NCT05488691

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing as a Treatment for Substance Use Disorders

What Works and Why? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing as a Potential Treatment for Substance Use Disorders

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 64 (actual)
• Sponsor: Hospital Clinic of Barcelona · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Substance Use Disorders (SUD) are often comorbid with psychological trauma, however, the complex interaction between the two is not yet fully understood. Most addiction-specialized professionals do not engage in exploring past traumatic experiences of the patients due to personal, professional, and educational barriers. Therefore, psychological trauma remains highly undetected and its contribution to the development and maintenance of SUD is neglected. This compromises the therapeutic results of most interventions, with relapse rates in SUD still remaining impressively high. EMDR is one of the most effective interventions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and has been applied to other disorders that are often comorbid with trauma, such as psychosis and depression, with promising results. Nevertheless, its application in SUD is still limited. Taken altogether, there is a need to clarify the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in SUD, as well as the mechanisms of action that mediate its potential therapeutic effects. The aim of this study is to 1) determine the efficacy of EMDR therapy in patients with SUD comorbid with psychological trauma, as well as whether changes in these clinical variables correspond to changes in salivary cortisol levels- a robust marker of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis; 2) investigate the mechanisms of action of EMDR therapy, paying special attention to the key role that the cerebellum might play in mediating its therapeutic effects.

Conditions

• Substance Use Disorders

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	EMDR	The first session consists of recording the patient's history. In the second session the therapist evaluates the presence of coping mechanisms of the patient and, if necessary, suggests extra coping techniques. The following sessions are devoted to the reprocessing process. During these sessions, a target memory is identified and processed using EMDR. After a total of 8-10 sessions, it is expected that the patient will have achieved physiological reconciliation, relieved distress, and the ability to reformulate negative beliefs.
BEHAVIORAL	TAU	treatment as usual for substance use disorders

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-02-01
• Primary completion: 2025-06-01
• Completion: 2025-06-01
• First posted: 2022-08-04
• Last updated: 2025-09-16

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Spain