The strong association between traumatic symptomatology and life satisfaction may indicate that routine assessment for life satisfaction or similar positive constructs in people with PTSD, referred for psychological therapies might be useful. Information on positive psychology constructs may facilitate capitalising on clients' strengths and not just on pathology.

Olfactory reference syndrome (ORS) is an illness currently considered a delusional disorder under the DSM-IV criteria. Patients believe that they emit a foul odor, causing them great emotional distress and negative social consequences. Its etiology is inadequately understood, and there is generally a poor response to pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions. This article describes the treatment of four consecutive cases of ORS whose pathological symptoms had endured for 8-48 years. The administration of EMDR consisted of processing the various life experiences that appeared to cause and/or trigger the pathology. The EMDR sessions resulted in a complete resolution of symptoms in all four cases, which was maintained at follow-up. Given the rapid and sustained results, we offer a hypothesis based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model to explain the etiopathology and remission.

Body dysmorphic disorder is an illness of generally chronic course which can lead to significant impairment of social functioning, unnecessary plastic surgery and even suicide. It is little understood and treatment regimens have been of uncertain efficacy. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a newly developed psychotherapeutic procedure used in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, grief reactions and generalized anxiety. In this paper we describe its use in seven consecutive cases of body dysmorphic disorder. Improvements were obtained in six of the seven patients, five of whom had a complete resolution of their symptoms.

L’autodysosmophobie est une maladie actuellement considérée comme un trouble délirant selon les critères DSM-IV. Les patients sont convaincus de produire une mauvaise odeur, ce qui provoque une détresse émotionnelle importante et des conséquences sociales négatives. Son étiologie n’est pas entièrement comprise ; les interventions pharmacologiques et psychothérapeutiques obtiennent généralement peu de résultats. Cet article décrit le traitement de quatre cas consécutifs d’autodysosmophobie dont les symptômes pathologiques avaient persisté depuis 8 à 48 ans. L’administration de l’EMDR se traduisait par le traitement de diverses expériences de vie qui semblaient causer ou déclencher la pathologie. Les séances EMDR ont entraîné la résolution complète des symptômes dans les quatre cas et ce résultat était maintenu lors du suivi. En considération des résultats rapides et durables, nous proposons une hypothèse basée sur le modèle du Traitement Adaptatif de l’Information (TAI) afin d’expliquer l’étiopathologie et la rémission.

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