An interventional study of EMDR in Depression, Anxiety and Stress, sponsored by Derin Kubilay. Completed at 2 sites in 2 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-16.
Sponsored by Derin Kubilay · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Many people who migrate to new countries experience significant emotional and psychological challenges. These challenges can include depression, anxiety, stress, and difficulty adjusting to a new culture and society. This pilot study examined whether a specialized form of psychotherapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), adapted specifically for migration-related experiences, may help reduce these psychological difficulties and support social adaptation.
Participants were first-generation Turkish adults living in five European countries-the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, and Austria-who reported emotional distress associated with migration and adaptation challenges. They received 12 weekly individual sessions delivered by licensed EMDR therapists, focusing on distressing experiences and difficulties related to adjusting to life in a new country.
Before and after the therapy, participants completed questionnaires measuring their levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, and their sense of social adaptation in their new communities.
This is a small single-arm pilot study without a control group. It was designed to provide preliminary information that may inform larger controlled trials.
Background and Rationale: Migration has become a major global phenomenon. While migration can provide opportunities, it also appears to involve significant psychological challenges. Migrants commonly report elevated levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and difficulties with social adaptation and integration. Turkish migrants represent one of the largest established migrant communities worldwide, particularly in Europe.
Migration-related psychological distress may emerge from complex interactions between pre-migration experiences, ongoing post-migration stressors, and evolving sense of identity and belonging. Rather than representing a single traumatic event, migration-related distress often appears to reflect accumulated challenges across the migration trajectory, including language barriers, social isolation, discrimination, and reduced social support in the host country.
Intervention: This study examined a migration-focused adaptation of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a psychotherapy approach with existing evidence in trauma-related conditions. The study employed a migration-focused protocol that maintained the standard EMDR structure while addressing migration-specific clinical concerns. Treatment consisted of 12 individual weekly online sessions delivered by licensed EMDR therapists.
This study is grounded in the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model underlying EMDR therapy. The protocol focused on migration-related experiences, including past difficulties, current triggers, and future challenges. It emphasized strengthening coping resources and establishing a safe place in the host country. Between-session activities and future-oriented exercises were used to support adaptation, reinforce positive experiences, and increase confidence in managing migration-related situations.
Design: This is a single-arm, pre-post pilot study. Psychological distress and social adaptation were assessed at baseline and after completion of the 12-session protocol. Given the absence of a control group, randomization, and blinding, the design does not permit causal inference regarding treatment effects.
8,577 studies on the registry are indexed under Depression; 1,720 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 38 is below the median of 81 across 7,063 interventional studies indexed under Depression.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
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Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Clinically significant
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
12 individual weekly online psychotherapy sessions delivered by licensed EMDR therapists. Each session is 45 minutes. Clinical focus of the intervention addresses migration-related psychological distress.
Behavioral: EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model. EMDR employs bilateral stimulation to facilitate processing of distressing memories and maladaptive cognitions. This intervention addresses migration-related psychological distress. Sessions followed standard EMDR phases including history-taking, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation. No medication or control condition.
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21)
Psychological distress was assessed using the DASS-21, the short form of the original 42-item DASS developed by Lovibond and Lovibond (1995). The Turkish adaptation of the DASS-21 was conducted by Yılmaz et al. (2017). The measure comprises three seven-item subscales assessing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress during the preceding week. Items are rated on a four-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (Did not apply to me at all) to 3 (Applied to me very much). The DASS-21 contains no reverse-scored items. Each subscale yields a score ranging from 0 to 21, and the total DASS-21 score ranges from 0 to 63. The Turkish version has demonstrated adequate internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of .82 for depression, .81 for anxiety, and .76 for stress (Yılmaz et al., 2017). In the present study, depression, anxiety, and stress were specified as the primary psychological outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline (Before the first EMDR session) and post-treatment (Week 12, after final EMDR session)
Social Cohesion Scale for Immigrants (SCSI)
Social adaptation was assessed using the 28-item Social Cohesion Scale for Immigrants (SCSI), developed by Kaya (2022). The scale comprises six dimensions: Exclusion, belonging, psychological and social support, individual factors, hope and past experience. Thirteen items are reverse scored. Total scores range from 28 to 140, with higher scores indicating greater social adaptation. The original validation study reported satisfactory internal consistency across the six subscales: Exclusion (α = .83), Belonging (α = .86), Psychological and Social Support (α = .78), Individual Factors (α = .80), Hope (α = .84), and Past Experiences (α = .82). Internal consistency for the total scale was α = .82 (Kaya, 2022). Social adaptation was specified as the secondary outcome of the study.
Time frame: Baseline (Before the first EMDR session) and post-treatment (Week 12, after final EMDR session)
Plan to share: No — Individual participant data are not publicly available. The data were collected within a psychotherapeutic treatment context, and participants were assured that all information provided would remain confidential; consent for sharing data with third parties was not obtained. The small sample size (N = 16) and the distribution of participants across five countries further limit the possibility of meaningful de-identification. Requests for access will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the corresponding author and would require prior approval from the institutional ethics committee.
This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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