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A controlled study of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in the treatment of posttraumatic stress
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Emory Clinic, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. brothba@emory.edu
Abstract:
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a new method developed to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study evaluated the efficacy of EMDR compared to a no-treatment wait-list control in the treatment of PTSD in adult female sexual assault victims. Twenty-one subjects were entered, and 18 completed. Treatment was delivered in four weekly individual sessions. Assessments were conducted pre- and posttreatment and 3 months following treatment termination by an independent assessor kept blind to treatment condition. Measures included standard clinician- and self-administered PTSD and related psychopathology scales. Results indicated that subjects treated with EMDR improved significantly more on PTSD and depression from pre- to posttreatment than control subjects, leading to the conclusion that EMDR was effective in alleviating PTSD in this study.
