if ever, report participant racial/ethnic identities. Additionally, participants across all 10 studies were overwhelmingly male.…”

“…To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to be peerreviewed and show utilization of NFB (independent variable) in the treatment of SUD (dependent variable). Dissertations and theses were considered, consistent with previous and recently published meta-analyses (see Balkin et al, 2021;Lenz & Hollenbaugh, 2015;Russo et al, 2022). The independent variable of NFB could not be combined with any other form of therapy.…”

The Potential for Computerized Eye Tracking Technology to Improve Bilateral Stimulation Methodology and Assessment

“…According to Balkin's meta-analysis (inclusion criteria required neurophysiological measures), there have been no studies that can directly link EMDR to favorable neurophysiologic function changes, and the idea that it improves the aforementioned effects of trauma on the brain is based on basic neurologic ideals [8]. This lack of research on the neurophysiologic changes in the brain means that the R part of EMDR (reprocessing) has little scientific evidence to support the claim.…”

“…Controversy over use of EMDR and its effectiveness likely comes from a dearth of solid research as well as a lack of concrete methodology. Research for EMDR tends to have lower quality studies with literature in this area consistently derived of small sample sizes, potential bias, or unreliable methods 8,9 . Meta-analysis of EMDR is also complicated as there is an abundance of articles on the topic of EMDR, but in most EMDR meta-analyses the majority of articles meet exclusion criteria.…”

“…Meta-analysis of EMDR is also complicated as there is an abundance of articles on the topic of EMDR, but in most EMDR meta-analyses the majority of articles meet exclusion criteria. The remaining articles tend to give a wide variety of results ranging from more effective compared to other clinical methods to ineffective completely 8 .…”