title: Pediatric seizure-related posttraumatic stress and anxiety symptoms treated with EMDR: a case series.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the potential effects of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in children with epilepsy-related posttraumatic stress and/or anxiety symptoms, using a case series design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five children (aged 8-18) with epilepsy identified for seizure-related posttraumatic stress and/or anxiety symptoms were treated with EMDR. To examine potential treatment effects, posttraumatic stress and anxiety symptoms were assessed (CRTI and SCARED) pre- and post-EMDR and at 3-month follow-up. Normative deviation scores were calculated to examine the severity of seizure-related posttraumatic stress and anxiety symptoms over time. The reliable change index was calculated for pre- to posttreatment change of seizure-related posttraumatic stress and/or anxiety symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before EMDR, overall or subscale scores indicated that all children had (sub)clinical seizure-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and/or anxiety symptoms. Directly after EMDR, most children showed significant and/or clinical individual improvement, and these beneficial effects were maintained or reached at follow-up. The mean number of sessions was 2 (range 1-3, 45 min per session).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In case of seizure-related posttraumatic stress and/or anxiety, this study indicates that EMDR is a potentially successful quick and safe psychological treatment for children with epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Kristal, Centre for Psychiatry and Intellectual Disability, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elmedina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dautovic
authors.affiliation: Psycho-trauma Center for Children and Youth, Rivierduinen, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Carlijn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Roos
authors.affiliation: Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Yanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: van Rood
authors.affiliation: Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland (SEIN), Heemstede, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dommerholt
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland (SEIN), Heemstede, The Netherlands; H.R.Rodenburg@uva.nl.
authors.forename: Roos
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodenburg
keywords: Children; EMDR; anxiety; epilepsy; trauma