Efficacy of EMDR in body dysmorphic disorder and associated cognitive-emotional features

Journal article

Pouladi, Hanieh, Rajabi, Soran, Jamshidi, Fateme, Pakizeh, Ali and Talbot, Daniel. (2024). Efficacy of EMDR in body dysmorphic disorder and associated cognitive-emotional features. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research. 18(2), pp. 82-99. https://doi.org/10.1891/EMDR-2024-0013
AuthorsPouladi, Hanieh, Rajabi, Soran, Jamshidi, Fateme, Pakizeh, Ali and Talbot, Daniel
Abstract

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a severe psychological disorder that significantly impacts functioning and quality of life. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) presents as an emerging alternate psychological intervention. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of EMDR in BDD symptoms and associated cognitive-emotional features. These features include appearance-based rejection sensitivity, body shame, and self-compassion. Our study utilized a multiple-baseline across-subjects design, monitoring four randomly allocated female patients with BDD over a 10-session/90-minute EMDR treatment phase and two follow-up sessions at 1 and 3 months, respectively. Our results showed that EMDR significantly reduced BDD symptoms (recovery percentage [RP] = 60.54), appearance-based rejection sensitivity (RP = 36.56), and body shame (RP = 54.82) and increased self-compassion (RP = 51.79). Therefore, our study suggests that EMDR may be an effective treatment for BDD patients.

Keywordsbody dysmorphic disorder; EMDR; body shame; appearance-based rejection sensitivity; self-compassion
Year2024
JournalJournal of EMDR Practice and Research
Journal citation18 (2), pp. 82-99
PublisherAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science
ISSN1933-3196
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1891/EMDR-2024-0013
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85196712762
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Page range82-99
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License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online01 Jun 2024
Publication process dates
Deposited13 Jun 2025
Additional information

Journal of EMDR Practice and Research content is Open Access, publishing under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) on a continuous basis. This means that content is freely available to all readers upon publication and content is published as soon as production is complete. EMDRIA holds an exclusive license to the content; the author(s) hold copyright and retain the right to publish.

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