EMDR and standard psychotherapy for paediatric cancer patients and their families: A pilot study
This article compares EMDR with standard psychotherapy for PTSD in pediatric oncology patients early in cancer treatment.
Article Abstract
“Introduction: This study examined the efficacy of eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy compared with standard psychotherapy (SP) in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in paediatric oncology patients and their families in the early stage of cancer treatment. The secondary aim of this study was to assess whether EMDR therapy has a different impact on post-traumatic growth compared to SP.
Methods: Forty patients were randomly assigned to EMDR or SP groups. The Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) and the Distress Thermometer (DT) were used to assess PTSD symptoms at pre-treatment (at cancer diagnosis) and in the post-treatment stages (after 8 sessions). The Post-traumatic Growth Inventory-PTGI was administered in the post-treatment stage in order to evaluate positive changes.
Results: Both EMDR and SP are effective in reducing PTSD, but EMDR was significantly more effective than the SP in reducing scores on the IES-R, especially regarding the intrusive symptom subscale. Also, in the EMDR group there were higher scores of PTGI than in the standard group.
Conclusion: EMDR thus represents a promising treatment in the paediatric psycho-oncology setting.”
—Description from publisher
Article Access
Open Access
Zucchetti, G., Ciappina, S., Roccia, E., Concas, D., Giordano, M., Battaglini, C., Geuna, T., Peirolo, C., Faretta, E., Fernandez, I., Quarello, P., & Fagioli, F. (2024). EMDR and standard psychotherapy for paediatric cancer patients and their families: A pilot study. Frontiers in Psychology, 15: 1407985. Open access: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1407985
About the Journal
“Frontiers in Psychology is a multidisciplinary journal that publishes advances in psychological research.”
—Description from publisher
Date
July 8, 2024
Creator(s)
Giulia Zucchetti, Sabrina Ciappina, Elvia Roccia
Contributor(s)
Deborah Concas, Mario Giordano, Chiara Battaglini, Tiziana Geuna, Claudia Peirolo, Elisa Faretta, Isabel Fernandez, Paola Quarello1, Franca Fagioli
Topics
Cancer, PTSD
Client Population
Adolescents, Children
Extent
6 pages
Publisher
Frontiers
Rights
© 2024 Zucchetti, Ciappina, Roccia, Concas, Giordano, Battaglini, Geuna, Peirolo, Faretta, Fernandez, Quarello and Fagioli. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). T
APA Citation
Zucchetti, G., Ciappina, S., Roccia, E., Concas, D., Giordano, M., Battaglini, C., Geuna, T., Peirolo, C., Faretta, E., Fernandez, I., Quarello, P., & Fagioli, F. (2024). EMDR and standard psychotherapy for paediatric cancer patients and their families: A pilot study. Frontiers in Psychology, 15: 1407985. Open access: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1407985
Audience
EMDR Therapists, Other Mental Health Professionals
Language
English
Content Type
Article, Peer-Reviewed, RCT
Access Type
External Resource, Open Access