Eye movement desensitization: a partial dismantling study

Twenty-three PTSD subjects were exposed to either: (1) standard eye movement desensitization (EMD), (2) a variant of EMD in which eye movements were engendered through a light tracking task, or (3) a variant of EMD in which fixed visual attention replaced eye movements. All three interventions produced significant positive changes in all dependent measures and these changes were maintained at follow-up. No significant differences between groups were observed. It was concluded that the eye movements peculiar to EMD are not essential to treatment outcome. The implications of the present findings and previous reports are discussed and recommendations for future research provided.