EMDR Techniques and Behavioral Therapy in Group Training Dealing with Stress

This paper is to demonstrate the application of techniques of Behavioral therapy and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) in training on effective stress management in a group setting. To show how the Effective Stress management training aimed to improve individual resources may be useful in order to prevent the accumulation of daily stress and consequently development of the psychological disorders.

The subjects were 87 adults, 9 men and 78 women. The stress management training has been held in the period between 2017-2018 with the employees and the external associates of JU Medical School in Bihać and the users of the Centre for Research and education "Nahla" Bihać. The training was delivered in the group setting over two days, and consisted of: psychoeducation about stress mechanisms, self- evaluation of the stress and the burnout levels; recognition of the symptoms, identification of the potential stressors; practice of the techniques, diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscular relaxation, and 4 elements of stress management, and EMDR technique intended to strengthen internal resources when facing a perceived stressful situation. The evaluation of the course was done using the Lickert scale from 1-5; completely disagree to completely agree.

The result showed that 92% of the participants strongly agreed with training being beneficial, with 8% agreed. The participants also answered the question on the application of these techniques in their everyday life.

Based on the outcomes of the study, observation and positive reaction of the participants during the training, we can conclude that the integration of Behavioral techniques with the EMDR resource building can be a useful tool for self-help in the situations of increased stress.