Re:Comment on Point 4

The issue that I'm trying to raise is not "What does Shapiro say now?" Rather, I'm trying to raise the issue of "What is the basis for her claims?" As I pointed out in an earlier post, the claims in her 1989 paper about the simplicity of the technique, the ease with which it could be transimitted, the crucial nature of the eye movements, and the success rate people will have if they follow her directions were all based on her clinical experience. She subsequently changed her mind on all of these issues, once again based on clinical experience. Why should we put more faith in her current assertions than in her previous ones? The level of observation is the same.

A (usually unspoken) assumption is that all of the various procedural changes in the evolution from EMD to EMDR increase the efficacy of the treatment. Are there data to support this? If not, then there is no basis for assuming the current procedures are better than the earlier procedures. Nor is there any basis for dismissing results based on the earlier procdures.

To pick up on the pink asprin example, let's say my personal experience indicates that I get better pain relief from asprin after I color it pink. A colleague decides to test my hypothesis that pink asprin is better than plain white asprin. The research takes a couple of years to complete and, in the mean time, my personal experience leads me to discover that, in fact, coloring the asprin yellow makes it even more effective. Now the results of my colleague's research are in: No evidence for the effects of coloring asprin pink. My colleauge concludes that there is no evidence that color of asprin makes a difference. However, I dismiss his results as not relevent because the research is not using the most recent color.

Notice what has happened here? I have shirked my burden of proof to show that the color of the asprin makes a difference. Instead, I have attempted to shift the burden to my colleague to show that color does not make a difference. But science does not work that way. It is logically impossible to prove the null hypothesis. Believe whatever you like, but if you make your views public in the context of scientific forum, be prepared to support your position with evidence or to be dismissed.

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