The Effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy on the Emotion Regulation and Emotion Recognition of Addicted Individuals

Background : The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy on the emotion regulation and emotion recognition of addicts with traumatic experience.
Materials and Methods : This research is an experimental study with pre and post-test design and a control group. The subjects of this study were selected using random sampling method on drug addicts of Ardebil Addiction Treatment Camp who have successfully completed the detoxification period and they were evaluated in two different experimental (15 individuals) and control (15 individuals) groups. The experimental group was treated with EMDR therapy for 8 sessions (each one for 60 minutes) and the control group received no special treatment. All participants filled a questionnaire of Emotion Regulation and Emotion Recognition at the onset of the research and 2 months after termination of treatment. For the data analysis, SPSS-17 software and covariance analysis were used.
Results : The results of covariance analysis test indicated that the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy intervention increased the average of positive emotion regulation and emotion recognition scores in the post-test phase and significantly reduced the average of negative emotion regulation scores.
Conclusion : These results suggest that the treatment of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is effective in improving regulation and recognition of emotions in addicts with traumatic experience.