[1] It is used to reduce or eliminate symptoms such as anxiety, depression, guilt, anger, and post-traumatic reactions.
The client is asked to watch, in imagination, a movie of the trauma memory from beginning to end, while the therapist counts aloud from one to 10; then the next time to 20; then to 30, and so on, to a maximum of 100.
The therapist's goal is to bring the SUDS rating of the traumatic memory to a score of 0 (no distress), and can adjust the exposure level as needed by increasing or decreasing the numbers counted during their movie.
A pilot study compared EMDR and PC for volunteers from the community who reported having a disturbing memory; some met criteria for PTSD and some did not.
Ten experienced EMDR-trained therapists were briefly trained in PC, and participants were randomized to treatment condition.