EMDR: The Science Behind the Therapy

EMDR: The Science Behind the Therapy explores the latest clinical research and practical applications of EMDR therapy hosted by Andrew M. Leeds, PhD, Director of Training for Sonoma Psychotherapy Training Institute. This podcast highlights the latest contributions to EMDR research, practice and training. Each episode breaks down current studies, emerging protocols, and implications for clinical practice. Whether you’re an EMDR-trained therapist, a mental health professional, or simply curious about trauma treatment, this podcast brings you science-based insights you can trust.
In this episode of “EMDR: The Science Behind the Therapy,” EMDR trainer and researcher Andrew M. Leeds, PhD, reviews cutting‑edge EMDR therapy research for trauma, PTSD, depression, and identity—from qualitative studies to major meta‑analyses of non‑pharmacological interventions. Clinicians will hear about EMDR with children and teens, disaster survivors, courtroom testimony, low‑resource settings, and a detailed critique of the 2025 APA Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD.

References for this episode at: https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/index_files/EMDR_Research_News_August_2026.html

Read the latest EMDR Research blog: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/⁠
Find our EMDR therapy training programs: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/basic-emdr-training/⁠
Subscribe to my newsletter: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/newsletter/⁠
Follow me on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewleeds/

EMDR: The Science Behind the Therapy explores the latest clinical research and practical applications of EMDR therapy hosted by Andrew M. Leeds, PhD, Director of Training for Sonoma Psychotherapy Training Institute. This podcast highlights the latest contributions to EMDR research, practice and training. Each episode breaks down current studies, emerging protocols, and implications for clinical practice. Whether you’re an EMDR-trained therapist, a mental health professional, or simply curious about trauma treatment, this podcast brings you science-based insights you can trust.

In Episode 12 of EMDR: The Science Behind the Therapy, host Dr. Andrew Leeds takes listeners inside the 2026 EMDR Europe Conference in Oslo to explore cutting-edge, yet-to-be-published EMDR treatment research on medical trauma and grief. During breaks between keynotes and workshops, Dr. Leeds interviewed investigators whose poster presentations highlight how EMDR is being adapted for complex medical and loss-related experiences.

The episode opens with a brief conversation with Dr. Zat Ciftci of EMDR Turkey, who explains how Turkish clinicians came to be so prominently represented in this year’s research program. Dr. Leeds then presents four focused interviews: Vanessa Grandjean’s pilot study on a brief EMDR “Train Protocol” for patients receiving chemotherapy for non‑metastatic breast cancer, Leyla Kaya’s quasi‑experimental group EMDR protocol (G‑TEP) for women coping with infertility, Krzysztof Beyger’s early EMDR R‑TEP intervention to reduce acute stress and prevent PTSD after myocardial infarction, and Sukran Pehlivan’s randomized controlled pilot study on an EMDR grief protocol for traumatic bereavement following earthquake loss.

Listeners also hear how to access references and further readings through SonomaPTI.com and the episode’s show notes. To support clinicians in integrating outcome data into everyday practice, the episode closes with an invitation to join a free beta of a measurement‑based care platform offering standard and EMDR‑relevant assessment tools, real‑time dashboards, and flexible workflows tailored for busy therapists.

References for this episode at: https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/index_files/EMDR_Research_News_July_2026.html

Resources
Measure-based care at https://app.measurebasedcare.com/
MBC Onboarding support with Abhi Jha

Read the latest EMDR Research blog: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/⁠
Find our EMDR therapy training programs: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/basic-emdr-training/⁠
Subscribe to my newsletter: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/newsletter/⁠
Follow me on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewleeds/

EMDR: The Science Behind the Therapy explores the latest clinical research and practical applications of EMDR therapy hosted by Andrew M. Leeds, PhD, Director of Training for Sonoma Psychotherapy Training Institute. This podcast highlights the latest contributions to EMDR research, practice and training. Each episode breaks down current studies, emerging protocols, and implications for clinical practice. Whether you’re an EMDR-trained therapist, a mental health professional, or simply curious about trauma treatment, this podcast brings you science-based insights you can trust.
 In this month’s episode, I will first summarize six key studies to sketch the arc of the research evidence—and then I’ll be joined by Carolyn Settle to explore both the science of EMDR therapy with children as well as its application with children and teens. I will close the episode with a recently published study of young children that used defined protocols and fidelity ratings.  
To access any of the original research papers mentioned in the podcast, you will find a complete list of references and links to each of these studies in the June 2026 blog on ⁠SonomaPTI.com⁠.
You will also find a listing of 14 Books on EMDR therapy with children and teens, 5 EMDR Grant Funding Sources and 2 sources for advanced ⁠child and adolescent training with Carolyn Settle.⁠ You can also go directly to SonomaPTI.com, click on the Blog section on the far right of the menu bar and then select the ⁠June 2026 ⁠listings.
References for this episode at:
https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/index_files/EMDR_Research_News_June_2026.html
Read the latest EMDR Research blog: ⁠⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/⁠⁠
Find our EMDR therapy training programs: ⁠⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/basic-emdr-training/⁠⁠
Subscribe to my newsletter: ⁠⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/newsletter/⁠⁠
Follow me on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewleeds/⁠

EMDR: The Science Behind the Therapy explores the latestclinical research and practical applications of EMDR therapy hosted by Andrew M. Leeds, PhD, Director of Training for Sonoma Psychotherapy Training Institute.
This podcast highlights the latest contributions to EMDR research, practice and training. Each episode breaks down current studies, emerging protocols, and implications for clinical practice. Whether you’re an EMDR-trained therapist, a mental health professional, or simply curious about trauma treatment, this podcast brings you science-based insights you can trust.
 In this episode, we explore how EMDR therapy is being tested and refined across a wide range of clinical frontiers. You’ll learn about large-scale meta-analyses on the treatment of depression, anxiety, and childhood trauma, early interventionprotocols for recent critical incidents, and innovative applications for treating hypertension and addictive sexual behavior that link symptom change to shifts in autonomic regulation.
We will consider a psychoanalytic understanding of EMDR therapy that speaks directly to clinicians grounded in Freudian and Kleinian models, and we’ll close with a powerful, integrative EMDR-based approach to treating the enduring impact of domestic violence against women.
Taken together, these reports invite us to think more deeply about how EMDR operates not only on distressing memories, but on developmental trajectories, relational patterns, and the mind–body systems that sustain suffering and resilience. As you listen, I invite you to consider how these findings might inform your own clinical decision making, from case formulation and modality choice to how you talk with your clients about what EMDR therapy can reliably offer and what it cannot yet promise.
 
References for this episode at: https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/index_files/EMDR_Research_News_May_2026.html
 
Read the latest EMDR Research blog: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/⁠
Find our EMDR therapy training programs: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/basic-emdr-training/⁠
Subscribe to my newsletter: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/newsletter/⁠
Follow me on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewleeds/

EMDR: The Science Behind the Therapy explores the latest clinical research and practical applications of EMDR therapy hosted by Andrew M. Leeds, PhD, Director of Training for Sonoma Psychotherapy Training Institute. This podcast highlights the latest contributions to EMDR research, practice and training. Each episode breaks down current studies, emerging protocols, and implications for clinicalpractice. Whether you’re an EMDR-trained therapist, a mental health professional, or simply curious about trauma treatment, this podcast brings you science-based insights you can trust.
 This month, we explore how EMDR therapy is being adapted and scaled to meet trauma where it lives: in hospitals, clinics, homes, and war zones. From meta-analytic evidence on brief, often online group EMDR interventions for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, to innovative group protocols that help overstretched public health systems reach people on long waiting lists, these studies show how EMDR can be delivered efficiently without sacrificing depth or safety. We look at parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders receiving intensive group EMDR over three days, older adults using EMDR to reclaimmovement and daily functioning from chronic pain and kinesiophobia, and Ukrainian clinicians applying EMDR-informed, low-threshold trauma support in the midst of ongoing war. We conclude with a conceptual deep dive into the EMDR Toolbox Method for complex PTSD and dissociation, which offers a structured way of mapping internal states and guiding treatment in highly complexpresentations.
 Together, these reports trace a consistent theme: EMDR therapy as a flexible, scalable approach capable of reaching large and diverse populations while still honoring theindividual stories and nervous systems behind the data.
References for this episode at: https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/index_files/EMDR_Research_News_April_2026.html
 
Read the latest EMDR Research blog: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/blog/⁠
Find our EMDR therapy training programs: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/basic-emdr-training/⁠
Subscribe to my newsletter: ⁠https://www.sonomapti.com/newsletter/⁠
Follow me on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewleeds/