Training Pakistani mental health workers in EMDR in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Northern Pakistan

The primary objective of this article will focus predominantly upon EMDR as an evidence-based treatment intervention for psychological trauma. It outlines in particular an EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Training Programme that took place in Abbotabad and Rawalpindi in response to the Pakistan earthquake, 2005, in helping to train teams of mental health workers in EMDR so as to enable them to treat psychological trauma symptoms of earthquake survivors. Results from two preliminary studies will be presented outlining the effectiveness of EMDR with two psychological trauma populations in Pakistan. This article also discusses the rationale for widening the trainings to different parts of Pakistan to include other significant traumas currently affecting some parts of the Pakistani population.

Journal

English

Derek P. Farrell
Paul S. Keenan
Malik Wajid Ali
Sami Bilal
Muhammad Saleem Tareen
Lynn Keenan
Mowadat Hussain Rana

Farrell, D. P., Keenan, P. S., Ali, M. Wajid; Bilal, S., Tareen, M. S., Keenan, L., & Rana, M. H. (2011, June). Training Pakistani mental health workers in EMDR in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Northern Pakistan. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 24(2), 127-137. doi:10.1080/09515070.2011.589599