An orienting response model of eye movement desensitization

Theoretical proposals evaluating the orienting response (OR) as a mechanism of action for EMDR therapy circa 1996.

Article Abstract

“Dyck’s (Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 1993) conditioning model of EMD provides a useful description of failure of habituation in post-traumatic stress disorder, but may not account for some common EMD phenomena. An alternative model proposes that the therapist’s waving hand — in the presence of a trauma-related cortical set — triggers an intense orienting response (OR). Intrinsic effects of the OR facilitate continuing attention to the memory without avoidance, and provide for effective input of new trauma-related information. The person’s neuronal model of the trauma alters to reflect his survival and current safety — as true outcome of the trauma — and associated conditioned responses extinguish. Proposals for experimental evaluation of the model are described.”

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Armstrong, M. S., & Vaughan, K. (1996). An orienting response model of eye movement desensitization. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 27(1), 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7916(95)00056-9