Is EMDR validated or placebo?
jadamgo
23 Mar 2013
According to the evidence, it does work... but not because of the eye movement. Most psychological scientists and neuroscientists don't believe the eye movement has any special effects on cognitive or affective reprocessing of traumatic memories.
EMDR is actually just another form of exposure-based desensitization. The only thing that separates it from regular old exposure therapy is the addition of the distracting eye movement task. It divides attention between the task and the traumatic memory, which seems to make it a bit easier to go through the process. But that same effect would appear with any distracting task, such as pausing to do deep breathing periodically during the exposure, or writing the memories down instead of talking them out. Anything that helps you get a little de-fusion from the memory, and keeps you from getting trapped and enmeshed in the pathological process of re-experiencing/re-living it.
EMDR just isn't the massive breakthrough its proponents would have you believe -- the biggest recent advances in trauma therapy are cognitive reprocessing and mindfulness training.
Edited by jadamgo, 23 March 2013 - 01:26 AM.
EMDR is actually just another form of exposure-based desensitization. The only thing that separates it from regular old exposure therapy is the addition of the distracting eye movement task. It divides attention between the task and the traumatic memory, which seems to make it a bit easier to go through the process. But that same effect would appear with any distracting task, such as pausing to do deep breathing periodically during the exposure, or writing the memories down instead of talking them out. Anything that helps you get a little de-fusion from the memory, and keeps you from getting trapped and enmeshed in the pathological process of re-experiencing/re-living it.
EMDR just isn't the massive breakthrough its proponents would have you believe -- the biggest recent advances in trauma therapy are cognitive reprocessing and mindfulness training.
Edited by jadamgo, 23 March 2013 - 01:26 AM.
