The Role of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy in Medicine: Addressing the Psychological and Physical Symptoms Stemming from Adverse Life Experiences

Summary & key facts

EMDR is a form of therapy that uses guided eye movements while a person thinks about a troubling memory. Researchers reviewed many clinical trials and reports and found that EMDR can reduce the emotional intensity and vividness of bad memories, often faster than other trauma therapies. The review also found evidence that EMDR can ease physical complaints that seem linked to stressful life events. The authors suggest doctors check whether life experiences might be contributing to a patient’s symptoms so EMDR can be considered as a treatment option.

Key facts:

• About two dozen randomized trials support EMDR’s positive effects for emotional trauma and related problems.
• In studies that directly compared treatments, about seven out of ten found EMDR worked faster or was more effective than trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.
• About a dozen randomized studies that tested the eye movement part of EMDR reported quick drops in negative feelings or in how vivid disturbing images felt.
• Another eight studies of the eye movement part reported other changes in memory that may help explain why EMDR works.
• Many other clinical reports describe relief from physical symptoms (somatic complaints) after EMDR when those symptoms were linked to adverse life experiences.
• EMDR often produced positive results quickly and usually does not require homework or long retelling of the traumatic event, according to the review.
• The authors recommend clinicians consider asking patients about past adverse experiences because these may be driving psychological or physical symptoms.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A substantial body of research shows that adverse life experiences contribute to both psychological and biomedical pathology. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an empirically validated treatment for trauma, including such negative life experiences as commonly present in medical practice. The positive therapeutic outcomes rapidly achieved without homework or detailed description of the disturbing event offer the medical community an efficient treatment approach with a wide range of applications. METHODS: All randomized studies and significant clinical reports related to EMDR therapy for treating the experiential basis of both psychological and somatic disorders are reviewed. Also reviewed are the recent studies evaluating the eye movement component of the therapy, which has been posited to contribute to the rapid improvement attributable to EMDR treatment. RESULTS: Twenty-four randomized controlled trials support the positive effects of EMDR therapy in the treatment of emotional trauma and other adverse life experiences relevant to clinical practice. Seven of 10 studies reported EMDR therapy to be more rapid and/or more effective than trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy. Twelve randomized studies of the eye movement component noted rapid decreases in negative emotions and/or vividness of disturbing images, with an additional 8 reporting a variety of other memory effects. Numerous other evaluations document that EMDR therapy provides relief from a variety of somatic complaints. CONCLUSION: EMDR therapy provides physicians and other clinicians with an efficient approach to address psychological and physiologic symptoms stemming from adverse life experiences. Clinicians should therefore evaluate patients for experiential contributors to clinical manifestations.

Topics

Child Abuse and Trauma Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research Traumatic Brain Injury Research

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Adverse effect Clinical psychology Desensitization (medicine) Experiential learning Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing Internal medicine Mathematics education Medicine Posttraumatic stress Psychology Psychotherapist Randomized controlled trial Receptor

Conditions & symptoms

Chronic Pain PTSD Chronic pain