Individual differences and treatment retention using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for PTSD: a systematic review

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a pervasive and debilitating psychological disorder that develops from exposure to traumatic events. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) is an effective trauma-focused intervention for PTSD. Premature dropout is common with PTSD interventions and this systematic review aims to investigate patient and study characteristics related to retention and premature dropout from treatment. The review was conducted using a systematic search strategy designed to identify any published, peer-reviewed journal articles that evaluated EMDR for PTSD. It included articles assessing EMDR using a randomized controlled trial, pre- post- study or quasi-experimental trials. Forty-two studies were included. Twenty-three were randomized controlled trials and 19 were quasi-experimental studies. Participants who completed EMDR had significant PTSD symptom improvement. The average dropout rate across all studies was 13.8%, however rates ranged from 0% to 43.5%. It was difficult to assess the impact of trauma history on retention. The participants’ trauma histories were not reported in all studies nor reported consistently. Overall, the retention rate ranged from 56.5% to 100% with 33 studies of the 42 studies having retention rates of 75% or higher. Study specific factors that supported higher retention were small numbers of participants and those with specific patient populations such as those with breast cancer.