Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing as a treatment for PTSD, trauma, and trauma related symptoms in children with intellectual disabilities: a general review

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing as a treatment for PTSD, trauma, and trauma related symptoms in children with intellectual disabilities: a general review Chloe Louise Williamson, Kelly Rayner-Smith Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- This paper aims to discuss the utility of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy as a treatment for children with intellectual disabilities (ID) who have experienced trauma.Relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and literature were reviewed to provide support for the use of EMDR as a treatment for trauma in children with ID.There is a growing body of evidence which demonstrates that EMDR therapy is successful for the treatment of trauma in adults and children. However, for children with ID, the research is limited despite those with ID being more likely than non-disabled peers to experience trauma such as abuse or neglect.EMDR can only be facilitated by trained mental health nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists (clinical, forensic, counselling or educational) or occupational therapists or social workers with additional training. Finally, general practitioners who are experienced in psychotherapy or psychological trauma and have accreditation. Therefore, this highlights that there may be a lack of trained staff to facilitate this intervention and that those who are generally working with the client closely and ...
Source: Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities - Category: Disability Authors: Source Type: research