E3 PreliminaryPreliminaryPEM not requiredReview-NarrativePeer-reviewedReviewed
Standard · 3 min
[Treatment of Psychosomatic Disorders - Psychotherapy with Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing].
Schubbe, Oliver · Therapeutische Umschau. Revue therapeutique · 2019 · DOI
Quick Summary
This paper reviews Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a type of psychotherapy that may help with conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome. The authors suggest that dysfunctional stored memories could contribute to psychosomatic disorders, and EMDR aims to help the brain process these memories in a healthier way. Recent studies have shown EMDR may help with various conditions including chronic fatigue syndrome, migraines, and chronic pain.
Why It Matters
EMDR represents a potential mind-body treatment approach that may address underlying trauma or dysfunctional memory processing in ME/CFS. The inclusion of chronic fatigue syndrome among conditions with documented EMDR effectiveness suggests this therapeutic avenue warrants further investigation, especially given the complex neurobiology and frequent trauma histories in ME/CFS populations.
Observed Findings
EMDR has been scientifically validated for posttraumatic stress disorder treatment.
Recent studies document EMDR effectiveness for migraine headaches.
Studies show EMDR effectiveness for chronic fatigue syndrome.
EMDR shows documented effectiveness for chronic pain syndrome and phantom limb pain.
EMDR has been documented as effective for gastrointestinal and skin diseases.
Inferred Conclusions
Dysfunctional stored memory information may underlie psychosomatic disorders.
EMDR can activate pathogenic information and convert it to an adaptive state.
EMDR has potential utility for treating psychosomatic conditions beyond its established PTSD application.
Treatment of psychosomatic disorders with EMDR represents an emerging and promising therapeutic field.
Remaining Questions
What is the specific mechanism by which EMDR benefits ME/CFS patients—symptom reduction versus disease modification?
How do individual ME/CFS patients respond to EMDR, and which patient subgroups might benefit most?
What This Study Does Not Prove
This is a narrative review, not a clinical trial, so it does not prove EMDR is effective for ME/CFS specifically. The paper does not establish causation between dysfunctional memories and ME/CFS pathophysiology, nor does it distinguish between symptom management and treatment of underlying disease mechanisms. Individual studies cited may have varying quality and sample sizes.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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