Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Treatment in Oncological Patients. Preliminary Research Project

Abstract

Patients with Cancer (C) have an important risk of developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but few studies have assessed the efficiency of psychological interventions to treat it. Also, it is known that the presence of unprocessed traumatic experiences prior to diagnosis, represents a risk of the onset of a PTSD. Furthermore, no studies have analyzed the quality of such traumatic experiences during C patients life. The study has the threefold objective of assessing the effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) in C patients diagnosed with PTSD, examining the presence of unprocessed traumatic experiences in the pre-diagnosis lives of C patients and analyzing these clinical experience in relation to the localization of the primary cancer. Patients with C diagnosis at any stage of the disease were included, receiving either EMDR. Patients were assessed before and after (follow-up) treatments with clinical questionnaires. Patients at the first diagnosis undergo 10 sessions of psychotherapy, while patients with recurrence are subjected to 16 sessions. We had 3 patients, 2 at second stage of disease (just before to start therapy) and 1 at his third recurrence. Localization of primary cancer: Shoulder, breast, skin. Results show complete remission of PTSD in all patients, the presence of unprocessed traumatic experiences in the pre-diagnosis lives (mourning). Confirming the efficiency of EMDR in PTSD in C patients, would mean being able to rely on a powerful psychological tool in an area where the emotional aspect plays a key role in recovery patients’ psychophysical and quality of life. It is also impressive to assess the relationship between the presence of raw traumatic events prior to the communication of the diagnosis and onset of PTSD, as well as the nature of these experiences. These clinical data are essential both to plan increasingly detailed and specific treatments in terms of quality and time, and to think of a psychological prevention perspective dedicated to the person understood as a totality.