The military-oriented news site, the Stars and Stripes, has an article today about how EMDR is becoming a treatment of choice at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. Hmmmn. It's a little disappointing that the military is just now hearing about EMDR, which has been around since the late 1980s, and initially came into prominence as a way to treat Vietnam veterans and other trauma survivors, to lessen the impact of their violent memories. EMDR, or Eye Movement De-sensitization and Reprocessing therapy, was developed by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D. If you would like to read more about Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., EMDR, find out more about the history of EMDR, learn whether or not EMDR works for PTSD, or how to find a clinician trained in EMDR in your geographical area, click the hyperlinks for more information. There are also a number of books published about EMDR, by Shapiro and others, and they're listed in the sidebar, about halfway down. If you're a clinician and you'd like to find out more about being trained in EMDR, visit Dr. Shapiro's website for more information.
Editor's note: EMDR shows much promise for treating PTSD and symptoms of combat trauma. It is not talk therapy, nor is it a pharmaceutical-based approach. It is, however, not the only treatment low-tech, high-touch therapy that shows promise for treating combat trauma. However, with almost 30,000 troops injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus affected family members -- because not only servicepeople suffer from trauma's effects, but also their family members can -- it's very much a significant step in the right direction.
