EMDR Therapy With Children and Adolescents

This special issue aims to highlight the importance of exploring the empirical base for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with children and adolescents. Such an endeavor is set within a context where the American Psychological Association recommends trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) as the treatment of choice and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends EMDR for children when TF-CBT fails to be effective. Studies in this special issue suggest otherwise and represent EMDR's global reach over seven different countries. The studies address a range of conceptual gaps and evaluate differing EMDR protocols for individual and group delivery. Participants from preschool to adolescence experienced single event, cumulative violence, and trajectories of trauma and present with a range of trauma symptoms. Although studies with differing methodologies highlight the efficacy of EMDR with differing populations, recommendations are made for rigorous research designs in order to influence professional guidance organizations.