Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Efficacy with residential latency-age children

This archival study examined the efficacy of EMDR with residential latency-age children. Participants in the study were the records of 5 children who completed a 10-week EMDR treatment protocol, and 4 children who were in a control group. Treatment included art therapy, play therapy, drama therapy, and talk therapy. EMDR was included as a component of the overall treatment for the experimental group. Pre- and post-measures were assessed using the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children (BASC) and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). Three versions of the BASC were used in this study: the Parent Rating Scale (PRS), the Teacher Rating Scale (TRS), and the Self Report of Personality (SRP).Paired-sample t tests demonstrated significant differences on the BASC-SRP and the TSCC for the experimental group at pre- and post-measures. For the BASC-SRP, the children in the experimental group endorsed significantly fewer items for Atypicality, Locus of Control, Social Stress, and Anxiety at the conclusion of the study as compared to initial results. For the experimental group, three of the six scales on the TSCC were significantly lower at the end of the study than at the beginning of the study. The children endorsed significantly fewer symptoms of PTSD, Depression, and Dissociation at the end of treatment as compared to the beginning of treatment. Because of the numerous limitations of this study, generalizability is inevitably limited. However, the outcome of this research indicates that EMDR can be effective to reduce overall symptomology of severely traumatized children.

Dissertation/Thesis

English

Terri Lynn Eckley

Eckley, T. L. (2002, August). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Efficacy with residential latency-age children. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 63(2-B), 1021