EMDR and Binge-Eating Disorder: Early Findings

Binge-eating disorder is the most common eating disorder, and a serious one. Established psychological treatments exist and help many people, but full remission and long-term recovery rates remain lower than clinicians would like. That gap has prompted interest in approaches that work differently. One reason EMDR has been considered is the well-documented link between eating difficulties and earlier distressing experiences. Where painful memories, or deeply held negative beliefs about oneself and one's body, appear to be feeding the difficulty, a therapy designed to process such material has a plausible role. A pilot randomised controlled trial by Hatoum and colleagues, published in the *International Journal of Eating Disorders* (2026), was the first to test this formally in binge-eating disorder. Thirty-eight Australian adults meeting the diagnostic criteria were randomly assigned either to receive EMDR, using a ten-session protocol adapted from one originally developed for bulimia nervosa, or to a waitlist. Roughly seven in ten completed the treatment, which the researchers took as reasonable support for the protocol's feasibility. The findings were largely positive. Compared with the waitlist group, those receiving EMDR showed significantly greater reductions in binge eating, in beliefs about eating, in concerns about eating and shape, in anxiety, and in sleep disturbance. Not every measure improved, and the authors are appropriately restrained about what a small pilot can establish. Earlier work points in a similar direction. A randomised study by Bloomgarden and Calogero (2008) added EMDR to standard residential eating disorder treatment and found that participants reported less distress about negative body image memories, with the difference still present at twelve-month follow-up. These are early days. Both studies are small, EMDR has usually been used alongside other treatments rather than instead of them, and no one is suggesting it replaces established care. What the research does suggest is that where difficult past experiences sit beneath disordered eating, addressing them directly may add something that symptom-focused work alone does not. Eating difficulties can be hard to talk about, and effective help does exist. If any of this is affecting you, speaking to your GP or a qualified professional is a good place to start. *Sources:* - *Hatoum, A. H., & Burton, A. L. (2026). A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy for Adults With Binge-Eating Disorder. International Journal of Eating Disorders.* - *Bloomgarden, A., & Calogero, R. M. (2008). A Randomized Experimental Test of the Efficacy of EMDR Treatment on Negative Body Image in Eating Disorder Inpatients. Eating Disorders, 16(5), 418–427.