Long-term treatment effect of complex PTSD by using eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: A case report

People who were exposed to chronic interpersonal traumas in their early life consistently demonstrate complex psychological disturbances and many of them meet the criteria for proposed diagnosis of complex posttraumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD). The author reports a case of the successful sequential integrative treatment mainly composed of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in a complex PTSD patient. The patient did not respond to the previous treatment with psychotropic medications and supportive psychotherapy. Nineteen sessions of EMDR treatment were done for the patient. Psychological assessments and behavioral measures were performed before starting the treatment, after 4 months of treatment (mainly EMDR treatment), after 17 months of treatment (mainly supportive psychotherapy integrated with EMDR treatment for 13 months) and after 32 months of treatment (supportive psychotherapy for 15 months). The antidepressant medication had been maintained through the treatment. After the treatment, the patient improved on all the psychological scales and behavioral measures. This case suggests that the sequential integrative treatment using EMDR may be effective for complex PTSD patients.

Conference

English

Nam Hee Kim

Kim , N. H. (2010, July). Long-term treatment effect of complex PTSD by using eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: A case report. Poster presented at the 1st EMDR Asia Conference, Bali, Indonesia