Managing traumatic symptoms among adults by using EMDR therapy: An experimental study of within-treatment change

This study examined trauma symptom change across an eight-session EMDR protocol among 40 Pakistani adults with clinically significant trauma symptoms, and tested whether this change was moderated by participant age group.

Article Abstract

“Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively validated trauma treatment, yet the shape and consistency of within-treatment symptom change, and whether this change is moderated by participant age, remain underexamined using growth curve methodology. This study examined trauma symptom change across an eight-session EMDR protocol among 40 Pakistani adults with clinically significant trauma symptoms, and tested whether this change was moderated by participant age group. Participants completed the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40) at five occasions (T1 baseline through T5 three-month follow-up). Repeatedmeasures multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant multivariate effect of time across the six TSC-40 symptom domains, Wilks’ Λ = .500, F(24, 629.16) = 5.76, p < .001, with significant univariate declines for all seven outcomes (Total Traumatic Symptoms and six subscales; all p < .001, η² = .127 to .452). Linear mixed-effects growth curve models confirmed significant linear decline for every outcome (e.g., Total Traumatic Symptoms: B = -5.17, SE = 0.53, t = -9.85, p < .001), with retention of 90% at three-month follow-up. Neither the main effect of age group nor the Time × Age Group interaction reached significance for any outcome, and post hoc pairwise comparisons of age-group slopes were uniformly non-significant, indicating that symptom decline during treatment was consistent across the 18-to-65 adult age range. These findings demonstrate that EMDR produces robust, statistically significant, and ageinvariant trauma symptom reduction across the course of treatment, supporting its applicability as a uniform protocol.”

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Article Access

Open Access

Maqbool, R., & Khan, A. A. (2026). Managing traumatic symptoms among adults by using EMDR therapy: An experimental study of within-treatment change.  Journal for Social Science Studies, 4(5), 398-422. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22828497(opens in new tab)