The relative efficacy and treatment distress of EMDR and a cognitive-behavior trauma treatment protocol in the amelioration of posttraumatic stress disorder

The present research compared EMDR and a CBT variant for PTSD, via a controlled clinical study using therapists trained in both procedures.

Article Abstract

“The growing body of research into treatment efficacy with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has, by-and-large, been limited to evaluating treatment components or comparing a specific treatment against wait-list controls. This has led to two forms of treatment, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT), vying for supremacy without a controlled study actually comparing them. The present research compared EMDR and a CBT variant (Trauma Treatment Protocol; TTP) in the treatment of PTSD, via a controlled clinical study using therapists trained in both procedures. It was found that TTP was both statistically and clinically more effective in reducing pathology related to PTSD and that this superiority was maintained and, in fact, became more evident by 3-month follow-up. These results are discussed in terms of past research. Directions for future research are suggested.”

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Devilly, G. J., & Spence, S. H. (1999). The relative efficacy and treatment distress of EMDR and a cognitive-behavior trauma treatment protocol in the amelioration of posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 13(1-2), 131-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0887-6185(98)00044-9

About the Journal

“Journal of Anxiety Disorders is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes research papers dealing with all aspects of anxiety disorders for all age groups (child, adolescent, adult and geriatric).”

—Description from publisher