Treatment of Childhood Trauma: What Works Best in Reducing Trauma Symptoms for People Who Experienced a Traumatic Event in Childhood

Comparing the effectiveness of Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) as treatment of childhood-trauma related PTSD in adults ImRs: ImRs is a technique where an individual imagines a different course of the trauma events that helps to satisfy the needs of the person. This in turn leads to a change in the meaning of the events. ImRs is considered especially suited for events of an interpersonal nature where an individuals trust of others was violated, where there is an inappropriate degree of level responsibility for the event, and where core needs of dependency and safety were threatened. EMDR: A psychotherapeutic treatment approach which uses a sequence of eye movements to facilitate emotional-cognitive processing of disturbing experiences. EMDR asks individuals to recall their trauma experience into their minds while at the same time tracking the back and forth movements of the therapist's finger. The effect of this treatment process is it helps to alleviate lingering effects of the trauma, allowing the individual to reprocess the traumatic experience, and to develop more adaptive coping skills. The research will follow the treatment protocol for each of these treatments. Random allocation using random number tables controlled by central researcher in Holland. Participants will receive a maximum of 12, 90 minute sessions twice a week in either ImRs or EMDR. Individual treatment sessions will be with a registered psychologist or psychiatrist.