Using EMDR to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in a prison setting

This article describes the treatment of a young man who developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the sudden unexpected miscarriage of his unborn child. He was diagnosed with this anxiety disorder while serving a term of imprisonment. He was treated with a controversial psychological treatment for PTSD, eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, during one, 1-hour session. After this session, his progress was monitored by a further three follow-up appointments at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months, where the self-report questionnaires were repeated and compared with pre-treatment scores. These demonstrated improvement post-treatment and at a 3-month follow-up session. The discussion arising from the treatment will concentrate on EMDR as an effective treatment for PTSD, particularly within a prison setting. Data from recent research highlight the potential risks of PTSD within a community population and the implications for midwives and nurses who treat and care for traumatized patients are discussed.