Reducing posttraumatic stress in parents of patients with a rare inherited metabolic disorder using eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy: A case study
Time-limited EMDR may be a relevant treatment for traumatized parents of children with rare progressive disorders.
Article Abstract
“Parents of children with severe inborn errors of metabolism frequently face stressful events related to the disease of their child and are consequently at high risk for developing parental posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Assessment and subsequent treatment of PTSD in these parents is however not common in clinical practice. PTSD can be effectively treated by Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), however no studies have been conducted yet regarding the effect of EMDR for parental PTSD. EMDR is generally offered in multiple weekly sessions which may preclude participation of parents as they are generally overburdened by the ongoing and often intensive care for their child. Therefore, we offered time-limited EMDR with a maximum of four sessions over two subsequent days to two parents of mucopolysaccharidosis type III (MPS III) patients to explore its potential effects. Both qualitative and quantitative outcomes were used to evaluate treatment effects. Both parents felt more resilient and competent to face future difficulties related to the disease of their child, and no adverse effects were reported. Quantitative outcomes showed a clinically significant decrease in post traumatic stress symptoms and comorbid psychological distress from pre- to post treatment, and these beneficial effects were maintained at follow-up. In conclusion, time-limited EMDR may be a highly relevant treatment for traumatized parents of children with MPS III, and probably also for parents of children with other rare progressive disorders. Further research is needed to validate the efficacy of EMDR in this specific population.”
—Description from publisher
Article Access
Open Access
Conijn, T., Haverman, L., Wijburn, F. A., & de Roos, C. (2021). Reducing posttraumatic stress in parents of patients with a rare inherited metabolic disorder using eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy: A case study. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 16, 126. Open access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-021-01768-7
Date
March 10, 2021
Creator(s)
Thirsa Conijn, Lotte Haverman, Frits A. Wijburg
Contributor(s)
Carlijn De Roos
Topics
PTSD
Client Population
Families/Parents
Extent
6 pages
Publisher
BMC
Rights
© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which
permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the
original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or
other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
APA Citation
Conijn, T., Haverman, L., Wijburn, F. A., & de Roos, C. (2021). Reducing posttraumatic stress in parents of patients with a rare inherited metabolic disorder using eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy: A case study. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 16, 126. Open access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-021-01768-7
Audience
EMDR Therapists, Other Mental Health Professionals
Language
English
Content Type
Article, Peer-Reviewed
Access Type
External Resource, Open Access
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