Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing for Adolescents with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A rapid review of randomized control trials

Adolescence is one of the most complex and dynamic periods of human development. Neurobiologically, adolescents, compared to pre-adolescents, experience changes in dopamine and oxytocin systems resulting in behavioral changes in sensation and risk-seeking. Physical growth spurts and sexual maturation (puberty) occur. Cognitively, adolescents become more abstract in their thinking; their emotions may intensify, and socially, they orient more toward their peers than primary caregivers as they develop independence and a changing sense of identity (Nakkula & Toshalis, 2020). Despite studies looking at trauma-related brain changes in young children, there is a paucity of information on the implications of trauma occurring in adolescence and its consequences for later life (Dun et al. 2017). As such, traumatic events which impact brain biology in adolescents require special consideration alongside the implications of treatment for adolescents.

Learn more in this article from the Summer 2022 issue EMDR Therapy and Challenging Teenagers of Go With That Magazine by Professor Ian Barron and Susan Darker-Smith.

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