In crisis right now? Floatback isn't the right tool for an emergency. Reach a person: 988 (call or text) · Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741.
    The research

    What "EMDR-informed" actually means.

    The sources Floatback draws from, in one place. Honest about what they say, and what they don't.

    Floatback is a self-guided coaching tool informed by EMDR research. We don't claim to deliver clinical EMDR therapy. That's the work of licensed clinicians. But the protocol Floatback uses, the language it speaks, and the structure it holds you in are all drawn from a real evidence base. This page is where we name the sources.

    What we claim

    • Floatback uses the same 8-phase structure described in Shapiro's canonical EMDR manual.
    • EMDR has strong meta-analytic support as a treatment for PTSD and is recommended by the World Health Organization.
    • Bilateral stimulation (eye movements / tones / taps) is the most actively studied mechanism in the technique.

    What we don't

    • Floatback is not therapy. It does not diagnose anything, and it does not replace working with a licensed clinician.
    • Self-guided versions of EMDR are still under-studied compared to clinician-delivered protocols. We don't pretend otherwise.
    • Floatback is not built for active crisis. When something is outside its scope, it says so and points you to a real resource.

    Selected sources

    Not exhaustive: the canonical references the product is built on, plus the meta-analyses we cite most often. Every link goes to the publisher.

    1. 012014
      Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in the treatment of depression: A matched pairs study in an inpatient setting

      Hofmann, A., Hilgers, A., Lehnung, M., Liebermann, P., et al.

      Inpatient-setting study with matched controls, one of the methodologically tighter EMDR studies on depression-with-trauma.

    2. 022018
      Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy

      Shapiro, F.

      Francine Shapiro's third-edition manual, the canonical clinical reference for the 8-phase protocol.

    3. 032014
      A meta-analytic review of the relative efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing for treatment of PTSD

      Chen, Y.-R., Hung, K.-W., Tsai, J.-C., Chu, H., et al.

      PLoS ONE meta-analysis. Finds large effect sizes for EMDR on PTSD symptoms across 22 controlled trials.

    4. 042013
      Guidelines for the management of conditions specifically related to stress

      World Health Organization

      WHO formally recommends EMDR (alongside trauma-focused CBT) as a first-line treatment for adult PTSD.

    5. 052014
      The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma

      van der Kolk, B.

      Bessel van der Kolk's synthesis of the trauma-research literature, the most widely cited general reference on trauma's somatic footprint.

    6. 062021
      Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for depression: A scoping review

      Carletto, S., Malandrone, F., Berchialla, P., Oliva, F., et al.

      European Journal of Psychotraumatology scoping review. Surveys the still-developing evidence on EMDR for depression specifically.

    7. 071997
      Working memory underlies EMDR: The eye movements of EMDR

      Andrade, J., Kavanagh, D., Baddeley, A.

      The working-memory account of bilateral stimulation, one of the leading mechanistic hypotheses for why eye movements help.

    8. 082017
      The brain in EMDR: Neurobiological effects of bilateral stimulation

      Pagani, M., Amann, B. L., Landin-Romero, R., Carletto, S.

      Frontiers in Psychology review. Summarizes neuroimaging findings for what EMDR appears to do at the brain-network level.

    Want the plain-language version?

    The Quiet Room covers the same material in essay form. No jargon, no paywall, no urgency.

    Browse Understanding EMDR

    Floatback stores only what's needed to keep you signed in and the app working. Nothing here is watching you. No analytics, no advertising, no third-party trackers. See our Privacy Policy for details.