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Can a rewired EMDR therapy ease the mental toll of migration?

NCT ID NCT07822165

Symptom relief Sponsor: Derin Kubilay Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 16, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Many people who move to a new country face depression, anxiety, stress, and trouble adjusting. This pilot study tests whether EMDR, a psychotherapy that uses guided eye movements to process distressing memories, can help when adapted for migration-related experiences. First-generation Turkish adults living in five European countries receive 12 weekly individual sessions with licensed EMDR therapists. Researchers measure changes in depression, anxiety, stress, and social adaptation before and after therapy. The study is small and has no control group, so it aims to gather early signals that could inform larger trials.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
EMDR therapy adapted for migration-related distress
What this could lead to
If it helps, this could point toward a tailored therapy for migrants coping with depression, anxiety, and the strain of adapting to a new country.
What could go wrong
This is a small pilot with 38 people and no comparison group, so any improvements could reflect time, support, or placebo rather than EMDR itself. Larger controlled trials would be needed to know if it truly works.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

38 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Oct 2025

Finished

Jul 2026

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * First-generation Turkish adults who are currently residing outside Türkiye * Currently residing outside Türkiye for a minimum of 6 months * Reporting emotional distress or psychological difficulties related to migration and adaptation to a new country * Literate and capable of providing informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Current severe psychiatric condition (psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, severe depression, or clinically significant suicide risk) * Intellectual disability or cognitive impairment that would prevent informed consent or participation * Concurrent intensive psychotherapy (more than one individual psychotherapy session per week), or active psychiatric treatment involving medication changes * History of alcohol or substance dependence

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

anxiety anxiety disorder Depression depressive disorder Social Adjustment

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Anxiety Depression Social adaptation Stress

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Remote (online delivery via Zoom)

    Utrecht, Netherlands

  • Remote (online delivery via Zoom)

    Sivas, Turkey (Türkiye)

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