Students' experiences of EMDR as a part of their treatment after being exposed to a school shooting
Description
In Finland, two school shootings within one year traumatized a large number of adolescents and young adults. They were offered psychological treatment with or without EMDR. Students' experiences of EMDR were examined as a part of the follow-up study. Demographics and trauma related factors were compared with having received EMDR as part of their treatment and students’ perceptions of the received EMDR.
Method: The participants were the students of Jokela school center (N=252, mean age=15.0, 60% female) and Kauhajoki center of education (N=236, mean age 24.9, 95% female). They were followed 2 years after being exposed to a school shooting.
Results: Equal proportions of the students had received psychological treatment (Jokela: 24.6%; Kauhajoki 25.4%) and EMDR within treatment (24.2%; 20.0%). Four categories of experiences were found: positive, negative, neutral, and hard but helpful. The younger students of Jokela School perceived EMDR more negatively than the students in Kauhajoki. The level of exposure or the level of PTSD symptoms did not explain the difference. EMDR was perceived either positive or hard but helpful by 46.1% of the students. Adolescent’s perceptions about the method were quite negative compared to young adults. This highlights importance of how EMDR is presented to this age group and developmental level should be considered when working for treatment alliance and in clinical supervision. More research is needed with EMDR and middle adolescents.
Method: The participants were the students of Jokela school center (N=252, mean age=15.0, 60% female) and Kauhajoki center of education (N=236, mean age 24.9, 95% female). They were followed 2 years after being exposed to a school shooting.
Results: Equal proportions of the students had received psychological treatment (Jokela: 24.6%; Kauhajoki 25.4%) and EMDR within treatment (24.2%; 20.0%). Four categories of experiences were found: positive, negative, neutral, and hard but helpful. The younger students of Jokela School perceived EMDR more negatively than the students in Kauhajoki. The level of exposure or the level of PTSD symptoms did not explain the difference. EMDR was perceived either positive or hard but helpful by 46.1% of the students. Adolescent’s perceptions about the method were quite negative compared to young adults. This highlights importance of how EMDR is presented to this age group and developmental level should be considered when working for treatment alliance and in clinical supervision. More research is needed with EMDR and middle adolescents.
Format
Conference
Language
English
Original Work Citation
Turunen, T., & Haravuori, H. (2016, June). Students' experiences of EMDR as a part of their treatment after being exposed to a school shooting. Poster presented at the at the 17th EMDR Europe Association Conference, The Hague
Citation
“Students' experiences of EMDR as a part of their treatment after being exposed to a school shooting,” Francine Shapiro Library, accessed May 7, 2024, https://francineshapirolibrary.omeka.net/items/show/23919.