title: Using EMDR to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in a prison setting.
abstract: This article describes the treatment of a young man who developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the sudden unexpected miscarriage of his unborn child. He was diagnosed with this anxiety disorder while serving a term of imprisonment. He was treated with a controversial psychological treatment for PTSD, eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, during one, 1-hour session. After this session, his progress was monitored by a further three follow-up appointments at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months, where the self-report questionnaires were repeated and compared with pre-treatment scores. These demonstrated improvement post-treatment and at a 3-month follow-up session. The discussion arising from the treatment will concentrate on EMDR as an effective treatment for PTSD, particularly within a prison setting. Data from recent research highlight the potential risks of PTSD within a community population and the implications for midwives and nurses who treat and care for traumatized patients are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Kitchiner
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D003887:Desensitization, Psychologic / Q000379:methods*; D005133:Eye Movements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*