Neuropsychology of chronic pain - Eye movement desensitization & reprocessing

As Milton Erickson used to say, when a patient comes to you tremendously handicapped, how handicapped is he really? What brain cells does he have unused? The brain is a misunderstood and under-utilized resource in almost every therapeutic situation. Every neuropsychotherapist realizes this and is committed to learning the most effective ways of harnessing its resources. This article will briefly summarize the current state of our understanding of pain from a neuropsychological perspective and its implications for treatment. Based on brain changes detected in recipients of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), it is proposed that this method meets many of the criteria of neuropsychotherapy. This will be illustrated through a case study of EMDR treatment of a chronic pain/PTSD sufferer.

English

Mark Grant

Grant, M. (2015, May). Neuropsychology of chronic pain - Eye movement desensitization & reprocessing. The Neuropsychotherapist, 14, 14-25