FEASIBILITY AND PRELIMINARY EFFECTIVENESS OF EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION REPROCESSING ON ADDICTION CRAVINGS IN ADULTS WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER: PILOT STUDY

Addiction is a pervasive health and economic issue in the United States. Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured and client-centered intervention that can be a useful addition to a comprehensive treatment plan for clients with substance use disorder. However, little research has explored EMDR and its effects on addiction. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of conducting EMDR and to test its effects on cravings and perseverations associated with addiction and irrational cognitions related to addiction compared to treatment as usual (TAU).
This study used a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) design with an experimental group (EMDR + TAU) and a control group (TAU only). With nonprobability convenience sampling, participants were recruited from a residential program or a partial hospitalization program (PHP) with AION Health Group in Palm Beach County, Florida. Thirty participants at the treatment center were randomly assigned 1:1 to either the experimental group (n = 15) or the control group (n = 15). The control group received TAU, comprised of weekly individual and group therapy sessions. The reliability of each instrument for measuring outcome variables showed high internal consistency reliability, with Cronbach’s α > .90.