In the media
Please note, various media coverage is shown here in order to share with you many different people’s experiences of EMDR treatment. For authoritative descriptions and definitions of the therapy please return to this site as the EMDR Association UK is not responsible for third party content.
20 October 2020
Matt Wesson, President Elect of the EMDR Association UK talks about the impact of Covid-19 on people’s mental health, the success of delivering EMDR online and its benefits during the pandemic and beyond:
15 October 2020
Whilst a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the early 1980s, Michael Patterson lost both his arms in an IRA bomb. He was only 22 years old and had just got married. Michael gradually rebuilt his life, went back into education, and is now a distinguished EMDR Europe Accredited Senior Trainer based in Northern Ireland, awarded an OBE for his achievements. He and his wife tell the story of what happened to Michael and how he survived, with some fascinating psychological insights, for BBC1’s Critical Incident series (starting at 2:04 into the programme and resuming at 31:49):
24 September 2020
14 September 2020
An excellent, in-depth description of EMDR on Youtube by Heather Cuffe, EMDR practitioner and Trauma Clinical Lead for an NHS Trust. Heather is being interviewed by a tinnitus expert in Australia researching trauma therapy, as trauma can affect or cause the onset of tinnitus.
20 July 2020
A journalist who suffered from trauma as a result of childhood domestic violence began EMDR during lockdown and found the results were profound. The article includes quotes from EMDR Association Consultant Sandi Richman and some background to the history of the therapy. Read the article
14 July 2020
A comprehensive article about EMDR, how it works and who it can help in Psychology Today:
14 July 2020
EMDR Consultant Justin Havens answered questions and discussed a wide range of trauma-related mental health issues on Talk Radio, including post-traumatic stress disorder and how it’s little known that a range of more ‘ordinary’ things such as bullying can cause it; a question about childhood sexual abuse and the need to find the right kind of trauma therapy; and the impact of coronavirus and lockdown. He also gave advice to a father whose teenage daughter had recently been through a very traumatic experience – a shooting in a shopping mall in the US – and didn’t want to talk about it.
16 June 2020
EMDR helps to cultivate internal resilience, as a woman who suffered trauma after several car accidents describes in a New York Times series about resilience in troubled times. She says “EMDR is a great resource during the pandemic which is both an external and an internal crisis.”
18 April 2020
In partnership with the EMDR Association, the charity Trauma Response Network has 300 volunteers EMDR therapists offering free therapy online in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. NHS and key workers are being prioritised, but it is open to anyone severely traumatised by the pandemic. Sean Gardner, a businessman caught up in the Manchester Arena bombing founded Trauma Response Network together with EMDR therapists, to provide ‘mental health first aid’ in the aftermath of a mass trauma event. There are links to Manchester Evening News and Daily Mail.
1 February 2020
A woman describes how EMDR helped her on the road to recovery from PTSD caused by the violence she suffered as a very young child growing up in the Ukraine.
5 January 2020
Dawn of Ashes, an Industrial Mental band from Los Angeles, has released a new single entitled ‘EMDR’ written by lead singer Kristof Bathory, inspired by his experience of having EMDR therapy.
4 January 2020
A Canadian journalist describes how effective she found EMDR for the issues she was dealing with, and gives some background to the therapy.
25 November 2019
Medical TV series ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ takes EMDR as a storyline: the writer and producer gives an interview to explain why.
20 October 2019
A programme about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on Radio 4’s You and Yours highlights that EMDR is a first line treatment and includes several calls from listeners who benefited from the therapy.
1 October 2019
Experimental musician Nina Keith’s debut album was inspired by her experience of EMDR therapy:
