© 2002 Evidence-Based Mental Health
Therapeutics
Review: eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing is not better than exposure therapies for anxiety or trauma
Davidson PR, Parker KC. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): a meta-analysis. J Consult Clin Psychol 2001 Apr;69:305–16[Medline]
QUESTION: Is eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) effective for trauma or anxiety? Do the presence of eye movements, therapist training, or disorder influence effectiveness?
Studies were identified by searching PsycINFO and Medline (1988 to April 2000) and Current Contents (1997 to March 2000) and by scanning reference lists.
Published studies were selected if they reported a clear unconfounded examination of the effect of EMDR in treatment experiments. Articles given only at conferences were excluded.
Data were extracted on the intervention, type of control, type of population, type of measure, and outcomes. Median effect sizes were calculated; only data collected immediately after treatment were used.
34 studies were included (33 randomised controlled trials). Studies were categorised according to type of outcome measure or comparison. Outcome categories were psychometric measures of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other psychometric measures, physiological measures, behavioural measures (including behavioural avoidance), and other measures. Comparison categories were no treatment, in vivo exposure or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), exposure—not in vivo, eyes fixed desensitisation reprocessing movements, other dismantling designs (EMDR procedures were
Institute of Psychiatry London, UK
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
