EMDR in Telemental Health Counseling for Healthcare Workers Caring for COVID-19 Patients: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is putting a strain on health systems around the world. Healthcare workers, on the front lines of the epidemic, are facing major and potentially traumatic stressful events, overwhelming their ability to cope and their resources. Objective: The objective of this article will be to show how the use of the URG-EMDR protocol in a telemental health setting has proven to be feasible and effective in the treatment of a group of healthcare professionals working in nursing homes or hospital services that were highly mobilized during the acute phase of COVID-19. Method: 17 participants, registered nurses (N ¼ 7) and licensed practical nurses (N ¼ 10), were remotely treated using the URG-EMDR protocol in a single session. The assessment focused on anxiety and depressive symptoms (HAD scale) and the level of perceived disturbance (SUD). An additional evaluation of the satisfaction with the remote psychotherapy intervention was conducted. Results: As the URG-EMDR protocol has already proven itself during emergency interventions, it is interesting to note that its remote use in the treatment of healthcare providers caring for COVID-19 patients allows for an improvement in the emotional state and a decrease in perceived disturbance, in a single session. This result is maintained 1 week after the intervention, despite the continued professional activities of the participants and the continuity of the event. Moreover, the remote therapy setting was judged satisfactory by the patients, even if it required adjustments and certain recommendations for practice. Discussion: The remote use of the URG-EMDR protocol opens up innovative perspectives for early interventions and the prevention of the development of psychological disorders in the long term following a situation of acute stress.

An Efficient System for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: A Pilot Study

“…Even if the intervention involved only one session, our findings are similar to those of previous research, which showed that even after a single session of EMDR, symptoms decreased significantly, effects of the intervention being constant after follow-up [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Moreover, this decrease in terms of symptoms was also found in other research where participants were treated remotely and the intervention was self-administered [ 3 , 38 ].…”

“…Moreover, one of the key findings of this study refers to the efficiency of such a system that offers the possibility of self-administration of an EMDR intervention, thus contributing to a limited body of research in this field [ 3 ]. Even if there are some developments and applications for EMDR therapy, the majority of the systems are not autonomous and require the permanent intervention of a clinician or are used only as a tool in treatment [ 38 , 42 ]. Compared to other systems, the unique advantages of the present system are as follows: The presence of an AI-driven chatbot, following the eight essential phases of EMDR [ 10 ], which can be further enhanced with new dialogue options and evaluation strategies; The ability to customize the interaction based on the patient’s characteristics.…”

An evaluation of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy delivered remotely during the Covid–19 pandemic

“…Tarquinio et al [31] investigated the efficacy of a single EMDR session in reducing anxiety and depression levels as well as the perceived subjective level of disturbance. Seventeen nurses who were in treatment for non-Covid related issues in France had a single session of EMDR, through a video conferencing platform, using the URG-EMDR protocol [24].…”

Therapists’ Experiences With the Effectiveness and Feasibility of Videoconference-Based Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

“…Furthermore, there are doubts whether the implementation of EMDR via videoconference is feasible and appropriate ( Gibson et al, 2009 ; DPtV, 2020 ). As of now, there are only three studies which examined the effectiveness of internet-based EMDR ( Todder and Kaplan, 2007 ; Spence et al, 2013 ; Tarquinio et al, 2021 ). In the study of Tarquinio et al (2021) an adapted EMDR protocol was applied.…”

“…As of now, there are only three studies which examined the effectiveness of internet-based EMDR ( Todder and Kaplan, 2007 ; Spence et al, 2013 ; Tarquinio et al, 2021 ). In the study of Tarquinio et al (2021) an adapted EMDR protocol was applied. Healthcare providers suffering from the effects of the sanitary crisis in hospitals due to the COVID-19 pandemic were treated with the adapted protocol (URG-EMDR) via videoconference.…”