EMDR Therapy for Children: A Promising Approach to Healing Trauma
When children experience trauma, it can affect everything from their emotions to their behavior and how they relate to others.
As mental health professionals look for effective ways to help young people recover, one therapy stands out: EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
You may have heard about EMDR in the context of adult PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), but research is increasingly showing that this therapy can also work wonders for children.
What Is EMDR?
EMDR is a structured form of psychotherapy developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Francine Shapiro. It's designed to help people process and heal from traumatic experiences. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR involves guiding the client through mental images of distressing events while using rhythmic, back-and-forth stimulation—like following a therapist’s fingers with their eyes.
This technique helps the brain “unstick” traumatic memories and reprocess them in a more adaptive, less distressing way.
How Does EMDR Help Children?
Trauma in children can come in many forms—abuse, neglect, loss of a parent, natural disasters, or even medical trauma. Left untreated, these experiences can show up as anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, and difficulties at school or with peers.
According to the review, EMDR therapy has shown notable success in treating children with a range of mental health conditions, including:
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
Depression
Anxiety disorders
Behavioral issues
Intellectual disabilities
What makes EMDR especially promising for children is that it’s a brief and structured therapy. Many kids experience meaningful improvements in a relatively short amount of time—and those results often last well into follow-up.
What Does the Research Say?
The review found that most studies report positive outcomes from EMDR in pediatric settings. Children often show reduced symptoms and improved emotional regulation. It's also adaptable—therapists can tailor it to suit different ages and developmental levels.
However, the review also highlighted a few limitations:
Many studies had small sample sizes
Some were exploratory and not large-scale trials
More robust, high-quality research is needed to fully confirm EMDR’s effectiveness in children
Despite these gaps, the evidence so far has been encouraging enough that EMDR is being labeled as a “promising” treatment in several clinical guidelines.
Why Use EMDR with Children?
Traditional talk therapy can be difficult for young children, especially those who struggle to express their feelings or explain what happened. EMDR gives therapists a way to work with the child’s brain and body, not just their words.
Because of its gentle, non-invasive approach, EMDR can often reach the emotional core of trauma without requiring a child to relive every detail of the event.
As EMDR becomes more common in adult therapy, the field is now pushing to expand access and research into pediatric populations. Researchers and clinicians are calling for:
Larger studies with better methodology
More research across different cultures and settings
Greater awareness among therapists and parents about EMDR’s potential for kids
Helping children recover from trauma isn’t just about managing symptoms—it’s about giving them the tools to grow into emotionally resilient, healthy adults. EMDR therapy offers a hopeful path forward. While more research is needed, the early results are strong: EMDR may help children not only heal from past pain but also build a brighter, more stable future.
If you're a parent, caregiver, or professional working with children, EMDR is definitely a therapy worth exploring.
For those interested in reading more about this topic, the complete article is available on ResearchGate.