About the study
Depression is a common and disabling illness often linked to traumatic or stressful life events such as abuse, bereavement, or relationship breakdowns. These experiences can affect an individual’s beliefs about themselves, which can lead to depression or make it worse. Current treatments for depression do not focus on the memories linked to these past experiences. A therapy called Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing therapy or EMDR, which is an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, may offer a new approach.
EMDR works by helping individuals reprocess distressing memories. During therapy, patients recall the memory of a past event and the negative belief linked to it while making side-to-side eye movements, usually by following the therapist’s finger. This process is thought to reduce the emotional impact of the memory and foster more positive self-beliefs. Small studies suggest EMDR might reduce depressive symptoms, but no large, high-quality trials have been carried out.
The EYE-D study aims to find out if EMDR can help people with depression. We are also interested in understanding how EMDR works, what people think about EMDR therapy, and the cost of delivering EMDR in the NHS.
The study will be conducted through 90 GP practices linked with 3 university centres (Bristol, Exeter and London) and will involve participants from diverse backgrounds to ensure wider relevance. People with lived experience of depression are helping with the study. Findings will be shared with the public, researchers, and healthcare professionals to inform future depression care. This research is important because unresolved distressing memories may be a key factor in depression for many people.
Initially, the study will run as a pilot trial, a six-month period initially recruiting GP practices in Bristol. If this is successful, further GP practices in Exeter and London will be recruited.
This website provides details of the EYE-D study for the potential and active participants, site staff and therapists involved in the study. If further information is required or there are specific queries, please feel free to contact the study team by email or phone at: eye-d-trial@bristol.ac.uk or 0117 45 50797.
This study is being funded by the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR) Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme (ref: NIHR 160513), which is the research arm of the NHS. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
