EASE trial
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy in Early Psychosis (EASE): A feasibility randomised controlled trial
IRAS ID
250744
Contact name
Filippo Varese
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN16262847
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
registration in progress, registration in progress
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Research Summary
We will carry out a feasibility randomized controlled trial of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with patients suffering early psychosis (patients with a schizophrenia or related diagnosis who experience hallucinations and/or delusions) who have experienced significant trauma in their life.
EMDR is a proven and NICE-recommended treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD); it involves recalling traumatic events will performing eye-tracking under the direction of a therapist, usually by following the therapist's finger movements. It is thought that this processes leads to recoding of the traumatic experiences in the brain so that the memories no longer evoke strong negative emotion. We believe this treatment is worth considering for patients with psychosis because our previous work has shown that many have a history of severe trauma and because a trial carried out in the Netherlands with patients sufferieng from both psychosis and PTSD had positive effects.
60 patients who have been ill for a maximum of three years will be randomly assigned to either EMDR plus Treatment As Usual (TAU). Those receiving EMDR will be offered up to 16 sessions over 6 months with an experienced EMDR therapist. Follow-up interviews will be conducted by research assistants who are blind to the group assignment at 6 and 12 months after randomization, who will assess psychotic symptoms. Qualitative interviews with patients and service staff will also be conducted to assess the acceptability of the treatment.
If the treatment is acceptable and a full scale trial is feasible we will apply for funding for a larger, definitive study.
Summary of Results
Psychosis is a major cause of disability and suffering in the UK and worldwide. Traumatic experiences (for example physical or emotional abuse) are common in people with psychosis, and people who have had traumatic life events generally suffer from more intense and distressing symptoms.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy that helps people to improve mental health difficulties brought about by trauma. We want to conduct a large study to see whether EMDR can improve distressing symptoms of people that have recently developed psychosis. First, however, we had to find out if this kind of research is viable and well-received by patients. We conducted a small study with 60 people who have a history of trauma and who developed psychosis for the first time in the previous three years. They either received 16 sessions of EMDR in addition to their usual care, or their usual care only. We interviewed these people multiple times about their symptoms and treatment experiences up to a year after they were involved in the study. We also interviewed 20 health professionals to understand their views, concerns and recommendations on using EMDR in people with psychosis.
We found that it is possible to conduct a large study of EMDR in people with early psychosis. We managed to find more than enough participants willing to engage in research of this kind, and over 70 percent of them engaged in the assessments we had planned. EMDR was delivered safely and was well received by most patients. There were signals that EMDR might help to improve distressing symptoms that are common in people with early psychosis. We are now sharing our findings with researchers, patients and NHS staff so that more research will be done on this therapy in future.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NW/0065
Date of REC Opinion
4 Apr 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion