Abstract
Psychological trauma is a silent epidemic which presents as a global public health issue, often in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is an empirically supported treatment intervention for PTSD and has been used as part of trauma-capacity building, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). For some survivor’s, their trauma experiences cannot be spoken of: they may be alluded to, suggested and though not directly expressed. There are several factors as to why these implicit trauma experiences are ‘unspoken’, for example, when the trauma involves a deep-rooted sense of shame or guilt, a distorted sense of over-responsibility or when to speak of the trauma engenders fear of retribution, reprisal and consequence. This paper will explore the effectiveness of using two protocol variations of EMDR Therapy—standard versus a ‘Blind 2 Therapist’ protocol version as part of a quasi-experimental study which took place in Northern Iraq. The study contains two projects and subsequently tested several hypotheses regarding safety, effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the ‘Blind 2 Therapist’ protocol within EMDR Therapy. Results indicated support for the B2T protocol intervention with various trauma populations including Yezidi survivors of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)—also known as Daesh.
Highlights
Emotional responses to an extreme event such as a serious accident, rape or natural disaster can include shock, denial, unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical symptoms, for example, headaches, pain or nausea (Courtois and Ford 2009; Tol et al 2013)
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy has been extensively researched, with proven effectiveness in the treatment of a wide range of symptoms due to adverse life experiences (Shapiro 2016, 2018). It utilises a theoretical framework known as adaptive information processing (AIP)—a meta-theory that focusses on pathogenic memories—the origin of many psychiatric symptoms relating to the formation and consolidation of implicit dysfunctional memories (Centonze et al 2005; Hase et al 2017)
During the posttreatment debrief sessions, research participants confirmed that both Standard Protocol (SP) and Blind 2 Therapist (B2T) were ‘well-tolerated’ and proved their utility in accessing and activating the disturbing memory, which was being targeted for trauma processing
Summary
Emotional responses to an extreme event such as a serious accident, rape or natural disaster can include shock, denial, unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical symptoms, for example, headaches, pain or nausea (Courtois and Ford 2009; Tol et al 2013). One of the ‘strongly recommended’ treatments for PTSD is Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy (WHO 2013), a trans-diagnostic, integrative psychotherapy approach, which is intrinsically client-centred at Farrell et al Journal of International Humanitarian Action its core (Farrell 2016a, 2018). EMDR Therapy has been extensively researched, with proven effectiveness in the treatment of a wide range of symptoms due to adverse life experiences (Shapiro 2016, 2018). It utilises a theoretical framework known as adaptive information processing (AIP)—a meta-theory that focusses on pathogenic memories—the origin of many psychiatric symptoms relating to the formation and consolidation of implicit dysfunctional memories (Centonze et al 2005; Hase et al 2017).
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