Healing combat trauma in Sri Lanka via EMDR

The Sri Lankan society is hugely affected by combat related stress as a result of the 30 year armed conflict. Combatants as well as a large number of civilians including members of the LTTE have undergone a tremendous amount of war related stress for the last 3 decades. There had been large military operations where the combatants were directly exposed to hostile battle conditions. Following these traumatic combat events a considerable number of soldiers became psychologically wounded. Deplorably Psychological wounds of the Eelam war were not addressed appropriately. As a result of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka a callous wave of PTSD, Depression, Somatization, and Adjustment Disorders etc has been generated. Many cases are not yet diagnosed entirely and following the late reactions of combat trauma the numbers would be high. To heal the war trauma in Sri Lanka an effective psychotherapeutic method was needed. In 2005 the EMDR HAP trained Sri Lankan mental health clinicians to use EMDR to deal with psychological trauma. EMDR was effectively used to treat Sri Lankan combatants. Many of the EMDR sessions were conducted under the supervision of the EMDR HAP facilitators. Following these treatment the Sri Lankan combatants with PTSD and Depression showed positive therapeutic outcome. Their psychological distress reduced significantly. This article reveals the efficacy of EMDR in the treatment of four combatants with PTSD and two with Depressive Disorder. After 5 to 8 sessions of EMDR most of the veterans became free of their disturbing symptoms and today living productive lives.

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Jayatunge, R. M. (2011, May). Healing combat trauma in Sri Lanka via EMDR. LankaWeb. Retrieved from http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2011/05/10/healing-combat-trauma-in-sri-lanka-via-emdr/ on 5/10/2011