EMDR vs. Writing

Not to be an instigator (who, me?), but I came across the following article today:

Lorgo-Marsh, L., & Spates, C. R. (2002). The effects of writing therapy in comparison to EMD/R on traumatic stress: The relationship between hypnotizability and client expectancy to outcome. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33, 581-586.

Abstract:
Many psychologists encourage clients to engage in journal writing to supplement individual psychotherapy. Empirical evidence supports the use of writing when targeted at traumatic memories. The most thoroughly researched writing strategy, developed by J. Pennebaker (1989), suggests that writing is most effective when it targets a specific memory along with the emotional components of that memory. Effective writing therapy is thus procedurally similar to effective exposure therpay for fear and traumatic memories. This investigation examined structured writing as a self-contained treatment by comparing it to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and it was found to be effective.

From the results:
The results revealed that on all dependent measures, structured writing and EMD/R produced significant reductions in symptoms from pre- to posttesting and from pretesting to follow-up assessment...There were no differences between the groups at posttesting or at follow-up on any dependent measure. Furthermore, there was no significant correlation between outcome and hypnotizability or between outcome and expectancy.

In short, EMDR in this study was not more effective than having participants engage in a strucutred writing task focused on the index event. The results are quite consistent with all of the studies that have come out of Spates' lab: subjects show significant reductions with EMDR, but no more so than all aspects of EMDR except the eye movemtns (Foley & Spates, 1995; Renfrey & Spates, 1994)and all aspects of EMDR except that installation trials are replaced with more desensitization trials (Cusack & Spates, 1999).

Replies:

Re:EMDR vs. Writing, by Sandra Paulsen Inobe PhD, 06/30/03 Re:EMDR vs. Writing, by Cahill, 06/30/03 Re:EMDR vs. Writing, by , 06/30/03 Re:EMDR vs. Writing, by Sandra Paulsen Inobe PhD, 06/30/03 Re:EMDR vs. Writing, by interested, 07/02/03 Re:EMDR vs. Writing, by Cahill, 07/02/03

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