EMDR treatment of chronic pain and medically unexplained symptoms (MUS)

EMDR treatment of chronic pain/MUS is the most common application of EMDR after PTSD (Scelles & Bulnes, 2021). Given the correlation between PTSD and somatic symptoms, this is not surprising; survivors of adversity are much more likely to develop chronic pain/MUS and diseases of stress such as Fibromyalgia, headaches and diabetes. There are also phenomenological reasons why EMDR is indicated for pain such as new pain theories which view the problem as a kind of memory. Neurologically EMDR is thought to target limbically augmented aspects of pain more directly than traditional methods (eg. “talk therapies”) resulting in long-term psychological and physiological changes. Outcomes include improved adjustment and coping and decreased anxiety, PTSD and remarkably, pain. Although the evidence for EMDR treatment of chronic pain/MUS is not as strong as for PTSD, it is nevertheless generally positive with reviews indicating moderate evidence levels (Scelles & Bulnes ibid). Learn what the research shows about EMDR as a treatment for chronic pain/MUS; what conditions the method has been applied to; limitations; protocol variations and the role of adjunctive therapies.

Conference

English

Mark Grant

Grant, M. (2025, May). EMDR treatment of chronic pain and medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Presentation at the EMDRAA Conference, Adelaide, South Australia