Digital EMDR: Technolgoical innovations to activate, access, and degrade traumatic memories

Aversive life events can lead to negative emotions that in severe cases may develop into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a prevalent psychiatric condition caused by experiencing psychological trauma. For individuals, the symptoms of PTSD cause psychological suffering, disrupt daily functioning and impair overall quality of life. PTSD also impacts society at large, placing substantial costs on the economy and healthcare systems of many countries. Despite the existence of many different effective trauma treatments, as many as half of all individuals with PTSD do not receive treatment for their trauma-related complaints. Barriers to receiving PTSD treatment include long waiting lists for mental healthcare and limited access to in-person care. Therefore, there is a high need to improve access to effective trauma therapies and make them more available to reduce the impact of PTSD on the population and society. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a well-researched, effective treatment for PTSD. During EMDR, patients recall a traumatic memory while making fast horizontal eye movements (EMs) to degrade traumatic memories and reduce PTSD complaints. The Working Memory theory suggests that recalling an aversive memory while performing dual attention tasks, such as EMs, taps into the limited space of the working memory (WM). Overloading WM in this way leads to reduced intensity of the traumatic memory, which is restored into long-term memory with different quality, and reduces PTSD symptoms as a result. 

Dissertation/Thesis

English

Tjeu Petrus Maria Theunissen

Theunissen, T. P. M. (2025). Digital EMDR: technological innovations to activate, assess, and degrade traumatic memories. (Doctoral thesis, Maastricht University).