Why CONSORT?

To support the development of high-quality, publishable research, the EMDR Research Foundation strongly encourages all applicants review the CONSORT guidelines prior to submission.

CONSORT stands for Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials and is an internationally recognized set of guidelines designed to improve how research studies—especially randomized controlled trials (RCTs)—are designed, conducted, and reported.

CONSORT provides researchers with:

Standardized checklists to ensure all key aspects of a study are clearly reported
Flow diagrams that track participant progress through a study
Extensions tailored to different types of research (e.g., pilot studies, non-pharmacologic treatments, social and psychological interventions)

CONSORT helps ensure that studies are:

Transparent (nothing important is left out)
Rigorous (methods are clearly described and defensible)
Reproducible (other researchers can replicate the work)

CONSORT matters because it:

Raises the credibility of EMDR research
Makes findings more likely to be published in high-quality journals
Helps clinicians and the public trust and apply the results

CONSORT is essentially a quality blueprint for research—if a study follows it, reviewers and readers can clearly understand what was done, how it was done, and how much confidence to place in the results.

CONSORT Guidelines

In an effort to ensure the funding of high-quality, publishable studies, the EMDR Research Foundation strongly encourages applicants to review the CONSORT website here, especially when requesting large grants. The CONSORT website has guidelines for a variety of designs appropriate to the study of EMDR as well as checklists and examples of those designs. Our review process is likely to favor studies meeting these standards. Guidelines for social and psychological interventions can be found here.

Research Priorities

The current (2020) research priorities were adopted by the EMDR Research Foundation in December 2013:

1st Priority – Advancing Evidence Based Practice: Increase the availability of quality EMDR research in areas where we already have a foothold in the literature but where more evidence is needed. Specifically, those areas are in the use of EMDR therapy to treat:

Anxiety

Depression

Military PTSD

Phantom Limb Pain

To enhance recovery from the impact of cardiac events and the diagnosis and treatment of cancer

2nd Priority – Addressing the Global Burden of Trauma: Investigate the use of EMDR in natural or man-made disaster responses, by determining the effectiveness of the following protocols: early intervention protocols, the child or adult group protocols, or the use of EMDR standard protocols in disaster response.

3rd Priority – Building Clinical Evidence: There are a number of areas where EMDR therapy is being used, clinical observations are positive, and there are some research indicators of success. However, more research is needed to build a body of literature in these populations or diagnostic categories, including but not limited to:

Addictions

Dissociative Disorders

Additional medical/somatic conditions

Eating Disorders

Suicide prevention and/or to address the impact of suicide

These priorities apply to research across the lifespan, so that a study might address, for example, adolescent addiction, or geriatric depression.