Thanks to Dr. Paulsen and Plans for 2000

I want to thank Dr. Sandra Paulsen for the excellent job she has done in moderating the forum in my absence. I recently finished a rather grueling presentation schedule and had planned to recommence with my own postings. However, I am currently faced with a large number of publication commitments. Therefore, I've decided to take a sabbatical from all duties but the publication deadlines and am grateful that Dr. Paulsen has agreed to continue on this forum in my stead. Her expertise in both EMDR clinical applications and research will serve all questioners well. I fully support all her decisions regarding forum policy and hope that on-going discussions on this list will be both informative and mutually beneficial for all concerned.

Those wishing a distillation of my personal views on EMDR application, outcome and component analysis research can find them in a recent article:

Shapiro, F. (1999) Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): Clinical and research implications of an integrated psychotherapy treatment. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 13, 35-67.

In addition, an overview of EMDR treatment with case reports and in-session transcripts can be found in:

Shapiro, F. & Forrest, M.S. (1997) EMDR: The Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma. New York: BasicBooks.

EMDR videotapes are available from American Psychological Association Press, Guilford Press, and Zeig & Taylor Press.

A listing of research and professionally published case reports are available on the EMDR Institute website
http://www.emdr.com

A review of the EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs can be found on
http://www.emdrhap.org

A review of current guidelines of EMDR training and practice is available on the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) website
http://www.emdria.org

Those interested in accessing clinicians using EMDR can do so through the EMDR Institute and EMDRIA

The following is an overview I have posted on the EMDR Institute website. Dissenting views have been cited in the archive material. Rather than relying on anyone's review, however, I suggest that people read the original research data. Citations of all controlled PTSD outcome research with EMDR is available on the EMDR Institute website. The thornier question of component analysis I have left to professional articles, such as the one I've listed above, and my 1995 text. However, it should be noted that primary active ingredients have not been determined in any major form of psychotherapy. In fact, when studied, it has been questioned whether cognitive components are responsible for change in cognitive therapy. Exposure therapies are used, but the highest success rates have been found with in vivo exposure and the ingredients of modeling, clinician support, etc., has not been parced from the exposure alone. The bottom line is that the field has a long way to go in this line of investigation. At present, treatment outcome research is universally used to determine a treatment's worth, and independent evaluators (as noted below) have given credence to EMDR on this basis. Any fruitful investigations should be based upon rigorous clinical research with appropriate clinical populations.

Until my present publication deadlines are fulfilled, I leave further discussion and the shepherding of this forum in Dr. Paulsen's capable hands.

Efficacy of EMDR

EMDR has a broad base of published case reports and controlled research which support it as an empirically validated treatment of trauma.. The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies current treatment guidelines have designated EMDR as an effective treatment for PTSD (Chemtob, Tolin, van der Kolk & Pitman, 1999).
In 1995 the APA Division 12 (Clinical Psychology) initiated a project to determine the degree to which extant therapeutic methods were supported by solid empirical evidence. In 1997, independent reviewers (Chambless et al., 1998) placed EMDR on a list of empirically validated treatments, as "probably efficacious for civilian PTSD." At the same time, exposure therapy (e.g., flooding) and stress inoculation therapy (SIT) were described as "probably efficacious for PTSD," while no other therapies were judged to be empirically supported by controlled research for any posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) population. On the bases of further studies, in 1999, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies treatment guidelines designated EMDR as effective for PTSD (Chemob et al, 1999). A meta-analysis of all psychological and drug treatments for PTSD reported: "The results of the present study suggest that EMDR is effective for PTSD, and that it is more efficient than other treatments." (Van Etten & Taylor, 1998; see also Allen, Keller & Console, 1999; Feske, 1998; Lipke, 1999; Spector & Read, 1999).
See Shapiro (1995, 1999) for procedures, protocols, theories, and discussion of clinically valid research criteria . See Shapiro & Forrest (1997) for a comprehensive narrative of cases, and in-session transcripts, and "EMDR for Trauma" in the APA Psychotherapy Videotape series.

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