Efficacy of EMDR Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

Faretta, Elisa; Farra, Mariella Dal

doi:10.1891/1933-3196.13.4.325

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Results demonstrated that EMDR is successful in the reduction of anxiety, panic, phobia, and behavioural/somatic symptoms. Both reviews (Faretta and Leeds, 2017 ; Faretta and Farra, 2019 ) found that EMDR is an effective therapy for panic disorder although there is a clear need for more controlled studies. Furthermore, EMDR therapy effectiveness suggests that its efficacy may not be restricted to panic disorder in general but for other specific phobias as well.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

EMDR as Treatment Option for Conditions Other Than PTSD: A Systematic Review

Scelles

Bulnes

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The technique is known to facilitate reprocessing of maladaptive memories that are thought to be central to this pathology. Here we investigate if EMDR therapy can be used in other conditions. We conducted a systematic literature search on PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science. We searched for published empirical findings on EMDR, excluding those centred on trauma and PTSD, published up to 2020. The results were classified by psychiatric categories. Ninety articles met our research criteria. A positive effect was reported in numerous pathological situations, namely in addictions, somatoform disorders, sexual dysfunction, eating disorders, disorders of adult personality, mood disorders, reaction to severe stress, anxiety disorders, performance anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), pain, neurodegenerative disorders, mental disorders of childhood and adolescence, and sleep. Some studies reported that EMDR was successful in usually uncooperative (e.g., Dementia) or unproductive cases (e.g., aphasia). Moreover, in some severe medical conditions, when psychological distress was an obstacle, EMDR allowed the continuation of treatment-as-usual. Furthermore, the effects observed in non-pathological situations invite for translational research. Despite a generally positive outlook of EMDR as an alternative treatment option, more methodologically rigorous studies are needed. We discuss the advantages and limitations and possible implications for the hypothesised mechanisms of action.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

EMDR as Treatment Option for Conditions Other Than PTSD: A Systematic Review

Scelles

Bulnes

2021

Front. Psychol.

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“…PTSD [103] anxiety in older people [104] and depression in primary care [76] EMDR also has an established evidence base in reducing symptoms and improving remission rates in adults with PTSD, even in the long term [105]. Other preliminary evidence also suggests that EMDR may also be an effective treatment for both anxiety [106,107] and depressive disorders [108,109]. Future research in Southeast Asia should examine the effectiveness of both of these interventions through high quality RCT designs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological and social interventions for mental health issues and disorders in Southeast Asia: a systematic review

Maddock

Blair

Ean

et al. 2021

Int J Ment Health Syst

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Background Mental health issues and disorders are major public health challenges, particularly in low- and middle-income countries in Southeast Asia, where chronic shortages in mental health services and human resources exist. The development of effective and accessible mental health systems in Southeast Asia will require evidence based psychological and social interventions. This systematic review provides a narrative synthesis of the evidence on the effectiveness of such interventions for mental health issues and disorders in Southeast Asia. Methods A comprehensive literature search of 7 electronic databases (PsycINFO, Medline (Ovid), Cochrane library, EMBASE, SCOPUS, APA PsycArticles, and Social Care Online) was undertaken. Results Thirty two studies employing RCT designs to evaluate the effectiveness of a range of psychological and social mental health interventions on a number of different mental health outcomes were included in this review. The disparate intervention programmes reviewed were categorised as: lay delivered, yoga, aerobic and/or meditation based, cognitive behavioural therapy oriented, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing based (EMDR), health worker delivered, and hybrid programmes. The majority of the studies included in this review were of low to moderate quality due to the variability in the quality of the study design. The highest quality, and most promising evidence came from the evaluations of lay delivered interventions. This evidence demonstrates the feasibility and potential sustainability of implementing such interventions in resource constrained contexts. Conclusions The review findings indicate that a disparate array of mental health interventions can be implemented effectively in a range of Southeast Asian mental health and health settings. There is a clear need for significantly more research however, through higher quality and larger scale RCTs before it will be known more definitively, if these interventions are effective, and for whom they are most effective in different Southeast Asian contexts.

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“…To determine the appropriate number of sessions to perform the intervention, studies that used the EMDR method for chronic pain and anxiety were reviewed. The results of both systematic review of the effectiveness of EMDR in treating chronic pain [ 25 ] and anxiety disorder [ 35 ] showed that an average of six sessions were used. So, the maximum number of treatment sessions was selected to be six sessions to be held twice a week.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in reducing anxiety among female university students with primary dysmenorrhea

et al. 2022

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Background Unpleasant experiences of dysmenorrhea can lead to increased anxiety. The anxiety associated with dysmenorrhea is a pain-related anxiety which might reduce the efficacy of medication as well as enhance the perception of pain. The present study evaluated the efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in reducing anxiety among female university students with primary dysmenorrhea. Methods In this randomized controlled trial, 88 female university students were recruited from April 2019 to February 2020. Eligible participants were selected by convenience sampling and were allocated into study groups (44 individuals in the intervention group and comparison group) using balanced block randomization. The final sample comprised 78 participants who completed the study (39 individuals in each group). Data were collected using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Subjective Units of Distress Scale, and Validity of Cognition Scale before the intervention and at the time of the first menstrual period after completion of the intervention. The intervention group received EMDR in two individual interventional sessions which lasted approximately one hour. Data analysis was performed using analysis of variance with control of covariance method at a significance level of 0.05. Results The results of the study showed that EMDR did not have a statistically significant effect on State-Trait Anxiety of patients with dysmenorrhea (p > 0.05). Based on the Cohen’s d effect size of 0.06 for state-anxiety, -0.01 for trait-anxiety, and partial eta square less than 0.059 for both uncorrected and corrected models, the intervention was within a trivial effect. Conclusion EMDR intervention did not have a statistically and clinically significant effect on State-Trait Anxiety of patients with dysmenorrhea. Therefore, the efficacy of EMDR in treating dysmenorrhea-related anxiety remains inconclusive. Trial registration IRCT20180823040851N2 on 2019-02-09.

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Efficacy of EMDR Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

Cited by 16 publications

References 29 publications

EMDR as Treatment Option for Conditions Other Than PTSD: A Systematic Review

EMDR as Treatment Option for Conditions Other Than PTSD: A Systematic Review

Psychological and social interventions for mental health issues and disorders in Southeast Asia: a systematic review

The efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in reducing anxiety among female university students with primary dysmenorrhea

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