Utilising EMDR as an integrative approach for the treatment of torture and trauma survivors

It is well documented that psychological trauma associated with human rights violation severely affects its sufferers. The trauma reduces the person’s functioning capacities across all levels, including the intellectual, emotional and behavioural, which significantly impacts on the person’s quality of life. This paper aims to demonstrate the use of the Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) in treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in torture and trauma survivors from Sierra Leonean community at the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), Sydney, Australia. The brain of severely affected PTSD patients fails to successfully process traumas. As such, the trauma becomes ‘‘locked’’ within the Central Nervous System (CNS). To ‘‘unlock’’ the trauma related memories and to desensitise emotional distress EMDR treatment was utilised. The treatment assisted PTSD patients to accept and process past events related to trauma and achieve cognitive resolution. These lead to emotional stability and the reduction of physiological arousal associated with the trauma. In summary, it was identified that EMDR treatment facilitated quicker recovery process of PTSD torture and trauma survivors from Sierra Leone. Their symptoms were reduced significantly and they became more focused on their future.

Conference

English

Gordana Hol

Hol, G. (2011, June). Utilising EMDR as an integrative approach for the treatment of torture and trauma survivors. Presentation at the 12th European Conference on Traumatic Stress (ECOTS), Vienna, Austria