EMDR in the Treatment of Pain – Underlying Concepts and Current Evidence

The lecture outlines the use of EMDR in the treatment of chronic pain. In the context of this lecture, we will first address the question of how emotional stress and psychological trauma lead to physical pain, before dealing with the specificities of EMDR in the treatment of chronic pain conditions. Minor modifications of the standard EMDR protocol will be discussed that allow the processing of pain, pain-related illness anxiety, and pain catastrophizing thoughts. At the end of the lecture, a profound overview of the current scientific evidence for the use of EMDR in pain therapy will be given.