EMDR ten years after its introduction:  A review of past, present, and future directions

At the time a controlled study of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was introduced in a peerreviewed journal (Shapiro, 1989a) as a method for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) only one other controlled clinical outcome study of this disorder had been published (Peniston, 1986). The Peniston (1986) study compa.red 45 sessions of relaxation and biofeedback-assisted desensitization to a non-treatment control and reported significant differences in muscle tension and in unstandardized measures of nightmares and anxiety. In the same year as the Shapiro study, three other controlled PTSD studies were published (Brom, Kleber, & Defares, 1989; Cooper & Clum, 1989; Keane, Fairklank, Caddell, & Zimering, 1989). The Brom et al. (1989) study compared the results of psychodynamic therapy, hypnotherapy, and desensitization based on a mean of 16 sessions. Equivalent (small to moderate) clinical treatment effects were obtained with all three approaches in approximately 60% of the subjects as assessed by various measures. The Cooper and Clun? (1989) study compared flooding to standard VA care and reported small clinical effects after 6-14 sessions, with a 30% partiicipant drop-out rate. The Keane et al. (1989) study compared flooding to a wait-list control and reported small clinical effects after 14-16 sessions. In contrast to the preceding three studies, Shapiro (1989a) found very substantial treatment effects with EMDR (then called 'EMD") after only one session.

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Francine Shapiro

Shapiro, F. (2000). EMDR ten years after its introduction: A review of past, present, and future directions. Mental Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, 1-15