Application of EMDR in the treatment of older people with a history of psychical trauma

Introduction: There are many studies supporting the efficacy of trauma focused EMDR in the treatment of PTSD and other anxiety disorders. But most of them included only people younger than 70 years. Older people often suffer from intellectual decline. Been proved that EMDR is effective in people with intellectual impairment (Mevissen. L et all, 2012), but the people who participated in these studies did not relate to the older age group.

Objectives: Old people are often faced with loss, death of a spouse, friends, relatives. Inaddition, the known so-called 'domino effect' when a new trauma can reactivate old traumatic experiences, and the fact that older people inrelation to the characteristics of their memory can suddenly reactivate traumatic experiences related to the events of their youth. Aims Explore the possibility of using EMDR in the treatment of elderly people with a history of psychological trauma.

Methods: The study involved 26 women aged 70-85 years who received treatment in the in-patient department of our hospital. They had cognitive impairment from mild to moderate (for MoCA-test) and a history of psychological trauma. The Doctor used bilateral stimulation (mainly tapping) and 8-phase EMDR protocol, developed by F. Shapiro.

Results: All patients showed a decrease anxiety, improve sleep, and decrease in the number of somatic complaints.

Conclusion: EMDR is highly effective in the elderly.

Journal

English

Elena Mikhailova

Mikhailova, E. (2015, March). Application of EMDR in the treatment of older people with a history of psychical trauma. European Psychiatry, 30 (Supplement 1), 851. Presentation at the 23rd European Congress of Psychiatry