Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy
Hi everyone.
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an important part of the mindfulness and somatic trauma reprocessing (MASTR) program and therefore I will provide some information about it.
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy was initially developed by Francine Shapiro for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy. Third Edition. Basic Principles, Protocols, and procedures. The Guilford Press.) It is based upon the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model which suggests there is an innate system that allows information to be processed to an “adaptive resolution” in which connections to appropriate associations are made and the experience is integrated into a positive emotional and cognitive model or schema.
The Adaptive Information Processing Model
The Adaptive Information Processing model considers PTSD symptoms to result from past disturbing experiences that continue to cause distress because the memory was not adequately processed. It is suggested that trauma interferes with the material being adaptively processed. These unprocessed memories are thought to contain images, thoughts, beliefs, emotions and physical sensations that occurred at the time of the troubling event. When memories are triggered, these stored disturbing elements are experienced as the symptoms of PTSD which can include nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts.
Unlike other treatments that may focus directly on altering the emotions, thoughts and responses from the trauma, EMDR therapy focuses directly on the memory and aims to change the way the memory is stored in the brain, thereby reducing, and hopefully eliminating, the PTSD symptoms.
Clinical observations suggest that during EMDR therapy, an accelerated learning process is stimulated by the EMDR therapy which includes the use of rapid eye movements and other forms of rhythmic left-right (bilateral) stimulation. While people briefly focus on the trauma material and simultaneously experience bilateral stimulation (BLS), changes occur and these include the memory being less vivid, negative emotions are often reduced, more adaptive thoughts arise spontaneously and the experience is more clearly in the past so that it is remembered rather than relived.
The International Guidelines for Treating PTSD
The International guidelines for treating PTSD, such as those published by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend trauma focused therapy including EMDR (Van Woudenberg, C. et al (2018). Effectiveness of an intensive treatment programme combining prolonged exposure and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing for severe post-traumatic stress disorder. European Journal of Psychotraumatology). In the book titled Effective Treatments for PTSD published by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies the authors state that “trauma focused psychological treatments have the strongest empirical support and remain the first line treatment” for PTSD. In this book, Christopher Edwards notes that treatment gains from EMDR are substantial and stable. He refers to studies indicating a loss of PTSD diagnosis from 48-95% of people after EMDR.
EMDR is an efficient and effective treatment for trauma related symptoms. Shapiro and Forrest (Shapiro, F., & Forrest, M.S. (2016). EMDR: The breakthrough therapy for overcoming anxiety, stress and trauma. Hachett UK) state that since 2016, more than 7 million people have been successfully treated with EMDR by 110,000 therapists in 130 different countries.
Group Processing Protocols
EMDR was initially provided as an individual therapy however, group protocols were subsequently developed including the Integrated Group Treatment Protocol (IGTP) and the Group Traumatic Episode Protocol (GTEP) and the Standard Group Protocol (SGP). The Flash protocol developed by Dr Philip Manfield can also be used in a group setting. At the 2023 EMDRAA conference, Dr Andrew Leeds expressed the view that before long, all EMDR will be conducted in groups. The book EMDR Group Therapy by Regina Morrow Robinson and Safa Kemal Kaptan provides an overview of group EMDR therapy.
A group EMDR protocol is 1 of the cornerstone therapies in the MASTR Trauma program.
Thank you and take care.
Marty Ewer
