The effects of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) integrated into executive coaching are reported in 4 case studies illustrating varied job titles and industries. Participants received 1-10 hr of coaching in which EMDR was used to desensitize an upsetting event that had impaired their performance at work. Outcomes indicated that EMDR desensitized the disturbing incident and that participants shifted their negative view to a more positive one. Work performance was restored or enhanced. In the 4th case EMDR appeared to decrease anxiety about job interviewing and the participant reported a satisfactory result. Findings suggest that EMDR is a promising adjunct to coaching for workplace performance enhancement.This article was originally presented at the Division 13 meeting convened at the 104th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Toronto in August 1996.Sandra Foster is a performance enhancement psychologist and executive coach and serves as a consulting faculty member at Stanford University. Jennifer Lendl is a sports psychologist in San Jose, California.

vention is the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) method, developed by Francine Shapiro in 1987. EMDR was introduced and first studied as a rapid treatment for anxiety and traumatic stress. In the first empirical study of EMDR (Shapiro, 1989), victims of sexual assault and Vietnam combat veterans experienced a significant decrease in distressing symptoms-flashbacks, ruminating, sleep disturbances, and uncomfortable physiological arousal-after a single clinical session. Moreover (and relevant to consulting), the participants also described a perceptual shift: the reprocessing component of EMDR. The participants found that they could stop blaming themselves for the traumatic incidents and that they could come to terms with what had happened and move on with their lives, which they did, as indicated by follow-up reports. Replications of Shapiro's (1989) initial investigation indicated that EMDR was more effective than other treatments in alleviating symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Boudewyns, Hyer,

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