Summary: Review of studies on the effectiveness of EMDR applications in post-trauma stress disorder

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Systematic desensitization and processing (EMDR) with eye movements is a relatively new therapy technique that has become popular in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in recent years. The technique, developed by Shapiro in 1987, is used to process memories of the traumatic event. Trauma victim follows the therapist’s fingers simultaneously while talking about the traumatic event (Shapiro, 1989, 2002). Shapiro has developed EMDR in line with his personal experience and realized that it can be effective in trauma treatment (Rubin, 2003). After his discovery, many researchers have started to investigate the effectiveness of EMDR on other disorders, and it has been determined that many disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders and even personality disorders can be effective in the treatment process (De Jongh, Amann, Hoffman, Farrel & Lee, 2019; Karadağ, 2020). However, it is claimed that induction with eye movements presented in EMDR can be very effective especially in the processing of traumatic memories in PTSD (Shapiro, 2002). It is claimed that trauma symptoms such as intense anxiety emotional distress, event related returns, restlessness and hypersensitivity to stimulants can recover rapidly (e.g.,Van den Hout et al., 2010).

Journal

English

Alperen Güçlü
Özden Yalçınkaya Alkar

Güçlü, A., & Alkar, Ö. Y. (2021, June). Summary: Review of studies on the effectiveness of EMDR applications in post-trauma stress disorder. Turk Psikoloji Yazilari, 24(47), 76-78. doi:10.31828/tpy1301996120210108m000032