Online EMDR · The evidence
Does EMDR work online?
It’s one of the first questions people ask me before starting therapy. Here’s what the research actually shows — and where it’s still catching up.
Five studies worth knowing about
Rather than ask you to take my word for it, here are five pieces of published research on online EMDR, in plain English — what each one looked at, and what it found.
Systematic review · 16 studies · 1,231 people
A broad review of remote EMDR after COVID-19
Frontiers in Psychiatry (2023)
This review pulled together sixteen studies covering more than 1,200 participants — individual sessions, group sessions, and self-guided formats. Its conclusion was that online EMDR is both feasible and potentially effective for reducing PTSD, anxiety and depression, while being honest that many of the individual studies were small and would benefit from larger, more rigorous follow-up.
Randomised controlled trial · 38 people
Online EMDR compared directly with online CBT
Perri, Castelli, La Rosa, Zucchi & Onofri — Brain Sciences (2021)
Thirty-eight people meeting the criteria for acute stress disorder were randomly assigned to receive either EMDR or trauma-focused CBT, both delivered online. Both treatments produced significant reductions in distress — useful evidence that EMDR holds its own against another established therapy when delivered remotely.
Group intervention · 154 people
Online early-intervention EMDR during the pandemic
Yurtsever and colleagues — Frontiers in Psychology (2022)
This study delivered an online version of an EMDR early-intervention protocol (R-TEP) to 154 people over five sessions, including frontline workers. It found reductions in post-traumatic stress symptoms across all the groups studied — encouraging for EMDR’s use earlier on, before difficulties become entrenched.
Telehealth treatment · Complex PTSD
Intensive EMDR-based treatment delivered to people at home
Bongaerts, Voorendonk, van Minnen & de Jongh — European Journal of Psychotraumatology (2021)
This one matters because complex PTSD is often assumed to need in-person care. It looked at intensive trauma treatment — including EMDR — delivered via home-based telehealth, and reported that it was both safe and effective. A helpful counter to the idea that remote work can only suit “milder” difficulties.
Randomised controlled trial · Self-guided format
A computer-delivered EMDR self-care protocol
Moench & Billsten — Journal of EMDR Practice & Research (2021)
A randomised controlled trial of a self-administered, computerised EMDR protocol (STEP) for COVID-related stress. It sits at the more experimental end — testing how far the approach can be delivered remotely and independently — and adds to the picture that EMDR can work outside the traditional in-person setting.
What the research doesn’t tell us yet
I think it’s important to be straight about the limits, rather than overselling. Much of this research comes from the COVID period, when online therapy expanded quickly out of necessity. Several studies have small numbers of participants, some rely on people’s own ratings of their symptoms, and we don’t yet have a large, definitive trial placing online EMDR head-to-head with in-person EMDR over the long term.
So the honest position is this: the evidence is promising and consistent, and for many people online EMDR appears to work comparably to meeting in person — but it’s a developing picture, not a closed case. What matters most is that the work is done carefully, with proper preparation and a therapist trained to deliver it well online.
In my words · from my practice
“In my experience, working online with trauma can be a real benefit — particularly for people who find that travelling to an appointment leaves them dysregulated before they even arrive, or who are managing triggers and dissociation. For many, being in their own space makes the work feel safer and more contained.”
“It also means that settling afterwards happens somewhere familiar. Rather than having to gather yourself and head back out into the world straight after a difficult session, you can regulate and look after yourself in your own environment, with that comfort immediately to hand.”
Wondering if online EMDR could help you?
The best way to find out is a conversation — no pressure, just a chance to talk it through and ask whatever you’d like to know.
References
- Addressing mental health need after COVID-19: a systematic review of remote EMDR therapy studies as an emerging option. Frontiers in Psychiatry (2023). Read it
- Perri, R. L., Castelli, P., La Rosa, C., Zucchi, T., & Onofri, A. (2021). COVID-19, isolation, quarantine: on the efficacy of internet-based EMDR and CBT for ongoing trauma. Brain Sciences, 11(5), 579. Read it
- Yurtsever, A., Bakalim, O., Karaman, Ş., Kaya, S., & Konuk, E. (2022). The effect of the online EMDR early intervention protocol (R-TEP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 935782. Read it
- Bongaerts, H., Voorendonk, E. M., van Minnen, A., & de Jongh, A. (2021). Safety and effectiveness of intensive treatment for complex PTSD delivered via home-based telehealth. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1860346. Read it
- Moench, J., & Billsten, O. (2021). Randomized controlled trial: Self-Care Traumatic Episode Protocol (STEP), computerized EMDR treatment of COVID-19 related stress. Journal of EMDR Practice & Research, 15(2), 99–113. Read it
- Photo by Dan Dimmock on Unsplash
This page is for general information and isn’t a substitute for individual clinical advice. Whether EMDR — online or in person — is right for you is best explored together in an initial conversation. Written by Pete Tobias, EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner.