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

University of Pisa

Status: Completed

Conditions: Memory Dysfunction; Cognitive Change; Child, Only; Narration; Distress, Emotional

Treatments: Behavioral: Group EMDR

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05319002

HTC-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Enrollment: 27 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 9 to 11 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Children aged 9 to 11 years
2. Children have reasonable comprehension of spoken language and can follow simple instructions
3. Children and their parents are willing to attend all intervention sessions
4. Children and parents have an adequate understanding of Italian

Exclusion criteria

1. Concurrent enrollment in other intervention trials
2. Child regularly practices EMDR intervention, or other therapeutical interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy or meditation.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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27 participants in 2 patient groups

Group EMDR

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in the experimental group will undergo a 3-week group EMDR intervention with weekly 60-minute group sessions.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Group EMDR

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

The control group will follow routine daily school activities