Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2025
08:05
A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
Published on: January 5, 2018
9.7K
Targeting craving with EMDR therapy: Future directions.
Junilla K Larsen1, Wiebren Markus2, Reinout W Wiers3
1Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Addictive Behaviors
|February 12, 2025
Summary
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy shows promise for addiction by targeting craving triggers. This framework links EMDR to cue-reactivity, potentially reducing addictive responses and craving.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Addiction is often driven by memory representations that trigger craving.
- Existing therapies like cue-exposure therapy target cue-reactivity mechanisms.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a potential intervention for addiction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a framework explaining the effects of addiction-focused EMDR therapy.
- To link EMDR mechanisms to cue-reactivity and cognitive bias modification.
- To suggest future research directions for optimizing EMDR in addiction treatment.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical framework development.
- Integration of working memory and inferential processing accounts.
- Review of empirical evidence on EMDR mechanisms and cue-exposure literature.
Main Results:
- Proposed a framework linking EMDR to cue-devaluation, reduced cognitive biases, and violated expectancies.
- Identified potential mechanisms for EMDR's effect on addiction-related memory representations.
- Highlighted the role of working memory and inferential processing in EMDR's efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Addiction-focused EMDR therapy may reduce craving and addictive responses by targeting cue-reactivity.
- Future research should optimize EMDR procedures to enhance working memory demands and expectancy violation.
- Investigating boundary conditions like arousal is crucial for understanding EMDR's application across addictive-like behaviors.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Binge Eating Disorders
46
Binge eating disorder is a significant mental health condition characterized by recurrent episodes of excessive food consumption within a short period, accompanied by a perceived loss of control over eating behavior. Unlike occasional overeating, binge eating disorder is marked by distressing emotions such as guilt, shame, and anxiety following binge episodes. The disorder affects individuals across different ages and backgrounds, with profound implications for physical and psychological...
46
01:30Electroconvulsive Therapy
22
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), or shock therapy, remains a critical biomedical intervention for severe, treatment-resistant depression. While its origins can be traced back to Hippocrates' observations that malaria-induced convulsions alleviated mental illness, modern ECT has evolved significantly from its earlier, more primitive applications. First introduced in 1938 by Ugo Cerletti and his colleagues, ECT involves inducing controlled seizures using electrical currents. In its early...
22
01:29Psychodynamic Therapy
51
Psychodynamic therapies emphasize the exploration of unconscious processes and early childhood experiences as fundamental contributors to psychological difficulties. These therapies, deeply rooted in Freud's psychoanalytic theory, aim to uncover and resolve unconscious conflicts, granting individuals insights that promote emotional and behavioral healing. Contemporary psychodynamic approaches have evolved, integrating a broader range of influences and methodologies while still valuing the...
51
01:22Behavior Therapy
39
Behavior therapy incorporates diverse techniques rooted in classical conditioning principles to address maladaptive behaviors and anxiety disorders. These methods aim to reduce avoidance behaviors, foster adaptive coping mechanisms, and alter associations between stimuli and responses, making them effective in a wide range of therapeutic contexts.
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...
39
01:24Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
41
Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBTs) are grounded in the belief that our thoughts profoundly influence our emotions and actions. Advocates of CBT emphasize three core assumptions: first, that cognitions are identifiable and measurable; second, that they are central to psychological functioning; and third, that irrational or maladaptive beliefs can be replaced with rational and adaptive ones. This transformative approach to therapy has paved the way for specific models such as Albert...
41
01:26Modeling in Therapy
43
Modeling, a key technique in therapy, uses observational learning to help clients acquire and practice new skills by watching therapists demonstrate desired behaviors. This approach, rooted in Albert Bandura's concept of vicarious learning, plays a significant role in therapeutic interventions for various psychological conditions, including social anxiety, ADHD, and depression.
Participant Modeling
Participant modeling involves therapists demonstrating calm and effective behaviors in...
Participant Modeling
Participant modeling involves therapists demonstrating calm and effective behaviors in...
43