Dinapoli Loredana, Ferrarese Daniele, Belella Daniela, Carnevale Stefania, Camardese Giovanni, Sani Gabriele, Chieffo Daniela Pia Rosaria
UOS di Psicologia Clinica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
UOC di Radioterapia Oncologica, Dipartimento Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Clin Psychol Psychother. 2023 Jan;30(1):225-233. doi: 10.1002/cpp.2771. Epub 2022 Aug 29.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected a significant number of individuals worldwide, is generating serious mental health issues. Recovered COVID-19 patients have experienced traumatic events related to their symptoms, isolation, possible hospitalization, bereavement, fear of infecting loved ones and the physical consequences of COVID-19. One effective psychological treatment for these patients is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). The aim of this paper is to describe the therapeutic intervention and effects of EMDR in a pool of COVID-19 survivors referred to an integrated psychological/psychiatric outpatient service. Twelve patients, comprising of nine males and three females, underwent EMDR psychotherapy from October 2020 to February 2022. Each patient received 8-16 weekly treatment sessions. The standard EMDR protocol of eight stages was administered to enable desensitization and reprocessing of four main targets: first positive swab, hospitalization, isolation and fear for relatives' health. Efficacy of EMDR was demonstrated by the significant improvement at clinical scale for subjective distress caused by traumatic events. For the therapists, carrying out these treatments was an intense and challenging experience. In fact, the perceived distance between therapist and patient was less defined than in other hospital settings because the pandemic affects everyone equally. However, with the widespread availability of vaccines and although the pandemic is still ongoing with the emergence of new variants, a window of improvement in the mental health landscape is starting to open up.
新冠疫情已影响全球大量人口，引发了严重的心理健康问题。康复的新冠患者经历了与症状、隔离、可能的住院治疗、丧亲之痛、害怕感染亲人以及新冠的身体后果相关的创伤性事件。对这些患者一种有效的心理治疗方法是眼动脱敏再处理疗法（EMDR）。本文旨在描述EMDR对一组转介至综合心理/精神科门诊服务的新冠幸存者的治疗干预及效果。12名患者，包括9名男性和3名女性，在2020年10月至2022年2月期间接受了EMDR心理治疗。每位患者每周接受8 - 16次治疗。采用标准的八阶段EMDR方案，对四个主要目标进行脱敏和再处理：首次核酸检测阳性、住院治疗、隔离以及对亲属健康的担忧。EMDR的疗效通过创伤性事件导致的主观痛苦在临床量表上的显著改善得以证明。对治疗师而言，开展这些治疗是一次紧张且具有挑战性的经历。事实上，治疗师与患者之间感知到的距离不像在其他医院环境中那样明确，因为疫情对每个人的影响是平等的。然而，随着疫苗的广泛可得，尽管疫情仍在因新变种的出现而持续，但心理健康状况改善的窗口已开始打开。
