Dr Francine Shapiro, pathbreaking creator of EMDR therapy, sowed the precious seeds for more than a hundred thousand clinicians and seven million successful patients across the globe.
Her pioneering treatment was designed in 1987 to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories and has since been evaluated in over 30 RCTs and rigorous meta-analyses. The therapy has become a first-line treatment for PTSD and appears in practice guidelines from the American Psychiatric Association, Department of Defense, and World Health Organization.
Until her passing in 2019, Dr Shapiro served as senior research fellow emeritus of the Mental Research Institute and executive director of the EMDR Institute. She was a multi-award-winning trailblazer who illuminated novel insights and healing pathways for generations to come.