In the fall of 2024, Matt Williams was grading papers at Massey University in New Zealand when he noticed something off in a study one of his students had cited. The study, published in 2016, reported overwhelming evidence suggesting that eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, is an effective treatment for depression. But the roughly 85% drop in symptoms of depression linked to the therapy struck Williams as implausible.

After taking a closer look at the study’s findings, Williams — who teaches research methodology and metapsychology — decided to bring his concerns about the large effect sizes and other issues to PubPeer in October 2024. That month, Williams also contacted Jenny Ann Rydberg and Derek Farrell — editors of the Journal of EMDR Practice and Research (JEMDR), which published the paper — who said they would investigate. Williams heard from the journal in February 2025 that the journal decided to retract the study, he later wrote on PubPeer. It wasn’t until December, however, that JEMDR published the retraction notice.

Source https://retractionwatch.com/2026/06/09/emdr-depression-treatment-retracted-science-partner-journal/

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