Psychological myths as therapeutic instructions in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing

Critics of EMDR warn that certain language may lead participants in EMDR trainings to expect more vivid recall without increasing therapist credibility, potentially affecting the therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome.

Article Abstract

“The Dutch protocol for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) uses two psychological myths as part of the therapeutic instruction: memory works as a video camera and individuals can have a photographic memory. This study explored how participants experience and evaluate such instructions and if these instructions affect their beliefs on memory. Participants received a video, photo, or a control instruction. Participants indicated on a visual analog scale how vivid and emotional they expected to recall the traumatic memory, how credible the therapeutic instruction was, and how reliable they would consider a therapist providing such an instruction. Next, participants completed a memory belief survey. Participants who received the video instruction were most likely to expect to vividly recall a memory. The credibility of the instructions and the reliability of the therapist providing the instruction were at chance level, which might pose problems for the therapeutic alliance and therapy outcome.”

—Description from publisher

Article Access

Open Access

Houben, S. T. L., Otgaar, H., & Roelofs, J. (2021). Psychological myths as therapeutic instructions in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. The Journal of Psychology, 155(2), 129-139. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2020.1839374