Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment for combat PTSD

Four Vietnam veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder were treated with 12 sessions of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), targeting their combat memories. An extensive multimodal assessment battery showed very substantial clinical improvement for three of the veterans along a number of psychological dimensions that characterize the disorder, but not along several physiological parameters. A fourth veteran showed only very modest changes. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of several issues, including numbers of treatment sessions and differential effects of treatment on cognitive-behavioral and physiological symptoms.