The symposium "EMDR Research in Europe" will again be a pivotal element of the EMDR Europe 2025 Research and Practice Conference in Prague. It is an excellent opportunity for researchers to present their work and projects on EMDR therapy and exchange with other specialists. Therapists participating to the Conference are welcome and they will obtain up to date information on the latest research. If you want to present please submit a PowerPoint presentation and pdf of the presentation minimum three days prior to the meeting to michael@emdr-center.com and cc sofia.mariani@emdr-europe.org.
The pdf’s will be published on the EMDR Europe website in order to facilitate networking of researchers.
Handing in the material prior to your presentation is mandatory.

Authors
Stefania Picollo¹,
Marina Balbo¹,
Matteo Panero²,
Giovanni Abbate Daga²,
Camilla Cristina Scalco¹,
Rosalba Cappa¹,
Barbara Costamagna¹,
¹EMDR Association Italy
²Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Via Cherasco 11, 10126 Turin, Italy

Background
Eating Disorders (ED) are serious diseases with significant morbidity and mortality (Herzog et al, Lancet 2022). Treatment is multidisciplinary, with psychotherapy crucial (NICE 2017). The ANTOP study demonstrated the efficacy of psychotherapies in long-term ED treatment (Zipfel et al 2022). However, outcomes are often partial, with high numbers of severe cases, residual symptoms, and frequent relapses (Marzola et al., 2021). There is a need to treat the early stages and address comorbidities like PTSD, which is common in ED patients (NEDA). Thirty RCTs showed EMDR’s efficacy in PTSD, but none for EDs. This study aims to compare EMDR with other psychotherapies.

Materials and Methods
The cross-sectional study "Psychotherapy in eating and nutrition disorders: an evaluation of efficacy" began in January 2022 at CER DCA in Turin. It evaluates the effectiveness of psychotherapies in ED patients within a multimodal treatment path. Patients are divided into three groups: 1) Sequential Brief Adlerian Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (SB-APP); 2) EMDR; 3) Supportive Clinical Management As Usual (SCMAU), for those receiving psychiatric and nutritional follow-up only. The study includes 42 patients, with inclusion criteria: ED diagnosis, age >18, no substance use disorders, and good understanding of Italian. Data is securely managed according to European data protection laws.
At intake, anxious-depressive symptoms, childhood traumas, and psychodynamic functioning were assessed. Tests used include the EDE-Q, IIP-32, BDI, STAI, CTQ, DERS, and DES. Therapists completed the Psychodynamic Functioning Scale (PFS) by the third session.

Results
The sample consisted of 14 AN-R (34%), 9 AN-BP (21%), 11 BN (26%), and 7 atypical AN (15%). No significant correlation was found between childhood trauma and eating symptoms severity. However, a positive correlation emerged between restriction (EDE-Q) and dissociation (DES), and between severity of eating symptoms and emotion regulation difficulties (DERS). In the EMDR group, trauma was detected early, even when not identified through standard tests.

Discussion
Early psychotherapy stages in ED are crucial but complex. Therapists may face biases due to ego-syntonic pathologies and emotional avoidance, affecting their assessment of psychological functioning. Trauma may not be immediately evident without specific protocols like SB-APP and SCMAU, which could explain the discordance of our data with existing literature.

Conclusion
Therapists may encounter biases in assessing ED patients at the start of treatment, highlighting the importance of expert training. EMDR seems to provide more accurate trauma assessments. Long-term studies focusing on traumatic experiences in ED patients are needed.