Using EMDR to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in a prison setting

This article describes the treatment of a young man who developed PTSD following the sudden unexpected miscarriage of his unborn child. He was diagnosed with this anxiety disorder while serving a term of imprisonment. He was treated with a controversial psychological treatment for PTSD, eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, during one, 1-hour session. After this session, his progress was monitored by a further three follow-up appointments at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months, where the self-report questionnaires were repeated and compared with pre-treatment scores. These demonstrated improvement post-treatment and at a 3-month follow-up session. The discussion arising from the treatment will concentrate on EMDR as an effective treatment for PTSD, particularly within a prison setting. Data from recent research highlight the potential risks of PTSD within a community population and the implications for midwives and nurses who treat and care for traumatized patients are discussed.

Journal

English

Neil J. Kitchiner

Kitchiner, N. J. (2000, February). Using EMDR to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in a prison setting. British Journal of Community Nursing, 5(1), 26-31