Re: EMDR and the Evidence

Thanks for your clarification of the issues Ricky. Let me respond to your comments.

1) Unfortuantely, testimonials do not demonstrate the effectiveness of anything. They simply alert us that maybe we should investigate the matter further. Infomericals provide testimonials but I think we would all agree that this is not worth much.

2) That EMDR does better than wait-list controls demonstrates virtually nothing because almost any "treatment" will provide improvement in such comparisons. But it's a start. The more controlled the study, the more EMDR falls apart. Those studies that compare imagery with and without eye movements don't result in differences. The studies that do show the best results for EMDR are the most methodologically flawed. That EMDR "works" seems to be because EMDR is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy with bilateral stimulation (which appears to be unnecessary).

3)The APA's committee on validated treatment only requires that a treatment is better than wait list controls in 2 studies. This hardly provides support for EMDR because of the aforementioned reasons. Especially because EMDR appears to gain its effects by copying standard CBT techniques.

4) I agree that being such a strange therapy, you initially faced much skepticism in the scientific community. However, we have many research studies to assess EMDR against which was the focus of my original statements.

5) You also attack EMDR's critics and not their criticism. This is the tried and true method to deflect criticism and take us away from the real issues. I could argue that Dr. Shapiro graduated from an unaccredited and now defunct graduate school and may not be properly trained. However, I find no real substantive purpose in this line of reasoning. Relying on such issues would be more of an ad hominmen attack. The evidence is the issue now. Let's return to it from this attempted detour.

6) You say that the evidence for eye movements is inconclusive. I say that EMDR without bilateral stimulation is a reformulation of CBT techniques. What is the evidence otherwise? Numerous studies seem to support this claim.

Does anyone else know evidence that I am not aware of that could address my original comments?

Brian G.

Replies:

Re: EMDR and the Evidence, by Dr. D, 2/11/00 Re: EMDR and the Evidence, by Brian G., 2/11/00 Re: EMDR and the Evidence, by Dr. D, 2/14/00 faulty reasoning?, by Brian G., 2/14/00 Re: EMDR and the Evidence, by Shapiro, 2/15/00 the discussion continues, by Brian G., 2/15/00 Re: the discussion continues, by Tom Cloyd, 4/7/00 Re: the discussion continues, by Brian, 4/9/00

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