The Map of EMDR Eight Phases as a Guide

The map of the EMDR eight phases acts as a guide to the goal of EMDR therapy: to “facilitate accelerated information processing” (Shapiro, 2018, p. 83). The understanding upon which EMDR therapy is built is that every person has the natural ability to heal. We all go through difficult situations in life. Often, we are able to ‘process’ the information (images, sights, sounds, feelings, sensations, thoughts) from these events ourselves or with the help of friends and family. To clarify, ‘processing’ in EMDR therapy refers to this natural ability to integrate our emotions, beliefs, and body sensations about an experience. If an experience is ‘processed,’ we can understand that it was a negative experience, but we can also link it to positive or useful information regarding the experience. This positive or useful material could include lessons learned, helpful shifts in feeling and body sensation, remembering how strong we are, relation to past successes, or a realization of how future actions can be guided because of the experience. In other words, ‘processing’ an experience means to make sense of the experience, and also no longer feel disturbed by it.

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The Hidden Repercussions

Mental trauma after an accident can severely limit your ability to resume regular activities. It is normal to experience distress after a car accident, but treatment may be necessary if it is prolonged and interferes with daily functioning. The right support makes recovery from emotional trauma after a car accident attainable.

During a car accident, a series of events can unfold that can cause lasting emotional trauma, including life-altering injuries, the threat of death, and the death of someone else. Emotional trauma is a natural response to such a dramatic chain of events. It is a function of the brain’s complex survival mechanisms. 

Emotional trauma from a car accident should not be viewed as a weakness, but as a type of injury that may require treatment for the best possible outcome, much like any physical injury.

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Background

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) carries a high disease burden worldwide, yet significant barriers exist to providing and accessing treatment for PTSD, particularly in refugee populations and in low- and middle-income countries. There is emerging evidence that self-administered psychological therapies, such as those accessed via online and mobile applications, are efficacious for many mental illnesses and increase access to treatment. Online and mobile applications offering self-help tools for eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, an internationally recommended treatment for PTSD, are already widely distributed to the public.

Aims

To present a commentary evaluating the potential benefits and risks of self-administered EMDR therapy: first, by conducting a search for existing peer-reviewed evidence relating to self-administered EMDR therapy; second, by presenting existing evidence for other self-help psychotherapies and evaluating what additional insight this could provide into the potential efficacy, safety, tolerability and accessibility of self-administered EMDR therapy; and, third, by describing the conflicting views of EMDR experts on the topic.

Method

A search was conducted for articles related to the internet, mobile, book, or computerized self-help EMDR therapy. The following databases were searched systematically: Medline, PsycInfo, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Cochrane Database, and the EMDR Library.

Results

Only one small primary research study was found relating to self-administered EMDR therapy. The results indicated significantly reduced symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, distress and disability between pre-treatment and 3 month follow-up. No serious adverse events were reported. However, substantial methodological issues were discovered.

Conclusions

There is evidence that self-administered psychotherapies, in general, can be safe, effective and highly accessible. However, controversies persist regarding the safety and potential efficacy of self-administered EMDR therapy, and more robust research is needed. It is vital that methods are found to improve worldwide access to effective PTSD treatment, particularly given the current scale of migration to flee civil unrest.

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