Episode 143: EMDR - An Interview with Founder Francine Shapiro
Every voice is named by two or more agreeing sources.
“I came out with the first controlled trial in 1989”
Shapiro reports that the first controlled EMDR trial was conducted in 1989.
“I personally believe that all of them, the REM hypotheses, the orienting response, and the working memory response, are all involved”
Shapiro thinks multiple mechanisms—including REM, orienting response, and working memory—contribute to EMDR’s effects.
“there is no homework”
EMDR treatment does not require patients to complete homework assignments.
“people that say, oh, it's just exposure, are not looking at the research”
She disputes the claim that EMDR is merely exposure therapy, saying critics ignore the evidence.
“Entrenched paradigms have difficulty accepting new paradigms.”
Shapiro opines that established therapeutic schools resist novel approaches like EMDR.
“they can actually go on to the nonprofit organization website, which is emdrhap.org, and that stands for the EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Program.”
Listeners are encouraged to visit the EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Program website for research resources.
“We have discovered a number of things fundamental to how neurons work that are contrary to the information you find in neuroscience textbooks, said Nelson Spruston, senior author of the paper.”
The article’s senior author claims recent findings overturn traditional neuroscience textbook claims.
“Signals can travel from the end of the axon toward the cell body when it typically is the other way around.”
New research shows neuronal signals can flow backward, contrary to textbook descriptions.
“Some critics have said, look, we don't know really how it works. Well, we— then we should find out how it works. But even though we don't know doesn't mean that we shouldn't use it.”
Britt argues that lack of full mechanistic understanding shouldn't prevent use of effective treatments.