Efficacy of an EMDR App for PTSD and SUD

What this study is about

The current proposal is aimed to confirm the efficacy of this novel therapeutic method (autonomous eye movement desensitization and reprocessing; A-EMDR) in a patient group (PTSD and SUD), and to assess the feasibility of the application within this group. While there is no basis to assume lower efficacy of the treatment with this population, confirming that hypothesis is an important and helpful step before a full-performance research study can be initiated. Furthermore, this study proposal will provide additional information regarding the feasibility for this population, which will allow for a more tailored approach in future study.

Who can join (things the study team will check)

✅ You may be able to join if…

• Aged 18-years old or older
• Fluent in English
• Diagnosed with PTSD by the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5 past month version score >32)
• Diagnosed with past-year substance use disorder other than caffeine by structured clinical interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5)
• Agrees not to participate in other treatments during the study duration (e.g., mindfulness, yoga, biofeedback, self-hypnosis or tai chi) except individuals who have been already on continuous therapies for at least three months

🚫 You may not be able to join if…

• Diagnosis of a severe or unstable mental illness that precludes safe participation in the study by a healthcare practitioner such as acute psychosis or mania diagnosed by a healthcare practitioner
• Current suicidality risk as indicated during the conduct of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) (21) with concurrence after a study physician's evaluation if the response to C-SSRS questions 1 or 2 is "yes"

Where this trial is running

• 100 Stokes St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada