title: A controlled study of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disordered sexual assault victims.
abstract: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a new method developed to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study evaluated the efficacy of EMDR compared to a no-treatment wait-list control in the treatment of PTSD in adult female sexual assault victims. Twenty-one subjects were entered, and 18 completed. Treatment was delivered in four weekly individual sessions. Assessments were conducted pre- and posttreatment and 3 months following treatment termination by an independent assessor kept blind to treatment condition. Measures included standard clinician- and self-administered PTSD and related psychopathology scales. Results indicated that subjects treated with EMDR improved significantly more on PTSD and depression from pre- to posttreatment than control subjects, leading to the conclusion that EMDR was effective in alleviating PTSD in this study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Emory Clinic, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. brothba@emory.edu
authors.forename: B O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Rothbaum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D003887:Desensitization, Psychologic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome