Research to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of an EMDR treatment versus debriefing for victims of workplace accidents

The objective of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of an EMDR treatment set-up (R-TEP protocol) within an early healthcare scheme for victims of workplace accidents, while taking into consideration such variables as institutional recognition and the availability of psychological debriefing services (inspired by Mitchell's model). The research procedure consists of first creating a program including referenced organisations (businesses, police force, hospitals...) from different French regions. Efforts will be made to raise resource people's (management, occupational health staff) awareness of PTSD prevention and of the role played by institutional recognition in the psychological recovery process. A regional network of EMDR therapists trained in debriefing (will be set up to work in partnership with the healthcare network for first line interventions following workplace accidents involving one or several workers. Participants will be recruited within these organisations. They the will all have been confronted with a single critical incident at work (accidental bodily harm of physical origin, physical aggression...) and meet DSM-IV Acute Stress Disorder criteria at the time of the therapy session. The research program will test, evaluate, and compare the effectiveness of a single therapeutic intervention taking place between Day 0 and Day 8 after exposure to a workplace accident BS do for 2 groups of 20 workers (men and women) who present the clinical signs of acute stress disorder. G1: control group - no access or refusal of care to be. G2: group with a debriefing session. G3: group with an EMDR session. In order to evaluate treatment effects on health and adaptive behavior in workers, participants will complete standardized self-evaluation scales (IESR PCLS Hamilton) before and after treatment. Another questionnaire will be completed by the therapists. Expected results: Significant decrease of symptoms and improvement of scores on measures after a single EMDR session. Greater effectiveness of EMDR compared to psychological debriefing. Eye Learning objectives: Participants will learn the advantages of promoting early interventions for victims of workplace accidents with the adapted EMDR protocol in order to prevent incapacitating PTSD and to facilitate an early return to autonomy for the worker. EMDR therapists will have a raised awareness of public health prevention initiatives, combining training and information within social and professional networks and occupational health services.

Conference

English

Maritime Iracane-Blanco

Iracane-Blanco, M. (2010, June). Research to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of an EMDR treatment versus debriefing for victims of workplace accidents. In Research. Symposium conducted at the 11th EMDR Europe Association Conference, Hamburg, Germany