Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing in Child and Adolescent Psychology: a Narrative Review

Civilotti, Cristina; Margola, Davide; Zaccagnino, Maria; Cussino, Martina; Callerame, Chiara; Vicini, Alessia; Fernández, Isabel

doi:10.1007/s40501-021-00244-0

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Group EMDR therapy is a well-proven form of treatment for traumatized children and adolescents [51][52][53][54]. To our knowledge, no study to date has evaluated the possible differential simultaneous effects of a group EMDR intervention on narrative complexity, specificity of autobiographical memories, event coding, SUD, and VoC in children aged 9-11 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Randomized Trial on the Effects of a Group EMDR Intervention on Narrative Complexity and Specificity of Autobiographical Memories: A Path Analytic and Supervised Machine-Learning Study

Poli

Gemignani

Miccoli

2022

IJERPH

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Narratives of autobiographical memories may be impaired by adverse childhood experiences, generating narrative fragmentation and increased levels of perceived distress. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) proved to be an effective treatment to overcome traumatic experiences and to promote coherent autobiographical narratives. However, the specific mechanisms by which EMDR promotes narrative coherence remains largely unknown. We conducted a randomized controlled pilot trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT05319002) in a non-clinical sample of 27 children recruited in a primary school. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent a three-week group EMDR intervention. Subjective unit of distress (SUD), validity of cognition (VoC), classification of autobiographical memories, narrative complexity and specificity were assessed before and after the group EMDR intervention. The group EMDR intervention was able to improve SUD and VoC scales, narrative complexity and specificity, and promoted the classification of autobiographical memories as relational. The path analysis showed that SUD was able to predict VoC and narrative specificity, which, in turn, was able to predict both narrative complexity and the classification of autobiographical memories as relational. Machine-learning analysis showed that random tree classifier outperformed all other models by achieving a 93.33% accuracy. Clinical implications are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Randomized Trial on the Effects of a Group EMDR Intervention on Narrative Complexity and Specificity of Autobiographical Memories: A Path Analytic and Supervised Machine-Learning Study

Poli

Gemignani

Miccoli

2022

IJERPH

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“…She became a psychologist and developed her ideas from 1988 onwards and produced her defining book in 2001. EMDR has been subsequently developed and researched by many practitioners and has been applied to children who have suffered trauma [127].…”

Section: A Further Overview: Trauma and Griefmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from the Twentieth Century for child and adolescent mental health practice in the Twenty-First Century

Grimwade

2023

Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the 21st Century [Working Title]

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A review of the past one hundred and fifty years of child and adolescent mental health practice, in five three-decade periods, is presented to background the upcoming developments in this century, while also documenting what has been of value as the field moves forward. There has been much loss of corporate memory as we have moved into the Twenty-First Century. Professional amnesia is a condition with grave consequences. The final list of twenty lessons provide a view as to how these lessons can be absorbed into clinical training and into clinical practice. This summary is necessarily brief, but the references will provoke enquiry and the learning of old ideas.

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“…The standard EMDR protocol can be adapted for children and adolescents, necessitating modifications in language, tools, and technical aspects to align with their cognitive and developmental abilities ( 28 , 29 ). The eight phases of the EMDR protocol are applied with considerations for the child’s age, level of development, and life context.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The phases involve establishing a therapeutic relationship, explaining EMDR, determining family involvement, target identification, desensitization, adaptive resolution, positive cognition installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation. For children, target selection and bilateral stimulation may involve special objects, toys, drawings, or other therapeutic tools ( 28 , 29 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

EMDR treatment for people with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review about difficulties and adaptations

Schipper-Eindhoven,

de Knegt,

Mevissen

et al. 2024

Front. Psychiatry

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IntroductionPeople with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at increased risk for developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Emerging evidence indicates that Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is feasible and potentially effective for this group. However, communication, cognition, stress regulation, and attachment difficulties may interfere with the EMDR process. Adaptation of the EMDR protocol seems therefore required for this population.AimThis review aims to systematically identify and categorize the difficulties in applying EMDR to people with ID and the adaptations made by therapists to overcome these challenges.MethodsA literature search was performed in May 2023. Article selection was based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and quality appraisal.ResultsAfter screening, 13 articles remained for further review. The identified difficulties and adaptations were categorized into the three domains of adaptive functioning (i.e., conceptual, social, and practical functioning). Considerable difficulties in applying the EMDR protocol for this group were reported. The adaptations made by therapists to overcome these difficulties were highly variable. They could be divided into three main categories: adaptions in EMDR delivery (e.g., tuning to the developmental level of the client, simplifying language, decreasing pace), involvement of others (e.g., involving family or support staff during or in between sessions), and the therapeutic relationship (e.g., taking more time, supportive attitude).DiscussionThe variability of the number of mentioned difficulties and adaptations per study seems to be partly related to the specific EMDR protocol that was used. In particular, when the Shapiro adult protocol was administered, relatively more detailed difficulties and adaptations were described than in publications based on derived existing versions of an EMDR protocol for children and adolescents. A probable explanation is that already embedded modifications in these protocols facilitate the needed attunement to the client’s level of functioning.Practical implicationsThe authors of this review suggest that EMDR protocols for children and adolescents could be adapted for people with an intellectual disability. Further research should focus on the involvement of trusted others in EMDR therapy for people with ID and the therapeutic relationship from an attachment and relational-based perspective.

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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing in Child and Adolescent Psychology: a Narrative Review

Cited by 7 publications

References 109 publications

Randomized Trial on the Effects of a Group EMDR Intervention on Narrative Complexity and Specificity of Autobiographical Memories: A Path Analytic and Supervised Machine-Learning Study

Randomized Trial on the Effects of a Group EMDR Intervention on Narrative Complexity and Specificity of Autobiographical Memories: A Path Analytic and Supervised Machine-Learning Study

Lessons from the Twentieth Century for child and adolescent mental health practice in the Twenty-First Century

EMDR treatment for people with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review about difficulties and adaptations

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