🧠 Can EMDR Help with OCD? Here's What the Research Says

When most people think of EMDR therapy, they associate it with trauma or PTSD—and rightly so. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a well-known and widely researched treatment for trauma-related symptoms.

But what about other conditions—like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? Could EMDR help here too?

Let’s take a look at what the research is telling us so far.

💭 What Is OCD?

OCD is a mental health condition that involves:

Obsessions: Unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that feel distressing.
Compulsions: Repetitive behaviours or mental rituals performed to reduce anxiety or prevent something “bad” from happening.

It can seriously affect quality of life—causing stress, interfering with relationships, and leading to hours spent managing these thoughts and behaviours.

🌀 Traditional Treatment Options

The most common therapy for OCD is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with something called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). This involves facing your fears (the exposure) and resisting the urge to do the usual compulsion (the response prevention).

While ERP is effective, it’s also tough. Studies show it can be emotionally intense and has high dropout rates—around 1 in 4 people don’t complete it.

✨ Where Does EMDR Come In?

EMDR works differently. Instead of focusing on behaviour, it targets the emotional memories and beliefs that sit underneath the distress—helping the brain to “reprocess” them in a way that reduces their power.

The idea is that even if trauma didn’t cause the OCD, painful life experiences may be keeping it going.

📊 What Does the Research Say?

So far, two high-quality clinical studies (called RCTs) have explored how effective EMDR is for people with OCD:

✅ Study 1: EMDR vs Medication (Citalopram)

Participants had 12 sessions of EMDR or took antidepressants for 12 weeks.
Both groups improved, but those who received EMDR had better outcomes overall.
However, dropout rates were a bit high (about 1 in 3), and the medication dose was quite low.

✅ Study 2: EMDR vs ERP (the gold standard)

This time, EMDR was adapted specifically for OCD (focusing on the intrusive thoughts and compulsions directly).
Results? Both EMDR and ERP worked equally well.

🧠 Different Ways to Use EMDR for OCD

What’s exciting is that therapists are exploring how to adapt EMDR for the unique challenges of OCD. For example:

Past-focused EMDR: Looking at earlier life events that may have contributed to OCD starting.
Present-focused EMDR: Targeting the actual obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviours in the here and now.
Future-focused EMDR: Helping people manage overwhelming fears about “what might happen” if they don’t act on a compulsion.

At Live Life Happy Therapy I also combine EMDR with tools from IFS, Hypnotherapy, Meditation and ERP.

🌱 What This Means for You

If you’re living with OCD and finding that standard treatments haven’t quite worked - EMDR might be a gentler and equally effective alternative to consider.

📞 Want to Talk About EMDR for OCD?

I offer a freeconsultation where we can chat about your experience and whether EMDR might be a good fit.

Let’s take the next step in your healing journey—together.