EMDR for Syrian refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: Results of a pilot randomized controlled trial
This pilot RCT indicated that EMDR may be effective in reducing PTSD and depression symptoms among Syrian refugees located in a camp.
Article Abstract
“Background: The most common mental health problems among refugees are depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an effective treatment for PTSD. However, no previous randomized controlled trial (RCT) has been published on treating PTSD symptoms in a refugee camp population.
Objective: Examining the effect of EMDR to reduce the PTSD and depression symptoms compared to a wait-list condition among Syrian refugees.
Method: Twenty-nine adult participants with PTSD symptoms were randomly allocated to either EMDR sessions (n=15) or wait-list control (n=14). The main outcome measures were Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) at posttreatment and 4-week follow-up.
Results: Analysis of covariance showed that the EMDR group had significantly lower trauma scores at posttreatment as compared with the wait-list group (d=1.78, 95% CI: 0.92–2.64). The EMDR group also had a lower depression score after treatment as compared with the wait-list group (d=1.14, 95% CI: 0.35–1.92).
Conclusion: The pilot RCT indicated that EMDR may be effective in reducing PTSD and depression symptoms among Syrian refugees located in a camp. Larger RCTs to verify the (cost-) effectiveness of EMDR in similar populations are needed.”
—Description from publisher
Article Access
Open Access
Acarturk, C., Konuk, E., Cetinkaya, M., Senay, I., Sijbrandij, M., Cuijpers, P., & Aker, T. (2015). EMDR for Syrian refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: Results of a pilot randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 6:27414. Open access: https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v6.27414
About the Journal
“The European Journal of Psychotraumatology publishes research on how to understand, prevent and treat the consequences of stress, trauma and violence.”
—Description from publisher
Date
May 18, 2015
Creator(s)
Ceren Acarturk, Emre Konuk, Mustafa Cetinkaya
Contributor(s)
Ibrahim Senay, Marit Sijbrandij, Pim Cuijpers, Tamer Aker
Topics
PTSD
Client Population
Immigrants/Refugees
Practice & Methods
EMDR Early Intervention
Extent
9 pages
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Rights
© 2015 Ceren Acarturk et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that you indicate if changes were made.
APA Citation
Acarturk, C., Konuk, E., Cetinkaya, M., Senay, I., Sijbrandij, M., Cuijpers, P., & Aker, T. (2015). EMDR for Syrian refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: Results of a pilot randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 6:27414. Open access: https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v6.27414
Audience
EMDR Therapists, Other Mental Health Professionals
Language
English
Content Type
Article, Peer-Reviewed, RCT
Access Type
External Resource, Open Access
