Traumatic memories, eye movements, phobia, and panic: A critical note on the proliferation of EMDR

In the past years, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has become increasingly popular as a treatment method for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The current article critically evaluates three recurring assumptions in EMDR literature: (a) the notion that traumatic memories are fixed and stable and that flashbacks are accurate reproductions of the trau matic incident; (b) the idea that eye movements, or other lateralized rhyth mic behaviors have an inhibitory effect on emotional memories; and (c) the assumption that EMDR is not only effective in treating PTSD, but can also b e successfully applied to other psychopathological conditions. There is lit tle support for any of these three assumptions. Meanwhile, the expansion of the theoretical underpinnings of EMDR in the absence of a sound empirical basis casts doubts on the massive proliferation of this treatment method. ( C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.