Randomized Controlled Trial on the EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol for Ongoing Traumatic Stress with Adolescents and Young Adults Patients with Cancer

Abstract

The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of the EMDR-Integrative Group Treatment Protocol for Ongoing Traumatic Stress (EMDR-IGTP-OTS) in reducing posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, depression and anxiety symptoms related to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Twenty-three adolescents and young adults (13 male and 10 female) with different types of cancer (breast, leukemia, lymphoma) and PTSD symptoms related to their diagnosis and cancer treatment met the inclusion criteria. Participants age ranged from 13 to 22 years old (M = 16.71 years). Participant's time since diagnosis varied from 2006 to 2018. Participants in treatment (N=11) and no-treatment control (N=12) groups completed pre, post, and follow up measurements using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Data analysis by repeated measures ANOVA showed that the EMDR-IGTP-OTS was effective in significantly reducing symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, with symptoms maintained at 90-day follow-up and with large effect sizes (e.g., d=1.17). A comparison of the treatment and no-treatment control groups showed significantly greater decreases for the treatment group on symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. This study suggests that EMDR-IGTP-OTS may be an efficient and effective way to address cancer-related PTSD, depressive, and anxious symptoms in adolescents and young adults.

Group eye movement desensitization and reprocessing interventions in adults and children: A systematic review of randomized and nonrandomized trials

“…Results showed that all participants in the treatment condition showed a significant reduction in PTSD, depression and anxiety scores at posttreatment and follow‐up. In a similar study, Osorio et al (2018) replicated the previous study with 23 adolescent cancer patients with PTSD diagnosis (aged 13 to 22 years old). Participants once again randomized to treatment ( N = 11) or nontreatment control group ( N = 12) and received six sessions of treatment.…”

“…The remaining studies either did not assess any diagnosis before the experiment or recruited help‐seeking individuals that did not fully meet diagnostic criteria for any disorder. Interventions: As seen in Table 2, four different EMDR group protocols were reported in 22 articles. Thirteen studies tested EMDR IGTP protocol (Adúriz, Bluthgen, & Knopfler, 2009; Allon, 2015; Brennstuhl et al, 2019; Harris et al, 2018; Jarero et al, 2008, 2015; Jarero & Artigas, 2010; Jarero, Rake, & Givaudan, 2017; Maslovaric et al, 2017; Morrissey, 2016; Passoni et al, 2018; Perilli et al, 2019; Trentini et al, 2018); four articles tested EMDR IGTP‐OTS protocol (Jarero, Givaudan, & Osorio, 2018; Josefa Molero, Jarero, & Givaudan, 2019; Osorio, Perez, Tirando, & Jarero, 2018; Smyth‐dent, Fitzgerald, & Hagos, 2019); four articles examined EMDR G‐TEP protocol (Lehnung, Shapiro, Schreiber, & Hofmann, 2017; Roberts, 2018; Tsouvelas, Chondrokouki, Nikolaidis, & Shapiro, 2019; Yurtsever et al, 2018); and one article used EMDR GP/C Protocol (Korkmazlar et al, 2020). Treatments lasted between one session to 10 sessions over 1 day to 10 weeks.…”

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

“…In this area, the standard protocol has been altered to focus on the traumatic experience of dealing with a cancer diagnosis [94]. In a 2018 study, Osorio et al [97] applied an EMDR-IGTP-OTS protocol to a sample of adolescents and young adults with various types of cancer, with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of treatment in reducing post-traumatic symptoms, anxiety, and depression related to their pathology. As hypothesized, the results turned out to be significant in comparison to pre-treatment and the control group, in which no changes were detected.…”

Longitudinal Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial on the Provision of the EMDR-IGTP-OTS to Refugee Minors in Valencia, Spain

“…They believe that this type of ongoing traumatic stress situation requires a different kind of EMDR treatment approach than that used for events that have a posttrauma safety period [71][72][73][74]. Therefore, Jarero et al, adapted the EMDR-IGTP to treat older children, adolescents, and adults living (like the refugees) with ongoing traumatic stress with no posttrauma safety period for memory consolidation and then developed the EMDR-IGTP Adapted for Ongoing Traumatic Stress (EMDR-IGTP-OTS) [75][76][77][78][79]. The discussion of previous EMDR therapy studies with refugees is beyond the scope of this paper.…”