EMDR Europe is the official professional association which establishes and promotes the highest standards of excellence and integrity in EMDR practice, research and education throughout Europe.
Our Mission
To improve through EMDR therapy the lives of people affected by trauma and mental illness related to stressful experiences and relationships, in order to promote and enhance mental health, as well as preventing mental ill health.
EMDR Europe’s services ensure that clinicians and clients have access to information regarding quality therapeutic services based on EMDR’s protocol standards with full respect to the health and safety of the consumer.
Our Vision
EMDR Therapy to be the treatment of choice for PTSD and other trauma related disorders.
Our Values
Since its founding in 1999, EMDR Europe endeavors to deliver the highest quality treatment for PTSD and trauma-related disorders by striving to provide
- high quality clinical practice
- scientific investigation to pursue excellence and further effectiveness
- certified professional training to clinicians working in the mental health field
- continuous educational seminars and conferences
- public education through enlightened policies and targeted mental health promotion
As a certifying organization, EMDR Europe is required to maintain an ongoing relationship and monitoring of EMDR certified practitioners.
Francine Shapiro first brought EMDR to Europe with a training event in Amsterdam in 1993. This was followed in the following years by a regular training programme by the EMDR Institute in Europe and a HAP (Humanitarian Assistance Programme) training programme in Northern Ireland.
A strong bond and sense of purpose soon developed amongst this group of clinicians as they saw the potential for the rapid growth of EMDR across many countries. As they worked together and helped to train more practitioners in EMDR, it seemed like a natural progression to build on their sense of international comradeship and mutual sense of purpose by forming a European-wide organisation. The inaugural meeting of the EMDR Europe Association took place in London in June 1999 with the election of the first president, Richard Mitchell. The primary aim of this new organisation was to promote and support the development of the highest standards in the teaching and practice of EMDR throughout Europe.
It was very evident from the beginning that in an area as diverse as Europe, it was critical that the trainers could come from the country in which they teach, with a sound knowledge of their own culture and language. It became our aim to promote the development of national trainers in every European country as quickly as practicable, even though this would clearly be a long and time-consuming process. A Standards Committee was established with the specific task of mentoring and accrediting new national trainers and training courses of the highest standard.
Another essential task of this European organisation was to foster the development of national support structures. Newly-trained practitioners need local support and good supervision if they were to flourish. EMDR Europe therefore assisted and encouraged from the beginning the development of single democratic national organisations within each European country. Each national association must be open to all trained EMDR practitioners within their country. This is now a fundamental requirement for any new member country.
Because of our history, there is something unique about the way that EMDR Europe has evolved. We have built an international organisation before the establishment of national organisations. Usually, this type of development happens the other way round. If a Europe-wide organisation ever develops in the caring and medical professions, it is usually through a long and often painful struggle between established national organisations.
The early development of a strong cohesive European EMDR organisation, which promotes the development of robust national organisations, is a unique combination which has been significantly to our advantage.It has made possible the establishment of the highest standards of national trainers, training courses and quality practitioners who are supported in their own countries. This has enabled EMDR Europe Association to grow rapidly into the prominent, unified and effective professional organisation that it is today.
EMDR Europe Association membership growth 1999-2022
Emdr europe membership chart 2022
