EMDR therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in the context of social care

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) terapija predstavlja modernu vrstu terapije koju je osmislila Francine Shapiro. EMDR se temelji na bilateralnim pokretima, te se putem njih pokreće fiziološko stanje u korisniku u kojem je olakšana obrada i procesuiranje neprilagođeno pohranjenih informacija. Ova se vrsta terapije najčešće koristi za tretiranje posttraumatskog stresnog poremećaja, no može se koristiti i u liječenju drugih poremećaja. Dokazano je da EMDR terapija značajno smanjuje simptome PTSP-a. Pronađeno je kako bilateralna stimulacija pomaže u pristupanju traumatskim sjećanjima, kao i da je prisjećanje manje neugodno. U usporedbi s ostalim vrstama psihoterapije u nekim se istraživanjima EMDR pokazala kao veoma uspješna, no u drugim je istraživanjima imala iste ili manje rezultate kao ostale vrste psihoterapije. Također, neki istraživači smatraju kako EMDR nije dovoljno znanstveno utemeljena. Uz dokazanu djelotvornost, EMDR terapija mogla bi se koristiti i u kontekstu socijalne skrbi kod različitih grupa korisnika (branitelji, osobe koje prolaze kroz razvod, djeca bez odgovarajuće roditeljske skrbi, adolescenti ili mlađe punoljetne osobe s problemima u ponašanju, osobe koje su žrtve obiteljskog ili drugog oblika nasilja i osobe nižeg socioekonomskog statusa). Zbog kratkoće tretmana EMDR terapija je ekonomična, a istraživanja su pokazala kako je učinkovita te da proizvodi pozitivne dugoročne učinke kod korisnika. Potrebno je provesti istraživanja u hrvatskom sustavu socijalne skrbi kako bi se utvrdilo postoji li opravdana potreba za provođenje EMDR terapije i na koji način korisnici reagiraju na nju.Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a modern type of therapy developed by Francine Shapiro. EMDR is based on bilateral movements, and through them a physiological state is triggered in the user in which the processing and processing of inappropriately stored information is facilitated. This type of therapy is most often used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, but it can also be used in the treatment of other disorders. EMDR therapy has been proven to significantly reduce PTSD symptoms. It has been found that bilateral stimulation helps in accessing traumatic memories and that the recall is less unpleasant. Compared to other types of psychotherapy, EMDR has been shown to be very successful in some studies, but in other studies it has had the same or lower results than other types of psychotherapy. Also, some researchers believe that EMDR is not sufficiently scientifically based. In addition to its proven effectiveness, EMDR therapy could also be used in the context of social care with different groups of users (veterans, people going through a divorce, children without adequate parental care, adolescents or younger adults with behavioral problems, people who are victims of family or other forms of violence and persons of lower socioeconomic status). Due to the short duration of the treatment, EMDR therapy is economical, and studies have shown that it is effective and produces positive long-term effects in users. It is necessary to conduct research in the Croatian social welfare system in order to determine whether there is a justified need for EMDR therapy and how users react to it