Evaluation report
Evaluation of the effectiveness of EMDR therapy for children and adolescents in Ukraine during war.
Beer R, Garbade M, Keßler A, Verardo AR, Niederhuber P et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study evaluated Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for 151 Ukrainian children and adolescents exposed to war-related trauma. Trained Ukrainian therapists delivered EMDR after receiving training from European specialists. Children and parents reported significant reductions in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms after treatment, with large effect sizes across different PTSD measures.
Key points
- 151 children and adolescents (mean age 10.87 years, 62.9% female) received EMDR therapy from 32 Ukrainian therapists
- Large pre-post effect sizes for DSM-5 PTSD (d = 1.83 self-report, 1.93 caregiver-report)
- Large effect sizes also found for ICD-11 PTSD and Complex PTSD (d = 1.57-1.74)
- Effect sizes for preschool PTSD were large (d = 1.72)
- EMDR trainers from Netherlands, Germany, and Italy trained Ukrainian therapists to deliver the intervention
Limitations
This is a pre-post study without a control group, so the observed improvements could be influenced by factors beyond EMDR therapy alone, such as natural recovery or other concurrent support. The document notes methodological limitations and calls for future randomised controlled trials to confirm findings.
Abstract
Background: In Ukraine, an entire generation of children is directly or indirectly affected by chronic exposure to potentially traumatic events due to the ongoing war, and many children may develop trauma-related disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy was implemented for therapists treating children and adolescents in Ukraine. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of this evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents living amid ongoing war.Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of EMDR therapy for children and adolescents living under ongoing war conditions in Ukraine.Methods: EMDR for Children and Adolescents (C&A) is implemented in Ukraine by EMDR C&A trainers from three European countries (the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy), who trained Ukrainian therapists. Outcome data from N = 151 children and adolescents (62.9% female, M = 10.87 years; SD = 4.34, range 1-17) treated by n = 32 therapists have been analysed. Children and parents completed the CATS-2 to measure self - and caregiver-reported symptoms of PTSD before and after treatment. The data collection period occurred from June 2023 to January 2025.Results: At the end of treatment, the patients reported significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, with large pre-post effect sizes for DSM-5 PTSD (d self-report = 1.83; d caregiver report = 1.93), ICD-11 PTSD (d self-report = 1.62; d caregiver report = 1.57), ICD-11 CPTSD (d self-report = 1.63; d caregiver report = 1.74), and DSM-5 pre-school PTSD (d = 1.72).Conclusion: Despite the methodological limitations of this study, the results suggest that EMDR can be delivered effectively to children and adolescents in regions impacted by ongoing war. Future studies should replicate these findings and evaluate the effects of EMDR during war conditions using a randomised controlled design.