An investigation of the effect of eye movement desensitization reprocessing on states of consciousness, anxiety, self-perception, and coach-perceived performance ratings of selected varsity collegiate athletes

PTSD experts have recently pointed out that while traumatic events have been the core of cultural tales for centuries, it is highly unlikely today that any individual will avoid the direct experience of a traumatic event during a lifetime. The present study was an initial exploration of the effectiveness of an approach, designed for clinical issues of trauma, in sport; a nonclinical, field study environment marked by consistent high pressure to perform with excellence. The hypotheses of the study called for examination of pre and post treatment scores of control, EMDR, and placebo group subjects on five dependent variables: States of Consciousness During Movement Activity Inventory (SCMAI); State-trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); Coach-Perceived Performance Rating (CPPR); Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS); and Validity of Cognition Scale (VoC).

Collegiate varsity athletes (N = 48) from the sports of field hockey, gymnastics, lacrosse, track and field, and volleyball were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. The control group completed the SCMAI and STAI with 3 to 4 weeks intervening. The placebo group completed the inventories and a week later met with a sport psychology consultant (researcher) for focus on the identified "worst moment in sport." The SUDS and VoC scores were collected during the session. After another week, the inventories were completed for the last time. The pattern for the eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) group was identical to the placebo group except the session followed a basic protocol for EMDR. The focus of the session was, again, the subjects, worst moment in sport.

The results revealed no statistically significant pre to post changes in treatment group scores in regard to the SCMAI, STAI, and coach-perceived performance. Results significant p .02 were found on the SUDS and VOC as the EMDR group reported more favorable gains than did the placebo group.  Additionally, descriptive statistics, and qualitative protocol examples, were tulized to illustrate trends of potential individual benefit from the EMDR procedure.  This research represented the first study of a potential line of research examining the efficacy of EMDR with athletes and, perhaps, with performance in various peak performance settings.

Dissertation/Thesis

English

Carole A. Oglesby

Oglesby, C. A. (1999, September). An investigation of the effect of eye movement desensitization reprocessing on states of consciousness, anxiety, self-perception, and coach-perceived performance ratings of selected varsity collegiate athletes. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 60(3-B), 1292