Eye movement, desensitization, and reprocessing for children and adolescents

This chapter focuses on the process of eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing and its uses in the course of psychotherapy for children who have experienced medical trauma and other forms of traumatic events, either episodically or chronically. The use of bilateral stimulation does not have to involve eye movements, but can consist of bilateral stimulation in tactile form, or auditorily. The possible neurophysiological mechanism of action of this form of psychotherapy is discussed. We highlight some of the techniques used most commonly with children, including in the context of play psychotherapy. A part of the proceedings consists in identifying bodily sensations that the child or adolescent associates with traumatic memories and with reenactments of the past. The process of gradual approximation and “decoupling” of memories from the reexperiencing of trauma is described. The formal use of the process involves specific training and the ability to use it within a therapeutic context. We also describe the use of bilateral stimulation techniques with large groups of children exposed to events like earthquakes, hurricanes, and other overwhelming situations.

Book Section

English

J. Martin Maldonado-Duran

Maldonado-Duran, J. M. (2023, March). Eye movement, desensitization, and reprocessing for children and adolescents. In J. M. Maldonado-Duran, A.Jimenez-Gomez, & K. Saxena (Eds.), Handbook of Mind/Body Integration in Child and Adolescent Development (pp 463–471).  Springer, Cham. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-18377-5_34