1. Eye movement desensitization and re-processing (EMDR) therapy vs treatment as usual for PTSD in adults with psychosis mental illness within secure care: A randomized controlled trial 2. Eye movement desensitization and re-processing (EMDR) therapy – qualitative paper

1. Background: In forensic settings, some of the those most likely to have experienced trauma are usually excluded from clinical trials of trauma-focused psychological therapies like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. There is little direct evidence to guide the treatment of PTSD in people with serious mental illness (including treatment-resistant schizophrenia), forensic histories, and multiple comorbidities, despite the high prevalence of PTSD in this cohort. This study assessed the efficacy, risk of harm, and acceptability of EMDR therapy for people with psychotic illnesses receiving care from forensic and rehabilitation mental health services (including as inpatients or in prison), as compared to treatment as usual (routine care). This presentation will describe the development, method, results and conclusions from this trial.

2. This study is an extension of a single blind randomized controlled trial comparing EMDR therapy to waitlist (routine care) conducted in people with psychotic illnesses in the forensic inpatient, outpatient and prison population. That study found that EMDR was found to be a safe and effective treatment for PTSD in this cohort, PTSD symptoms reduced significantly with EMDR treatment and there was some evidence of reductions in depressive symptoms and overall disability, and improved self-esteem in the EMDR group.
This part of the research aimed to gain insight into the subjective perspectives of those who received EMDR therapy. In this study we were interested in what their experiences were prior, during and after EMDR therapy.
This presentation will describe the themes, positive and negative experiences from this group.

Conference

English

Susanna Every-Palmer
Brigit Ross
Tom Flewett
Eoghan Rutledge
Oliver Hansby
Elliot Bell

1. Every-Palmer, S., Ross, B., Flewett, T., Rutledge, E., Hansby, O., & Bell, E. (2022, November). Eye movement desensitization and re-processing (EMDR) therapy vs treatment as usual for PTSD in adults with psychosis mental illness within secure care: A randomized controlled trial. Presentation at the Annual EMDRNZ Conference, Wellington, New Zealand

2. Every-Palmer, S., Ross, B., Flewett, T., Rutledge, E., Hansby, O., & Bell, E. (2022, November). Eye movement desensitization and re-processing (EMDR) therapy – qualitative paper Presentation at the Annual EMDRNZ Conference, Wellington, New Zealand