KEYNOTE: Enhancing EMDR Reprocessing | Closure
| Sunday, June 7, 2026 |
| 16:00 - 17:30 |
| Hall B4 |
Speaker
Bo Søndergaard Jensen
Clinical Psychologist
Clinic For PTSD And Anxiety Disorders, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
Enhancing EMDR Reprocessing
16:00 - 17:15Abstract
Authors
Bo Søndergaard Jensen
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) effectively treats PTSD, yet a subset of patients experience stalled processing during EMDR: affect flooding, numbing/dissociation, or flat Subjective Units of Distress (SUD) trajectories. Contemporary models link these stalls to imbalance across three brain networks—the salience network (detects what’s important),the central executive network (focus/working memory), and the default mode network (self/memory).
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may enhance processing in EMDR therapy by modulating brain activity and plasticity, particularly in areas involved in emotion regulation, memory processing, and executive function. TMS delivers magnetic pulses that stimulate or inhibit targeted brain regions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which is
critical for regulating the limbic system hyperactivated in trauma-related disorders like PTSD.
This modulation can improve cognitive and emotional control, thereby potentially boosting the therapeutic effects of EMDR by enhancing memory reconsolidation and emotional processing. Specifically, EMDR therapy works by reprocessing traumatic memories and involves brain areas related to visual processing and memory integration.
TMS can complement this by increasing cortical excitability and synaptic plasticity, potentially facilitating the neural pathways engaged during EMDR sessions. Combining non-invasive brain stimulation with EMDR can all so reveal the brain structures and circuits that drive processing in EMDR.
In summary, TMS can enhance EMDR therapy by:
• Increasing cortical excitability and synaptic strength in key brain regions
• Modulating connectivity in neural circuits underlying trauma processing and emotional regulation
• Potentially improving memory reconsolidation and inhibitory control during trauma reprocessing
This combined approach is still under investigation, but evidence supports the idea that TMS might boost EMDR’s efficacy by creating a more receptive neural environment for therapeutic processing.
Bo Søndergaard Jensen
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) effectively treats PTSD, yet a subset of patients experience stalled processing during EMDR: affect flooding, numbing/dissociation, or flat Subjective Units of Distress (SUD) trajectories. Contemporary models link these stalls to imbalance across three brain networks—the salience network (detects what’s important),the central executive network (focus/working memory), and the default mode network (self/memory).
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may enhance processing in EMDR therapy by modulating brain activity and plasticity, particularly in areas involved in emotion regulation, memory processing, and executive function. TMS delivers magnetic pulses that stimulate or inhibit targeted brain regions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which is
critical for regulating the limbic system hyperactivated in trauma-related disorders like PTSD.
This modulation can improve cognitive and emotional control, thereby potentially boosting the therapeutic effects of EMDR by enhancing memory reconsolidation and emotional processing. Specifically, EMDR therapy works by reprocessing traumatic memories and involves brain areas related to visual processing and memory integration.
TMS can complement this by increasing cortical excitability and synaptic plasticity, potentially facilitating the neural pathways engaged during EMDR sessions. Combining non-invasive brain stimulation with EMDR can all so reveal the brain structures and circuits that drive processing in EMDR.
In summary, TMS can enhance EMDR therapy by:
• Increasing cortical excitability and synaptic strength in key brain regions
• Modulating connectivity in neural circuits underlying trauma processing and emotional regulation
• Potentially improving memory reconsolidation and inhibitory control during trauma reprocessing
This combined approach is still under investigation, but evidence supports the idea that TMS might boost EMDR’s efficacy by creating a more receptive neural environment for therapeutic processing.
Video
https://player.vimeo.com/video/1172089601?autoplay=1
Olivier Piedfort-Marin
President
Emdr Europe
Closure
17:15 - 17:30
