Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), an empirically validated tool for treating PTSD, is now being used for performance enhancement in sports and other domains.
EMDR is a clinical tool with considerable research validating its efficacy for the treatment of PTSD. More recently, EMDR is being used by psychologists for performance enhancement in sports and other areas.
The treatment known as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing was developed in 1987 by an American psychologist, Dr. Francine Shapiro, for the remediation of trauma symptoms and post- have demonstrated the efficacy of EMDR for the treatment of PTSD , some researchers dismiss EMDR as a “purple hat therapy” . Despite long-held critiques of EMDR among some clinicians and researchers , in the 25-plus years of my, and pharmacotherapy—were unsuccessful. Furthermore, in that time, I have yet to meet anyone, clinically, who was harmed by EMDR. Of course, anecdotal evidence like this is not on par with evidence from RCTs, so I would advise people to do their own research. In addition, it’s still possible that improvement in the cases referenced above was due to thethat EMDR uses , not anything unique to EMDR , but that doesn’t mean that EMDR can't be a helpful tool for various clinical challenges, including performance enhancement in areas like sports, test-taking, andResearch into EMDR as a tool for performance enhancement is at a nascent stage, and it's much less developed than research for EMDR as a treatment for PTSD, buthas begun to trickle in . Clinicians in most health care fields are constantly trying to balance the safety of their patients with practical considerations, like the need for improvement, and as most clinicians will attest, sometimes the science takes time to catch up to what clinicians have discovered, off-label. Such is the case withand other psychedelic therapies that have only begun to acquire empirical research validation for the treatment of mental health conditions after decades of off-label experimentation by psychiatrists. With this in mind, I offer the following summary of my interview with psychologist Dr. Carla Natalucci-Hall, Psy.D., PC, on the expanded use of EMDR for performance enhancement, including improvement in athletics, test-taking, public speaking, and many other areas beyond trauma remediation. Dr. Natalucci-Hall has nearly three decades of experience treating PTSD and a decade of experience applying EMDR to performance enhancement. She is a certified EMDR therapist, an approved EMDR consultant, and she has worked with the United States Olympic Committee to help train athletes preparing for the Olympics.According to Dr. Natalucci-Hall, the protocol for using EMDR for performance enhancement often begins with identifying the “small-t traumas” that give rise to their performance impediments. These small-t traumas might include a salient failure in a performance-related activity, like a pitcher giving up a game-losing home run. The next task is to create a script that contextualizes or reframes the failure . It’s also common to add aAfter the script and visualization plan have been established, the treatment components unique to EMDR—bilateral sensory stimulation—are paired with the recitation of the script and the visualization protocol. The most common EMDR paradigm involves eyeball tracking of visual stimuli from left and right , the leading hypothesis is that bilateral sensory stimulation helps individuals get into a flow state, possibly mediated by the frontal lobe. When paired with such flow states, the recitation of one’s script and visualization plan is able to penetrate the mind more deeply, especially when practiced on a daily basis and before performance events., and psychedelic drugs—that offers clinicians an option when all others fail. Like many forms of treatment, including all forms of psychotherapy, EMDR began as a means to help remediate a type of dysfunction, but in the spirit of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it has evolved to help people approach their own self-actualization. Such is the case with Dr. Natalucci-Hall’s work and that of other EMDR practitioners.Bisson JI, Roberts NP, Andrew M, Cooper R, Lewis C. Psychological therapies for chronic post‐traumatic stress disorder in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, Issue 12. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003388.pub4. Herbert JD, Lilienfeld SO, Lohr JM, Montgomery RW, O'Donohue WT, Rosen GM, Tolin DF. Science and pseudoscience in the development of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: implications for clinical psychology. Clin Psychol Rev. 2000 Nov;20:945-71. doi: 10.1016/s0272-735800017-3. PMID: 11098395. Oren, E. & Solomon, R. . EMDR therapy: An overview of its development and mechanisms of action, European Review of Applied Psychology, 62, 197-203.John G. Cottone, Ph.D., is a psychologist in private practice, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, and the author ofWhatever your goals, it’s the struggle to get there that’s most rewarding. It’s almost as if life itself is inviting us to embrace difficulty—not as punishment but as a design feature. It's a robust system for growth.Self Tests are all about you. Are you outgoing or introverted? Are you a narcissist? Does perfectionism hold you back? Find out the answers to these questions and more with Psychology Today.
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