BackgroundPsychological support was provided by the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Integrative Group Treatment Protocol within the hospitals in the Northern Italy in favor of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of treatment in terms of symptomatology reduction related to peri- and post-traumatic stress; clinical improvement over time; and the maintenance of the achieved outcome over time.MethodsThe population was composed of healthcare workers who spontaneously requested psychological intervention in both the first and the (...) second emergency waves. Statistical analyses were carried out to highlight the differences in Impact of Event-Revised and Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory before and after the group intervention.ResultsIn both the first and the second waves, pre-treatment values are higher than post-treatment values for all dimensions of the IES-R. The results show that there are no significant differences between the first and the second wave with regard to the treatment effect. Healthcare workers maintained positive changes over time despite their prolonged exposure to an emergency and the possibility of retraumatization at the onset of a new emergency phase, irrespective of their working place. Healthcare workers who were treated in the first wave showed at the beginning of the second emergency wave less vulnerability and more resilience than those who were treated only in the second wave.Pre-treatment scores of healthcare workers affected by COVID-19 are discussed.ConclusionCOVID-19 had a significant impact on the well-being of healthcare workers who were working in hospitals. Psychological support in case of emergency is needed. (shrink)

Since the introduction of EMD by Dr. Shapiro in 1987, which led to the development of EMDR Therapy, clinical experiences and research contributed to a variety of protocols and procedures. While this dynamic evolution within EMDR Therapy is offering more options to treat a variety of patients suffering from various disorders, there is a greater risk of deviations from the core framework of this approach that would no longer be understood as EMDR Therapy. While research shows that following Shapiro’s standard (...) protocols and procedural steps is important to achieve positive treatment effects, it seems prudent to define the core elements in EMDR Therapy beyond adherence to the standard protocol given the complexity of clinical demands in a variety of treatment contexts. The author proposes that best practices requires not only an adherence to the fidelity of the model, but a willingness to adapt the model in order to best meet the needs of our clients in a variety of clinical contexts. Defining the core elements that constitute EMDR Therapy offers both a structure that has been well established and offers a foundation from which clinical adaptations can be made that are within the realm of what is widely accepted as EMDR Therapy. Such a structure could also be used to define research as well as clinical applications. Additionally EMDR Therapy as a comprehensive psychotherapy approach implies that the therapeutic relationship is an important component and should be considered a core element of this methodology. (shrink)

Background: Psychological distress is common among patients with cancer, with severe consequences on their quality of life. Anxiety and depression are the most common clinical presentation of psychological distress in cancer patients, but in some cases cancer may represent a traumatic event resulting in posttraumatic stress disorder. Currently, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy is considered an evidence-based treatment for PTSD, but recent studies also showed its effectiveness for anxiety and depression. The aim of the present systematic review is to (...) summarize the current literature on the effect of EMDR on cancer-related psychological distress.Methods: A literature search was conducted for peer-reviewed articles about “EMDR” and “cancer patients” in the following electronic databases: PubMed, MEDLINE, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and Cochrane library.Results: Our search identified 7 studies in which EMDR was used with a total of 140 cancer patients. The psychiatric diagnosis was PTSD in 3 studies. Otherwise, the diagnosis concerned the anxious and depressive disorder spectrum. Overall, EMDR treatment schedules used were highly heterogeneous, with a different number of sessions and a different duration of therapy. However, across all studies analyzed EMDR therapy was judged to be adequate in reducing symptoms of psychological distress in this population.Conclusions: According to the results of our analysis, the level of evidence regarding EMDR efficacy in cancer patients is limited by the scarcity of studies and their low methodological quality. Although better quality research is needed, available data suggest that EMDR could be a promising treatment for psychological distress in patients with cancer. (shrink)

Background: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing [EMDR] is an innovative, evidence-based and effective psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]. As with other psychotherapies, the effectiveness of EMDR contrasts with a limited knowledge of its underlying mechanism of action. In its relatively short life as a therapeutic option, EMDR has not been without controversy, in particular regarding the role of the bilateral stimulation as an active component of the therapy. The high prevalence of EMDR in clinical practice and the dramatic increase (...) in EMDR research in recent years, with more than 26 randomized controlled trials published to date, highlight the need for a better understanding of its mechanism of action. Methods: We conducted a thorough systematic search of studies published until October 2017, using PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Knowledge and Scopus databases that examined the mechanism of action of EMDR or provided conclusions within the framework of current theoretical models of EMDR functioning. Results: Seventy-five studies were selected for review and classified into three overarching models; (i) psychological models (ii) psychophysiological models and (iii) neurobiological models. The evidence available from each study was analysed and discussed. Results demonstrated a reasonable empirical support for the working memory hypothesis and for the physiological changes associated with successful EMDR therapy. Recently, more sophisticated structural and functional neuroimaging studies using high resolution structural and temporal techniques are starting to provide preliminary evidence into the neuronal correlates before, during and after EMDR therapy. Discussion: Despite the increasing number of studies that published in recent years, the research into the mechanisms underlying EDMR therapy are still in its infancy. Studies in well-defined clinical and non-clinical populations, larger sample sizes and tighter methodological control are further needed in order to establish firm conclusions. (shrink)