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2026: Online Advance Publication
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing versus cognitive behavioral therapy in the treatment of inpatients with obesity, binge eating disorder, and traumatic experiences: a randomized controlled trial
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Published: 16 February 2026
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Overweight and obesity are linked with binge eating disorder (BED). Traditionally, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the therapeutic approach indicated for both inpatient and outpatient treatment of BED. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) could be more effective for the treatment of BED, in particular with patients who have experienced one or more traumatic experiences. A two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) was thus run to test the hypothesis that a 4-week EMDR intervention was more effective than a parallel CBT intervention in the treatment of inpatients with obesity and BED who experienced at least a traumatic event. The sample included 31 inpatients, who were randomly assigned to EMDR (n=16) or CBT (n=15). Outcomes were the reduction of binge eating symptoms, emotional eating, psychological distress, and trauma-related variables, and the improvement of emotion regulation from baseline to treatment completion. Results showed no statistically significant difference between the two treatment conditions, while statistically significant improvements were observed in the whole sample and in several outcome variables: depression, anxiety, stress, emotional eating, binge eating, two Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) domains (Clarity and Strategies), and the DERS total score, two Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) sub-scales (Intrusion and Hyperarousal) and the IES-R total score, but with small standardized sizes of improvements (Cohen’s d). Both interventions may have yielded similar benefits; however, the absence of a control group prevented a clear attribution of these improvements to the interventions, as all participants were concurrently undergoing a structured residential multidisciplinary treatment. Future studies should include larger samples, longer treatment protocols, and follow-up assessments, as well as comparison groups of inpatients not receiving experimental treatments, to better isolate the specific effects of EMDR and CBT.
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Supporting Agencies
The publication fee has been supported by Ricerca Corrente from the Italian Ministry of Health. The project has been supported by the grant: 2020-02 BEmDr study, EMDR Europe.How to Cite
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing versus cognitive behavioral therapy in the treatment of inpatients with obesity, binge eating disorder, and traumatic experiences: a randomized controlled trial. (2026). Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome. https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2026.886
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