Comparison of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, cognitive behavioral writing therapy, and wait‐list in pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder following single‐incident trauma: a multicenter randomized clinical trial

Abstract

EMDR and CBWT are brief, trauma-focused treatments that yielded equally large remission rates for PTSD and reductions in the severity of PTSD and comorbid difficulties in children and adolescents seeking treatment for PTSD tied to a single event. Further trials of both treatments with PTSD tied to multiple traumas are warranted.

EMDR for children with medically related subthreshold PTSD: short-term effects on PTSD, blood-injection-injury phobia, depression and sleep

“…Level of medical adherence has also been found to be smaller in patients who suffer from depression (DiMatteo, Lepper, & Croghan, 2000). In line with previous findings, our results indicate that childreported symptoms of depression decreased significantly more in the EMDR group than in the CAU group (Bae et al, 2008;De Roos et al, 2017) and thereby possibly improved medical adherence.…”

Is There an Ace Up Our Sleeve? A Review of Interventions and Strategies for Addressing Behavioral and Neurobiological Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Youth

“…Additionally, youth receiving 8 weekly sessions of EMDR saw reductions in PTSD (particularly re-experiencing) symptoms when compared with the waitlist control group (Ahmad, Larsson, & Sundelin-Wahlsten 2007). Six sessions of EMDR following a singleevent trauma yielded clinically significant reductions in child and parent-reported symptoms of PTSD, with additional improvements toward remission at 3-and 12-month follow-up (de Roos, van der Oord, Zijlstra, Lucassen, Perrin, Emmelkamp, & de Jongh, 2017). In children experiencing disaster-related PTSD, three sessions of EMDR substantially lowered participant scores on the Child Reaction Index, with additional decreases at the 6-month follow-up (Chemtob, Nakashima, & Carlson, 2002).…”

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in children and adolescents with subthreshold PTSD after medically related trauma: design of a randomized controlled trial

“…Any treatment effect observed could also be due to general contact aspects of a psychosocial intervention. However, it has repeatedly been shown that EMDR is as effective as TF-CBT or even more effective (De Roos et al, 2011, 2017; Diehle et al, 2014; Rodenburg et al, 2009). It is also possible that some of the participants in the care-as-usual group will nonetheless search psychological treatment during the assessment period.…”

“…Compared to TF-CBT, ‘EMDR does not involve (a) detailed descriptions of the event, (b) direct challenging of beliefs, (c) extended exposure, or (d) homework’ (World Health Organization, 2013, p. 1). Furthermore, EMDR seems to work faster (often < 8 sessions at 45–60 min; Beer and De Roos, 2017) than traditional TF-CBT (8–12 sessions at 90 min; van Balkom et al, 2013) and is thus cheaper and more efficient (De Roos et al, 2011, 2017). …”

“…However, the studies in these meta-analyses had mostly small sample sizes ( N = 14–67) and covered diverse traumas varying from natural disasters to interpersonal trauma. Even though some studies examining the effectiveness of EMDR included children with subthreshold PTSD in their sample (De Roos et al, 2017; Diehle, Opmeer, Boer, Mannarino, & Lindauer, 2014; Kemp, Drummond, & McDermott, 2010; Wilson, Becker, & Tinker, 1997), no research has yet specifically focused on the effect of EMDR to reduce distress in children with medically related subthreshold PTSD, nor on predictors of EMDR treatment effect in this population. It is very important to identify and reduce subthreshold PTSD in children with medically related trauma to prevent these children developing full diagnostic PTSD and growing up with unresolved trauma and anxieties regarding medical treatment, since this may harm their medical adherence and their (mental) health later in life.…”