ABSTRACT
A case series was conducted on three rape victims who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) was employed to reduce their risk of suicide or suicidal ideations. EMDR can be an effective treatment to reduce the level of suicidal ideation in rape victims.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) on the quality of life (QOL) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: This is a randomized clinical trial study that investigated the efficacy of EMDR on the QOL in patients with MDD. In this study, all patients suffered from psychological trauma were currently in a major depressive episode and had a history of depression. 70 patients with MDD were selected through convenience sampling. Patients were then assigned to two groups of intervention and control (35 patients in each group). The assignment was performed randomly. For the intervention group, EMDR were performed in eight 90 mins sessions over 3 weeks. For the control group, no intervention was considered. Data on the QOL were collected using the WHO Quality of Life-BREF instrument before and after the treatment, and analysed using descriptive tests, paired t-test, independent t-test, and chi-square with SPSS v19. RESULTS: This study showed that the QOL in all its domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environments) was significantly improved in patients with MDD in the intervention group after 8 sessions of EMDR. The post-treatment effect for the EMDR condition was 2.11, with a confidence interval of 1.3 to 2.7. Another finding of this study was that there was a statistically significant difference in the QOL scores in patients in the control group before and after the treatment; however, the mean difference in the intervention group was more than the control. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that EMDR were effective on the QOL in patients with major depressive disorder, and improved individuals' QOL and all its domains. Treatment team members may use this technique as an effective and supportive one to improve the QOL in patients.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Depression is a major risk factor for suicide and more than 90% of people who attempt suicide suffer from depression. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy on the severity of suicidal thoughts in patients with major depressive disorder. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized Clinical Trial. METHODS: This clinical trial was performed on 70 people with major depressive disorder who exhibited suicidal thoughts. The patients were selected via convenience sampling and were randomly divided into control (n=35) and experimental (n=35) groups. EMDR was performed individually in the experimental group for 45-90 min, 3 days per week, on alternate days, for 3 weeks (9 sessions in total), whereas the controls group received routine treatment without intervention. Both groups completed the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI) at pre- and post-test. The obtained data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 22 (α=0.05). RESULTS: Mean BSSI score for the experimental group was reduced significantly at post-test (11.11±4.15) compared to pre-test (26.48±5.74) (p<0.001). Although the control group's mean BSSI score was also reduced at post-test (24.93±4.42) compared to pre-test (26.68±5.05), this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: EMDR therapy has been shown in this study to reduce the severity of suicidal feelings. Therefore, it can be recommended as an alternative treatment method for reducing the severity of suicidal thoughts in patients with major depressive disorder.
