EMDR | Research Spotlight

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy Compared to Usual Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults With Psychosis in Forensic Settings: Randomized Controlled Trial

This study investigated the impact of EMDR for people with PTSD and psychotic disorders in forensic institutions (e.g., forensic inpatient facilities or prison).

They found that participants who had taken part in 6 months (8 sessions) of EMDR their PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms and overall disability decreased and self-esteem increased compared to participants in the control group.

These findings are particularly important because people with psychotic disorders are often excluded from other PTSD therapies so EMDR may provide a more accessible treatment option to this population. Group based EMDR could also be a very helpful therapy in forensic settings because it does not require people to share their trauma with others and strong verbal skills are not needed.

One limitation of the study was that it had a small sample size with just 24 participants so it would be good for future research to replicate this with a larger sample. Also, the study only provided 8 sessions of EMDR but most participants had multiple traumatic experiences so 8 sessions was probably not enough for some people.
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Overall, the study supports that EMDR can be a safe and effective therapy for PTSD among people with psychotic illnesses in forensic mental health services.