Treatment of Psychosomatic Disorders – Psychotherapy with Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, 2019, Schubbe

[Andy]

Most definitely not a recommendation.

Abstract. Dysfunctional stored memory information is a possible cause of psychosomatic disorders. EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is based on the Adaptive Information Processing Model. This psychotherapeutic approach can be used to treat psychosomatic disorders to activate the pathogenic information and convert it from a dysfunctional to an adaptive state. EMDR has been scientifically proven for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorders, while the treatment of psychosomatic disorders is a new field of application. Recently, studies have documented the effectiveness of EMDR with migraine headaches, skin diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain syndrome, and phantom limb pain.

Paywall, https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/abs/10.1024/0040-5930/a001092
Not available via Scihub but probably no loss to anyone.

 

[Trish]

I've had a quick look at some papers on this. For example this systematic review abstract which says:

However, no significant effect was found when EMDR was compared with other exposure techniques. No incremental effect of eye movements was noted when EMDR was compared with the same procedure without them.

 

[JemPD]

That's interesting @Trish especially since EMDR is NICE approved for treatment of PTSD I believe.

 

[Anna H]

OMG! They just won't give up, will they?
This is some serious nonsense and honestly quite disturbing!

But it also concerns me - EMDR is not a treatment to be taken lightly, even if used for the appropriate conditions, like PTSD.
It can very easily lead to retraumatization instead of healing, even if administered by a skilled professional.

I have no idea what harm it can do in other conditions, but EMDR is not your usual talk therapy and can have very powerful effects, trying to apply it to all sorts of ailments like this is in my opinion not only unscientific but very reckless.

For full disclosure, I have gone through EMDR-treatments myself many years ago, for PTSD, and while it helped at times it also had detrimental effects. Lately I've learned that this is not uncommon.

 

[rvallee]

This psychotherapeutic approach can be used to treat psychosomatic disorders to activate the pathogenic information and convert it from a dysfunctional to an adaptive state.

That sounds like "cognitive" homeopathy. What complete trash.

I really dislike this magical psychology thing. It is extremely silly.

 

[large donner]

OMG! They just won't give up, will they?
This is some serious nonsense and honestly quite disturbing!

But it also concerns me - EMDR is not a treatment to be taken lightly, even if used for the appropriate conditions, like PTSD.
It can very easily lead to retraumatization instead of healing, even if administered by a skilled professional.

I have no idea what harm it can do in other conditions, but EMDR is not your usual talk therapy and can have very powerful effects, trying to apply it to all sorts of ailments like this is in my opinion not only unscientific but very reckless.

For full disclosure, I have gone through EMDR-treatments myself many years ago, for PTSD, and while it helped at times it also had detrimental effects. Lately I've learned that this is not uncommon.

The latest one is virtual reality PTSD (3MDR) treatment in soldiers etc wherby they make them stand on a treadmill in front of a big screen which shows them videos of old war zones they have been in for example.

The claim is that walking towards the memories reduces the symptoms.

It was covered by BBC news the other day.

Video news article included below...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49880915

The treatment, known as 3MDR, was led by Prof Jon Bisson from Cardiff University.

He said: "We are helping individuals to overcome the avoidance, by walking towards the picture on a treadmill it's very difficult to avoid and we know that we have to get rid of the avoidance to help an individual to process their traumatic memory."

Prof Bisson said the trial is the first of its kind in the UK, with similar trials taking place in the Netherlands, United States and Israel.

Two thirds of those who took part in the trial saw an average improvement in their symptoms of 37% and Prof Bisson said the next step would be to widen the trial to other PTSD patients and not just military personnel.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49880915

 

[EzzieD]

But it also concerns me - EMDR is not a treatment to be taken lightly, even if used for the appropriate conditions, like PTSD.
It can very easily lead to retraumatization instead of healing, even if administered by a skilled professional.

I have no idea what harm it can do in other conditions, but EMDR is not your usual talk therapy and can have very powerful effects, trying to apply it to all sorts of ailments like this is in my opinion not only unscientific but very reckless.

For full disclosure, I have gone through EMDR-treatments myself many years ago, for PTSD, and while it helped at times it also had detrimental effects. Lately I've learned that this is not uncommon.

It's disheartening to hear that it can have detrimental effects in PTSD. In the 1990s soon after EMDR was conceived, I worked for an NHS Consultant Clinical Psychologist who was one of the first UK-trained EMDR practitioners (trained personally by the therapy's developer, Francine Shapiro). He was quite keen on it, finding it remarkably helpful for his PTSD patients. I typed many patient reports for him, all fascinating success accounts and it was all very exciting at the time. We didn't find any detrimental effects and it all seemed very positive.

I left that job a year or so later and didn't keep track of what's happened with the use of EMDR after that, but am very surprised it would be now thought appropriate treatment for migraine headaches (i would have thought if anything, it would make migraine worse!), skin diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain syndrome, and phantom limb pain, that just sounds completely bizarre and nonsensical. But I guess nothing that's happening in psychology nowadays should surprise me any more....

 

[Anna H]

It can indeed be very helpful, but PTSD can result from very differing circumstances and while it might be the appropriate treatment for, say an adult having experienced a single traumatic event, it's perhaps not the best choice for someone suffering from PTSD because of traumatic childhood experiences. In those cases other forms of treatment are usually more suitable and effective.

So while EMDR has the potential to alleviate trauma-related issues it also has the potential to harm, eg. retraumatize. I know of quite a lot of people who have experienced harm.

But I can't see any place for it in treating migraine, skin diseases etc. That's just absurd!

Edit:spelling

 

[EzzieD]

It can indeed be very helpful, but PTSD can result from very differing circumstances and while it might be appropriate treatment for say an adult having experienced a single traumatic event, it's perhaps not the best choice for someone suffering PTSD because of traumatic childhood experiences. In those cases other forms of treatment are usually more suitable and effective.

So while EMDR has the potential to alleviate trauma-related issues it also has the potential to harm, eg. retraumatize. I know quite a lot of people who experienced harm.

But I can't see any place for it in treating migraine, skin diseases etc. That's just absurd!

Yes, my boss was only using it to treat adults who had suffered a traumatic event in adulthood. I guess I can see how it could be problematic for treating childhood traumas, probably a much more sensitive and unpredictable situation. And yes, using it for migraine, skin diseases etc is downright absurd!