The case: Treating Jared through eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy

Presents a case study of a 31 year old man named Jared, who will be treated with Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for his extensive trauma history. EMDR is guided by the adaptive information processing (AIP) model, which posits that psychological disorders not organically based are caused by unprocessed memories stored in the brain. These memories contain the emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs that were experienced at the time the event was encoded. In Jared's case, specific techniques would be used to trace his current symptoms to the unprocessed memories that form the basis of his pathology. Hence, the specific event(s) forging the basis of Jared’s problems, including the hallucination of his mother's voice, would be identified and processed. Jared's history would suggest significant symptoms arising from his dysfunctional childhood. The first target that should be reprocessed would be Jared's trauma nightmares because this would allow him to sleep. Next are the earliest contributors to his current state, which set the foundation for his self-loathing and sense of powerlessness, and any intrusive, distressing issue that is keeping him from attaining long-term sobriety. Progress is monitored throughout EMDR treatment by process measures used to assess both the level of the distress and the increase in positive self-referencing beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)

Journal

English

Francine Shapiro

Shapiro, F. (2013, May). The case: Treating Jared through eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(5), 494-496. doi:10.1002/jclp.21986