Is EMDR effective for improving post-traumatic stress symptoms in people with post-traumatic stress disorders? An overview of systematic reviews with meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is widely recommended as a first-line trauma-focused therapy in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This overview of systematic reviews with meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the pooled effects of EMDR on PTSD symptoms in people with PTSD; analyse the methodological quality of included reviews; and quantify the degree of overlap between reviews. Method: This overview followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Overviews of Reviews statement. Multiple databases were searched up to September 2025. The methodological quality of reviews was assessed using AMSTAR 2 and the degree of overlap between reviews was quantified using the corrected covered area (CCA). Results: Twenty-two systematic reviews were evaluated, of which only 11 reported the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Included meta-analyses suggests that EMDR may reduce PTSD symptoms compared with inactive controls (e.g., waitlist or usual care). On the other hand, EMDR showed comparable effectiveness with active controls, especially with psychological interventions such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, or relaxation therapy. However, the certainty of evidence across meta-analyses was variable, primarily ranging from low to very low. Furthermore, other methodological limitations were identified, including issues related to search strategies and reporting transparency. Finally, overlap between reviews was slight (CCA = 2.5%), although incomplete reporting limited this analysis. Conclusions: EMDR may reduce PTSD symptoms, especially compared with inactive controls, and shows similar effectiveness to other psychological therapies. However, the results should be interpreted with caution due to the low and very low certainty of evidence of most of meta-analyses along with other methodological issues highlighted above.