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The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if short EMDR treatment offered in two modalities (face to face and remote) is effective in reducing PTSD symptoms and comorbid symptoms for parents of children with diverse chronic and acute medical conditions.
The main question is:
• Is short EMDR treatment effective in reducing PTSD symptoms in parents of children with chronic or acute medical conditions?
Researchers will compare in person and remote EMDR treatment to a waiting list group to see if the treatment is effective.
Participants in the intervention conditions will participate in four in person or remote EMDR sessions, each lasting 1.5 hours, spread across two half-days. Participants in the waiting list condition will receive this treatment after a period of 3 months.
Objective: The primary objective is to assess the effectiveness of a brief (two half-day) in person (EMDRip) and remote (EMDRr) EMDR therapy compared to control group in reducing posttraumatic stress symptoms in parents of children with a chronic or acute medical condition.
The secondary objectives are to assess the effectiveness of brief EMDRip and EMDRr for parents of children with a severe chronic or acute medical condition 1) in reducing psychological comorbidity in parents (psychopathology in general: Depression, Anxiety, and Somatization, and parenting stress), 2) in reducing posttraumatic stress symptoms of their child with a chronic or acute medical condition, and 3) in improving relationship quality between the parent and spouse and between the parent and the child with a severe chronic or acute medical condition. 4) To evaluate the feasibility of EMDRip versus EMDRr.5) To describe the traumatic experiences and future worries (targets) the parents of children with a severe chronic or acute medical condition struggle with.
Study design: This study will be a randomized controlled trial with three study arms: in person EMDR (EMDRip), remote EMDR (EMDRr), waiting list (Control).
Intervention: The EMDR intervention in this study consists of four in person or remote EMDR sessions, each lasting 1.5 hours, spread across two half-days, approximately one week will elapse between the two treatment days. EMDR treatment will be offered by licensed therapists at Amsterdam UMC.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMDR in person | Experimental | For both intervention conditions (EMDRip and EMDRr), short EMDR treatment, 4 x 1.5 hour divided over 2 half-days, will be offered following the standard eight-phase protocol (14). Parents in the EMDRip condition will receive EMDR treatment at the Emma Children's Hospital. |
|
| EMDR remote | Experimental | For both intervention conditions (EMDRip and EMDRr), short EMDR treatment, 4 x 1.5 hour divided over 2 half-days, will be offered following the standard eight-phase protocol (14). Parents in the EMDRr condition will receive EMDR treatment remote via the online web-based tool EMDR platform. |
|
| Waiting list | No Intervention |
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) | Other | Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment. EMDR is one of the first-choice evidence based treatments for PTSD. During an EMDR session, the traumatic memory is brought to the surface including associated images, thoughts, feelings and body sensations, while simultaneously focusing on an external distracting stimulus (e.g., lateral eye movements). |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Posttraumatic stress (symptoms) assessed with the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) | From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Psychological comorbidity - Anxiety assessed with the Dutch-Flemish PROMIS Bank v1.0 - Anxiety | From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] | |
| Psychological comorbidity - Depression assessed with the Dutch-Flemish PROMIS Item Bank v1.0 - Depression |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Feasibility, self-composed questionnaire | To assess the feasibility of EMDR in person versus EMDR remote | 2 weeks post treatment follow-up (T1ip, T1r, T.1.c) |
| Therapy preference, self-composed question |
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esmée Vesseur, MSc. | Contact | +316205665674 | empowerparents@amsterdamumc.nl | |
| Linde Scholten, Dr. | Contact | +316205665674 | linde.scholten@amsterdamumc.nl |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Lotte Haverman, Dr. | Amsterdam UMC | Principal Investigator |
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| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40676651 | Derived | Vesseur EM, de Roos C, Scholten L, Haverman L. EMpower Parents: Effectiveness of EMDR treatment for parental PTSD related to a child's medical condition in a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychol. 2025 Jul 17;13(1):799. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03043-x. |
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| From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] |
| Psychological comorbidity - Somatization assessed with the Brief Symptom Inventory-18, BSI-18, subscale Somatic Symptoms | From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] |
| Parenting stress assessed with the Parenting Burden Questionnaire, OBVL | From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] |
| Parent-child relationship assessed with the Parenting Burden Questionnaire, OBVL | From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] |
| Distress assessed with the Distress Thermometer for Parents, DT-P | From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] |
| Trauma symptoms child assessed with the Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen, CATS, 3-6 and 7-17 parent version, based on the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD | From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] |
| Social support assessed with the Social Support subscale of the Family Questionnaire, GVL | From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] |
| Partner relationship assessed with the Partner Relationship subscale of the Family Questionnaire, GVL | From T0 [enrolment] to T1 [2 weeks post end of treatment] |
To assess potential therapy preference (in person, remote or hybrid) before start of treatment
| Tscreen: part of the first set-of questionnaires parents complete to check for eligibility, pre-intervention. |
| New traumatic experiences during treatment, self-composed question | To assess if new traumatic experiences occurred after treatment ended | At every follow-up measurement moment: T1c: 6 weeks post T0 follow-up, T2c: 16 weeks post T0 follow-up, T1ip, T1r, T1.1c: 2 weeks post end of treatment, T2ip, T2r, T2.1c: 3 months post end of treatment, T3ip, T3r: 6 months post end of treatment. |
| Further treatment need, self-composed question | To assess if participants are in need for psychological treatment after the EMDR treatment of the study | At the last measurement moment for each group: T3ip, T3r: 6 months post end of treatment T2.1c: 3 months post end of treatment |
| Intake data: traumatic experiences and future worries | During the psychological intake, the following data is collected: 1) Complaints parents, 2) Information about child's illness, 3) Targets (traumatic experiences): title, short description, child's age, SUD (memory), intrusion, frequency, 4) Mental video check/future template, 5) Other information, 6) Psychoeducation PTSD, 7) Explanation EMDR and practice round, 8) Date, time and location of treatment. | At the psychological intake (in between baseline measurement and the start of the intervention) |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D057169 | Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing |
| D000083626 | Psychosocial Intervention |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D003887 | Desensitization, Psychologic |
| D001521 | Behavior Therapy |
| D011613 | Psychotherapy |
| D004191 | Behavioral Disciplines and Activities |
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