TY - JOUR
T1 - EMDR v. other psychological therapies for PTSD
T2 - A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis
AU - Wright, Simonne Lesley
AU - Karyotaki, Eirini
AU - Cuijpers, Pim
AU - Bisson, Jonathan
AU - Papola, Davide
AU - Witteveen, Anke
AU - Suliman, Sharain
AU - Spies, Georgina
AU - Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh
AU - Capezzani, Liuva
AU - Carletto, Sara
AU - Karatzias, Thanos
AU - Kullack, Claire
AU - Laugharne, Jonathan
AU - Lee, Christopher William
AU - Nijdam, Mirjam J.
AU - Olff, Miranda
AU - Ostacoli, Luca
AU - Seedat, Soraya
AU - Sijbrandij, Marit
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright 2024 © The Author(s). Published by Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2024/6/1
Y1 - 2024/6/1
N2 - Background This systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) examined the overall effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, achieving response and remission, and reducing treatment dropout among adults with PTSD compared to other psychological treatments. Additionally, we examined available participant-level moderators of the efficacy of EMDR. Methods This study included randomized controlled trials. Eligible studies were identified by a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, PsyclNFO, PTSDpubs, and CENTRAL. The target population was adults with above-threshold baseline PTSD symptoms. Trials were eligible if at least 70% of study participants had been diagnosed with PTSD using a structured clinical interview. Primary outcomes included PTSD symptom severity, treatment response, and PTSD remission. Treatment dropout was a secondary outcome. The systematic search retrieved 15 eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs); 8 of these 15 were able to be included in this IPDMA (346 patients). Comparator treatments included relaxation therapy, emotional freedom technique, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral psychotherapies, and REM-desensitization. Results One-stage IPDMA found no significant difference between EMDR and other psychological treatments in reducing PTSD symptom severity (β = -0.24), achieving response (β = 0.86), attaining remission (β = 1.05), or reducing treatment dropout rates (β = -0.25). Moderator analyses found unemployed participants receiving EMDR had higher PTSD symptom severity at the post-test, and males were more likely to drop out of EMDR treatment than females. Conclusion The current study found no significant difference between EMDR and other psychological treatments. We found some indication of the moderating effects of gender and employment status.
AB - Background This systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) examined the overall effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, achieving response and remission, and reducing treatment dropout among adults with PTSD compared to other psychological treatments. Additionally, we examined available participant-level moderators of the efficacy of EMDR. Methods This study included randomized controlled trials. Eligible studies were identified by a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, PsyclNFO, PTSDpubs, and CENTRAL. The target population was adults with above-threshold baseline PTSD symptoms. Trials were eligible if at least 70% of study participants had been diagnosed with PTSD using a structured clinical interview. Primary outcomes included PTSD symptom severity, treatment response, and PTSD remission. Treatment dropout was a secondary outcome. The systematic search retrieved 15 eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs); 8 of these 15 were able to be included in this IPDMA (346 patients). Comparator treatments included relaxation therapy, emotional freedom technique, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral psychotherapies, and REM-desensitization. Results One-stage IPDMA found no significant difference between EMDR and other psychological treatments in reducing PTSD symptom severity (β = -0.24), achieving response (β = 0.86), attaining remission (β = 1.05), or reducing treatment dropout rates (β = -0.25). Moderator analyses found unemployed participants receiving EMDR had higher PTSD symptom severity at the post-test, and males were more likely to drop out of EMDR treatment than females. Conclusion The current study found no significant difference between EMDR and other psychological treatments. We found some indication of the moderating effects of gender and employment status.
KW - EMDR
KW - PTSD
KW - individual participant data meta-analysis
KW - moderators
KW - systematic review
KW - treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85181580075&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291723003446
DO - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291723003446
M3 - Article
C2 - 38173121
SN - 0033-2917
VL - 54
SP - 1580
EP - 1588
JO - Psychological Medicine
JF - Psychological Medicine
IS - 8
ER -