Clinical trial · Interventional
Effects of an EMDR Intervention on Traumatic and Obsessive Symptoms
Randomized Trial on the Effects of an EMDR Intervention on Traumatic and Obsessive Symptoms During the COVID19 Quarantine: a Psychometric Study
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Protocol (EMDR) was first developed by Francine Shapiro in 1987 and can be adapted for online and in presence administration. The aim of this study is to assess if a EMDR program (administered both online and in presence, depending on different conditions of patients) may help people recruited from general population suffering from COVID19 second (November 2021 to February 2022) and third (March 2022 to May 2022) quarantine in improving post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive-related (OCD) symptoms, as well as disgust, guilt, shame and their subjective unit of distress (SUD) and validity of cognition (VoC) levels.
Conditions
Conditions (6)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult ALL | Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Disgust | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Guilt | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Post-traumatic Stress Disorder | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Shame | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMDR | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- 8-week EMDR Intervention
- description
- Phase 1: The therapist and client develop a secure working relationship. The client's history is discussed and a treatment plan is developed. Phase 2: The therapist explains the EMDR therapy process. Phase 3: The target event is identified. Baseline measures are set using the Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) and the Validity of Cognition (VOC) scale. Phase 4: Desensitization, sounds, or taps are begun while focusing on the traumatic event until the client's SUD reduces to zero. Phase 5: The client associates and strengthens a positive belief with the target event until it feels true. Phase 6: The client is asked to hold in mind the target event and the positive belief while scanning the body. Phase 7: Reprocessing is complete when the client feels neutral about it (SUD=0, VOC=7), and the body is clear of disturbance. Phase 8: The client and therapist discuss processed memories to ensure that distress is low and that the positive cognition is strong.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: EMDR
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Control condition - No intervention
- description
- The control group will follow routine daily activities
Primary outcomes (12)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 75 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Participants aged 18 to 75 years 2. Participants experienced a full COVID19 pandemic-related quarantine during red zones of the second and third lockdowns in Italy 3. Participants have reasonable comprehension of spoken and written Italian language 4. Participants have an adequate understanding of Italian Exclusion Criteria: 1. Concurrent enrollment in other intervention trials 2. Participants that already experienced EMDR therapy in the past
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDMiccoli M, Poli A. Randomized trial on the effects of an EMDR intervention on traumatic and obsessive symptoms during the COVID-19 quarantine: a psychometric study. Front Psychiatry. 2024 Jun 26;15:1369216. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1369216. eCollection 2024. PMID 38988736