NCT05319002

Effects of a Group EMDR Intervention on Narrative Complexity and Specificity of Autobiographical Memories: the Hug the Child Study (HTC)

Randomized Trial on the Effects of a Group EMDR Intervention on Narrative Complexity and Specificity of Autobiographical Memories: a Path Analytic and Supervised Machine Learning Approach

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 27 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Pisa · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 9 Years – 11 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Background and study aims: The Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Group Protocol with Children (EMDR-GP/C) was first developed by Korkmazlar following the Marmara earthquake in Turkey in 1999 and can be adapted for different populations. The aim of this study is to assess if a EMDR-GP program may help primary school students in improving narrative complexity and specificity of autobiographical memories, as well as their subjective unit of distress (SUD) and validity of cognition (VoC). Who can participate? Students attending the fourth or fifth year of primary school What does the study involve? Participants will be randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Participants in the experimental group will undergo a 3-week EMDR-GP with weekly 60-minute group sessions (3 sessions), while the control group will follow routine daily school activities. Questionnaires will be used to assess narrative complexity, specificity of autobiographical memories, SUD and VoC before and after the intervention. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? Benefits of participating in the study may include an improvement of narrative complexity, specificity of autobiographical memories, and their SUD and VoC.

Conditions

• Child, Only
• Narration
• Memory Dysfunction
• Distress, Emotional
• Cognitive Change

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Group EMDR	The eight phases of the adapted group EMDR protocol was administered during each session: 1. Meeting: Explaining the nature of trauma, group rules, name tags, filling in the scales. 2. Preparation: Exploring children's support system, explaining EMDR, safe place, resource exercise, and installation with bilateral stimulation (BLS, butterfly hug or knee tapping). 3. Assessment: Drawing the worst image on a small separate sheet of paper, SUD level, (negative cognition, emotions, body sensations - if possible). 4. Desensitization: It is done with drawing on 4 separate papers with BLS (butterfly hug or knee tapping). 5. Installation: With the healing story written according to the adaptive information processing (AIP) model, the installation is accompanied BLS. 6. Body scan: A positive body state is installed with the relaxation technique. 7. Closure \& future template: Strong closure with artwork. 8. Re-evaluation: if possible.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-08-20
• Primary completion: 2021-10-31
• Completion: 2021-11-30
• First posted: 2022-04-08
• Last updated: 2022-04-08

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Italy