Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured form of psychotherapy used to help people process distressing memories and experiences. Although it has particularly strong research support for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), EMDR is also used in treating addiction, anxiety, depression, grief, and other emotional difficulties.
Research suggests that EMDR may help people experiencing substance use disorders, particularly by reducing cravings and addressing trauma-related symptoms. Studies have also reported improvements in anxiety and depression. However, the findings are less consistent when researchers examine addiction severity, substance use, and long-term recovery.
A 2025 meta-analysis involving 14 studies found statistically significant improvements in cravings and several emotional symptoms, but it did not find a
statistically significant overall reduction in addiction severity. This distinction is important because improvements in emotional well-being do not necessarily mean that substance use has decreased.
Understanding the available evidence helps explain what EMDR may contribute to addiction treatment and what researchers have not yet established.
Why Is EMDR Used in Addiction Treatment?
Addiction involves a combination of biological, psychological, behavioral, and environmental factors. For some people, difficult emotional experiences or past trauma also contribute to their substance use.
Someone who experiences anxiety or distress related to earlier events may use alcohol or drugs to manage those feelings. Over time, substance use can become associated with emotional relief, making it difficult to change established patterns.
EMDR may help address the memories and emotional responses connected to these behaviors.
During EMDR, a person focuses briefly on a selected memory or experience while engaging in bilateral stimulation, commonly through guided side-to-side eye movements. The structured process is intended to help the person process the experience and reduce its emotional impact.
In addiction treatment, EMDR may focus on past traumatic events, negative beliefs, emotional triggers, or memories associated with substance use.
Some approaches also target cravings and the associations between substances and expected feelings of relief or reward.
What Does Research Say About EMDR for Substance Use Disorders?
Researchers have examined EMDR in people experiencing alcohol dependence, other drug use disorders, nicotine dependence, and addiction occurring alongside PTSD.
The research includes small clinical studies, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses.
A randomized controlled trial is a study in which participants are assigned to different treatment groups, allowing researchers to compare outcomes. A meta-analysis combines results from multiple studies to identify broader patterns.
These methods provide different kinds of evidence. Individual trials can test whether a particular treatment produces better outcomes than another approach, while meta-analyses examine findings across several studies.
The results of EMDR addiction research vary depending on which symptoms are measured, the treatment approach used, and the characteristics of the participants.
What Do Randomized Clinical Trials Show?
Clinical trials help researchers determine whether adding EMDR to existing addiction treatment produces better outcomes than addiction treatment alone.
A 2020 Study Examined EMDR for Alcohol Addiction
A randomized clinical trial published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research examined addiction-focused EMDR among 109 adults receiving outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder.
Participants were divided into two groups. One received regular addiction treatment, while the other received regular treatment plus seven weekly EMDR sessions.
Researchers measured drinking behavior, cravings, and other recovery-related outcomes, with follow-up assessments extending to six months.
The study found no significant additional improvement in drinking behavior from the EMDR treatment.
Although a somewhat higher proportion of participants receiving EMDR experienced reduced cravings, the overall results did not demonstrate that EMDR improved alcohol use outcomes beyond regular treatment.
This finding does not mean that EMDR cannot help people experiencing alcohol addiction. It shows that the specific addiction-focused approach tested did not produce an additional measurable benefit for drinking behavior in this trial.
A 2025 Study Examined EMDR for People With Addiction and PTSD
A randomized controlled trial published in Addiction in 2025 examined trauma-focused treatments among 209 people experiencing both PTSD and substance use disorders.
Participants received substance use treatment alone or substance use treatment alongside one of three approaches: EMDR, prolonged exposure therapy, or imagery rescripting.
At the three-month follow-up, participants receiving EMDR alongside addiction treatment showed significantly greater improvement in PTSD symptoms than participants receiving addiction treatment alone.
However, the researchers did not identify significant differences in substance use disorder outcomes between treatment groups.
The findings demonstrate that EMDR can help address trauma-related symptoms during addiction treatment, even when additional improvements in substance use are not established.
What Did Follow-Up Research in 2026 Find?
A related randomized trial analysis published in 2026 examined whether trauma-focused treatment was more effective when provided alongside addiction treatment or introduced afterward.
The research followed participants for up to nine months.
Researchers found that providing PTSD treatment at the same time as addiction treatment produced faster improvements in PTSD symptoms at the three-month assessment. Longer-term comparisons did not establish significant differences between the timing approaches or the three trauma therapies.
There were also no significant differences in substance use outcomes between groups.
A randomized controlled trial.
A separate 2026 analysis of the same research examined emotional and interpersonal functioning.
It found that adding EMDR or imagery rescripting to substance use treatment improved several psychological and social outcomes at three months, including difficulties involving emotional regulation and trauma-related distress.
The study did not find significant differences when directly comparing the three trauma-focused treatments.
Together, these findings strengthen the evidence for addressing PTSD and related emotional difficulties during addiction treatment, while maintaining an important distinction between psychological improvement and reductions in substance use.
Can EMDR Reduce Addiction Cravings?
Cravings are strong urges or desires to use a substance. They may arise in response to memories, emotions, familiar environments, or situations associated with previous substance use.
Some EMDR approaches focus on the memories and learned associations connected to these urges.
For example, someone may associate alcohol with relaxation after stressful experiences. EMDR may be used to process memories or emotional responses that contribute to this association.
A 2024 meta-analysis published in Brain Sciences examined five studies involving 266 participants to evaluate EMDR's effects on substance-related cravings.
The researchers found evidence suggesting that EMDR could help reduce cravings. However, the studies differed in treatment methods, participant characteristics, and the substances involved.
The 2025 meta-analysis also found a statistically significant overall improvement in cravings.
These findings suggest that craving reduction is one of the more encouraging outcomes in EMDR addiction research.
However, reduced cravings and reduced substance use are not identical outcomes.
Someone may experience fewer urges to drink or use drugs without making the same degree of change in substance use behavior. This is one reason researchers examine cravings, substance use frequency, addiction severity, and long-term recovery separately.
Does EMDR Work Better for Addiction When Trauma Is Involved?
EMDR may be particularly useful when substance use occurs alongside PTSD or other trauma-related difficulties.
People experiencing PTSD sometimes use alcohol or drugs to manage anxiety, unwanted memories, sleep difficulties, or other symptoms.
In these situations, substance use and emotional distress can become connected.
EMDR may help address the trauma-related symptoms that contribute to this pattern.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs explains that people experiencing both PTSD and substance use disorders can benefit from evidence-based trauma-focused psychotherapy.
The department also supports treating PTSD and substance use disorders concurrently rather than automatically requiring one condition to be resolved before addressing the other.
Research involving people with both conditions provides substantial support for treating trauma-related symptoms during addiction recovery.
However, not everyone with an addiction has a history of trauma, and EMDR's usefulness depends partly on the difficulties being addressed.
Can EMDR Improve Long-Term Addiction Recovery?
Long-term recovery involves more than immediate reductions in cravings or emotional distress.
Researchers also examine whether people reduce substance use, maintain periods of abstinence, experience fewer relapses, and improve their everyday functioning over time.
These outcomes are important because a treatment may produce short-term benefits without demonstrating the same effects months or years later.
The 2025 meta-analysis found insufficient long-term evidence to establish that EMDR consistently improves sustained addiction outcomes.
Clinical trials have also produced mixed findings regarding substance use, even when improvements in PTSD or other emotional symptoms were observed.
Consequently, there is not yet sufficient evidence to conclude that EMDR reliably prevents relapse or produces lasting reductions in substance use across different addictions.
That does not diminish the value of improvements in emotional well-being. It means that the benefits researchers have demonstrated need to be distinguished from outcomes they have not yet established.
How Does EMDR Compare With Other Addiction Treatments?
Addiction treatment frequently involves several approaches designed to address different aspects of substance use.
Cognitive behavioral therapy may help people identify drinking or drug use patterns and develop alternative responses. Medications may help manage cravings, physical dependence, or other aspects of specific substance use disorders.
Recovery-support programs and other behavioral approaches can also provide ongoing assistance.
EMDR differs from these treatments because it focuses primarily on processing memories and emotional associations.
In some circumstances, EMDR may complement established addiction treatments by addressing trauma-related symptoms or emotional triggers that contribute to substance use.
Clinical evidence supports the use of trauma-focused psychotherapy alongside substance use treatment when PTSD and addiction occur together.
However, EMDR has not been established as a replacement for treatments that directly address substance dependence, withdrawal, or ongoing substance use patterns.
What Are the Main Limitations of EMDR Addiction Research?
Several factors make it difficult to draw one conclusion about EMDR's effectiveness for every addiction.
First, the studies examine different substances, including alcohol, other drugs, and nicotine. Findings involving one type of substance use disorder may not apply equally to another.
Second, researchers use different EMDR approaches. Some studies focus on trauma-related memories, while others examine addiction-related memories or cravings.
Third, many studies involve relatively small groups of participants. This can make it more difficult to determine how consistently the findings apply across different populations.
Another limitation involves the outcomes measured. Some studies focus on emotional symptoms or cravings, while others examine addiction severity, abstinence, or substance use frequency.
Finally, long-term follow-up remains limited in parts of the literature.
The 2025 meta-analysis specifically identified study quality and the shortage of long-term evidence as important limitations.
Future research can help clarify which EMDR approaches are most useful, which individuals benefit, and whether particular improvements continue over time.
Is EMDR Worth Considering as Part of Addiction Treatment?
EMDR may be a useful option for people whose addiction is connected to distressing memories, trauma-related symptoms, or particular emotional triggers.
For someone experiencing both PTSD and a substance use disorder, research supports treating trauma-related symptoms alongside addiction.
For someone primarily concerned with cravings or substance use behavior, the available evidence is more mixed.
The most suitable treatment approach depends on the person's experiences, the substance involved, and the changes they hope to achieve.
EMDR can be one part of a broader recovery approach, particularly when emotional experiences and substance use are closely connected.
The Bottom Line
Research supports the use of EMDR for several difficulties that can occur alongside addiction, including trauma-related symptoms, anxiety, depression, and cravings.
A 2025 meta-analysis of 14 studies found statistically significant improvements in these areas, but no statistically significant overall reduction in addiction severity.
Randomized clinical trials have also demonstrated benefits for PTSD symptoms among people receiving addiction treatment. However, improvements in substance use outcomes have been less consistent.
Research published in 2026 further supports the role of EMDR in addressing emotional and psychological difficulties during addiction treatment, although it has not established a consistent additional effect on substance use severity.
The evidence indicates that EMDR can be effective for certain addiction-related difficulties, particularly trauma symptoms and cravings. Its effectiveness in directly reducing substance use or preventing long-term relapse remains less certain.
For people whose addiction is connected to past trauma or emotional distress, EMDR may be a valuable component of a broader treatment approach that addresses both psychological well-being and substance use.
References
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2. Martínez-Fernández, D. E., Fernández-Quezada, D., Garzón-Partida, A. P., Aguilar-García, I. G., García-Estrada, J., & Luquin, S. (2024). The effect of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy on reducing craving in populations with substance use disorder: A meta-analysis. Brain Sciences, 14(11), 1110. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14111110
3. Markus, W., Hornsveld, H. K., Burk, W. J., de Weert-van Oene, G. H., Becker, E. S., & DeJong, C. A. J. (2020). Addiction-focused Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy as an adjunct to regular outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder: Results from a randomized clinical trial. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 44(1), 272–283. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14249
4. Lortye, S., et al. (2025). Effectiveness of treating post-traumatic stress disorder in patients with co-occurring substance use disorder with prolonged exposure, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing or imagery rescripting: A randomized controlled trial. Addiction, 120(11), 2231–2244. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70097
5. Lortye, S., et al. (2026). Timing and type of posttraumatic stress disorder treatment in patients with co-occurring substance use disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment. PubMed record
6. Faber, N. N. M., Lortye, S., Arntz, A., Marquenie, L. A., Goudriaan, A. E., & de Waal, M. M. (2026). Effects of timing and type of trauma-focused treatment on psychosocial functioning: Secondary outcomes from a randomized controlled trial in patients with co-occurring substance use disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 202, 105053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2026.105053
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