A three-day workshop for training and supervision of the existing mental health workers in the earthquake affected areas of Pakistan in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) technique will begin Monday (tomorrow) here at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore.
The workshop is being organised by EMDR Association Pakistan in collaboration with the EMDR UK and Ireland's humanitarian assistance programme and other non-government organisations (NGOs). Dr Derek Farrell, President EMDR UK and Ireland and other eminent psychotherapists will conduct the workshop.
"EMDR is a powerful psychological technique which uses bilateral brain stimulation such as moving the eyes back and forth to reduce many types of emotional distress. Such distress may be caused by trauma or disturbing experiences, stress and anxiety. EMDR is not as stressful as some other treatments and is often preferred by patients as it works rapidly," elaborated a spokesman of the UHS, on Saturday.
Though there is no published prevalence rate of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) available, an estimated 16-percent of patients seen after earthquake in Muzaffarabad alone fulfil PTSD criteria. Over 73,000 people perished in the October 08, 2005 earthquake.