Comparing dialectical behavior therapy to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: A phase-based trauma treatment pilot project

• More effective methods to treat adults affected by childhood trauma, disturbed attachments, and adulthood intimate partner violence are critically needed. • Research utilizing Adult Attachment Interview (Hess, 1999) had found that when mothers hold unresolved memories of loss or childhood abuse, their children typically develop disorganized attachments and that when mothers are poorly or inconsistently responsive to their children’s cues, the children typically develop insecure attachments • A history of abuse by childhood attachment figures also increases the likelihood of becoming involved in domestic violence experiences in adulthood for both sexes (Gratz, 2009; Henderson et al, 2005) • Previous research has demonstrated that attachment experiences influence emotional functioning and vulnerability to emotion dysregulation (Critchheld et al, 2008). Numerous empirical works demonstrate the relationship between attachment style and aggression (e. g., Sockwaite et al, 2002; Henderson et al, 2005) • Emotion dysregulation and problems with impulse control and unstable relationships are common symptoms associated with childhood abuse by attachment figures (Fonagy, 1997; Bhipman et al, 2005) • Funding more effective treatment for problems in functioning related to childhood trauma and attachment issues is imperative. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) are two approaches that have proven beneficial in treating individuals with borderline personality disorders and trauma, respectively, and thus, could prove beneficial as treatment modalities for childhood trauma and attachment problems • The current investigation is a pilot study aimed at evaluating a treatment protocol aimed at effectively assisting adults with a history of childhood abuse and/or intimate partner violence to regulate emotions, resolve childhood trauma, move toward a healthier and more secure attachment status, and reduce the risk of repeating the cycle of violence and child abuse. More specifically, this pilot project evaluated a phase-based trauma treatment program that included (a) a year-long, initial emotion regulation skills-training phases utilizing DBT and (b) a second phase of either 10 individual sessions of EMDR or 10 individual session focused on further DBT skills training

Conference

English

M. Meghan Davidson
Ann E. Potter
Debra Wesselmann

Davidson, M. M., Potter, A. E., & Wesselmann, R. (2010, September/October). Comparing dialectical behavior therapy to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: A phase-based trauma treatment pilot project. Poster presented at the 15th EMDR International Association Conference, Minneapolis, MN