Randomized Trial on the Effects of a Group EMDR Intervention on Narrative Complexity and Specificity of Autobiographical Memories: A Path Analytic and Supervised Machine-Learning Study

Abstract

Narratives of autobiographical memories may be impaired by adverse childhood experiences, generating narrative fragmentation and increased levels of perceived distress. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) proved to be an effective treatment to overcome traumatic experiences and to promote coherent autobiographical narratives. However, the specific mechanisms by which EMDR promotes narrative coherence remains largely unknown. We conducted a randomized controlled pilot trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT05319002) in a non-clinical sample of 27 children recruited in a primary school. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent a three-week group EMDR intervention. Subjective unit of distress (SUD), validity of cognition (VoC), classification of autobiographical memories, narrative complexity and specificity were assessed before and after the group EMDR intervention. The group EMDR intervention was able to improve SUD and VoC scales, narrative complexity and specificity, and promoted the classification of autobiographical memories as relational. The path analysis showed that SUD was able to predict VoC and narrative specificity, which, in turn, was able to predict both narrative complexity and the classification of autobiographical memories as relational. Machine-learning analysis showed that random tree classifier outperformed all other models by achieving a 93.33% accuracy. Clinical implications are discussed.

Adverse childhood experiences growing up in East or West Germany or abroad

“…This aspect can be of great importance for preventing child abuse and neglect as well as for the treatment, e.g., psychotherapeutic support of the mother. A large body of research confirms the effectiveness of various interventions regarding adverse childhood experiences at individual and family levels ( 59 , 60 ). However, it can be assumed that prevention interventions focusing on social-political risk factors would significantly affect the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences.…”

Psychological Treatment Variant With Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: A Case Report

“…EMDR treatment is a valid alternative for any type of traumatic experience, promoting the reprocessing of the event and restructuring the experiences. 18 In this case, the desensitization process produced a connection with positive events to later change the negative emotional charge of traumatic events without the need to directly expose the traumatic event as established by the traditional protocol, which is absolutely atypical. In conclusion, it is necessary to establish more research on possible variants in complex cases and where the execution of the standard protocol is inefficient.…”

Association of childhood maltreatment with adult body awareness and autonomic reactivity: The moderating effect of practicing body psychotherapy.

“…Maladaptive profiles of the ANS have been shown to relate to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Chalmers et al, 2014; Sahar et al, 2001), cardiorespiratory, and gastrointestinal issues (Pacella et al, 2013). Empirical data shows that the exposure to traumatic events (direct or indirect, like learning or witnessing in person what happens to others), such as actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)—affect the body and hinder the ability to cognitively process and verbally communicate the traumatic event (Van der Kolk, 2014), especially if an event overwhelms a person’s ability to cope making fight/flight strategies ineffective, which determines trauma vulnerability (Poli et al, 2022; Van der Kolk et al, 2007). Thus, body psychotherapy (BPT) offers a promising approach working directly with processing somatic reactions and modulating dysregulated arousal (Langmuir et al, 2012; Ogden & Minton, 2000; Payne et al, 2015).…”