A scoping review of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing as a treatment approach for people with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder

Adverse experiences and complex trauma are extremely prevalent for people with a borderline personality disorder diagnosis. Yet it has been common practice to exclude this population from accessing trauma-focused treatments, causing unnecessary continuation of distress. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an effective treatment option for individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, highly comorbid with borderline personality disorder. Despite this, EMDR is not currently recommended as a treatment option for borderline personality disorder. Given the prevalence of exposure to traumatic events or other types of adverse childhood experiences in people carrying a borderline personality disorder diagnosis (de Jongh et al., 2024; Porter et al., 2020) and the effectiveness of EMDR in treating individuals diagnosed with PTSD and CPTSD (Wilson et al., 2018), which have a similar diagnostic profile (de Jongh et al., 2024; Kolthof et al., 2022; Kulkarni, 2017), a review was carried out to scope research that has explored EMDR therapy as a treatment approach for people with a borderline personality disorder diagnosis.

Conference

English

Emily Rushton
Emma Jones

Rushton, E., & Jones, E. (2025, May). A scoping review of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing as a treatment approach for people with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Presentation at the EMDR Europe Conference, Prague, Austria