Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: treating trauma and substance abuse.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a new psychological methodology that has been applied to a wide range of psychological disorders. Clinical reports over the past three years indicate that it is an important addition to the treatment of substance abuse. EMDR offers a structured, client-centered model that integrates key elements of intrapsychic, behavioral, cognitive, body-oriented, and interactional approaches. Treatment effects are quite rapid and, during an individual session, the therapist may witness accelerated processing of information involving a shift of cognitive structures (including the assimilation of positive beliefs) along with the desensitization of attendent traumata. The application of EMDR apparently stimulates an inherent physiological processing system that allows dysfunctional information to be adaptively resolved, resulting in increased insight and more functional behavior. The judicious use of EMDR includes a comprehensive client history and extensive preparation, allowing the client to deal with the high levels of disturbance often engendered by the treatment itself. After the inauguration of a sufficient therapeutic alliance, adequately addressing potential issues of secondary gain, and appropriate client stabilization, EMDR may be used to ameliorate the effects of earlier memories that contribute to the dysfunction, potential relapse triggers, and physical cravings. In addition, EMDR is used to incorporate new coping skills and assist in learning more adaptive behaviors. Other potential targets for reprocessing include treatment noncompliance, ambivalence about abstinence, and present crises. Finally, EMDR should be used on this clinical population only by a trained clinician who is educated and experienced with this problem area.

Sex differences in feelings attributed to a woman in situations involving coercion and sexual advances.

This study investigated sex differences of feelings attributed to a woman in situations involving varying degrees of coercion and sexual advances. Sixteen vignettes (12 dealing with sex and coercion, 4 dealing with coercion only) were rated on 17 semantic differential scales by 59 undergraduates (44 females, 15 males) and 45 graduate students (18 females, 27 males). The 16 vignettes yielded factors of Sexual Flattery/Overtures, Sexual Aggressiveness, and Violence. Factor analyses of the 17 semantic differential scales yielded factors of Helplessness, Aversiveness, and Threat. High agreement was found between males and females in both the graduate and undergraduate samples on the relative intensity of feelings attributed to the woman across the sex/coercion vignettes for the three dimensions of Helplessness, Aversiveness, and Threat. Even more importantly, systematic differences between males and females on intensity of attributed feelings across the semantic differential factors were independently replicated using the graduate and undergraduate samples. Analyses of variance revealed that males showed significantly greater attributions on the factors Helplessness and Threat on scenes mainly dealing with sexual flattery/overtures, whereas they showed significantly less attributions on the factor Aversiveness on scenes dealing with sexual aggressiveness and rape. In short, while there was strong agreement between men and women, there were also replicated significant systematic differences with men overestimating the psychological impact of less intense incidents and underestimating the psychological impact on women of more intense incidents.