Both trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy and antidepressant medication are regarded as the first line treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, little is known about sequential or combined efficacy of these two different treatment options. This prospective study examined the add-on efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy among adult civilians with PTSD who continued to be symptomatic after antidepressant treatment.

Adult patients with PTSD at a specialized trauma clinic who received treatment doses of antidepressants for more than 12 weeks were recruited; definition of symptomatic PTSD was a total score > 40 on the Clinician-administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). The CAPS and the global improvement from Clinical Global Impression (CGI) were rated prior to EMDR, after termination and six months follow-up.

A total of 15 patients underwent an average of six sessions of EMDR and 7 (47%) of 15 no longer met the criteria for PTSD and 10 (67%) were given status of very much or much improved. The CAPS scores and significantly decreased after EMDR therapy (paired t = 7.38, df = 14, P < 0.0001).

These results indicate that EMDR or trauma-focused CBT can be successfully added to those who failed to improve after initial pharmacotherapy for PTSD. Further studies are needed to explore the best sequence or components of therapies in the treatment of PTSD.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.