News and Resources
ABC News: EMDR is being heralded as 'life-changing' for mental health treatment. But what is it?
This article explores EMDR therapy, an evidence-based treatment recognized for its effectiveness in healing trauma and emotional distress. Clinical psychologist Dr. Sarah Dominguez shares insights on how EMDR helps reduce the emotional impact of traumatic experiences through guided bilateral stimulation, supporting lasting recovery.
Article: United We Stand; EMDR as an Integrative Perspective
Dr. Sarah Dominguez explores how EMDR therapy integrates techniques from multiple therapeutic approaches to offer flexible, client-centred treatment. This integrative perspective enhances outcomes while maintaining the integrity of each modality.
Podcast: Understanding EMDR
In this podcast episode, Sarah Dominguez shares her experience as a trainer and discusses how EMDR therapy is evolving globally. She explores its growth from a treatment primarily for PTSD to a broader, integrative approach that can stand alone or complement other therapies.
Podcast: Lets talk EMDR
In this episode of Let’s Talk EMDR, Dr. Sarah Dominguez shares how EMDR therapy can help people living with depression, a condition affecting over 350 million worldwide. She draws on her experience as a therapist, trainer, and researcher to explain EMDR’s potential benefits.
Research and Resources
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IREM Frequency Study - Ongoing
Sexual Assault Resource Centre, Perth
Sarah is on the study board of a large, multinational, randomised controlled trial investigating the difference between two trauma-focused interventions (EMDR and imagery rescripting) on PTSD symptoms for adult survivors of childhood trauma. The study also examines the role of treatment frequency on outcomes.
Medicare for EMDR - 2020
On behalf of the EMDR Association of Australia, Sarah co-authored an application to Medicare to have EMDR acknowledged as a specific targeted intervention for PTSD, in line with current literature. Based on the success of this application, Sarah was asked to attend the Medical Service Advisory Committee Meeting in Canberra to respond to the application in person. This application was approved in May 2020, and Medicare now formally acknowledges EMDR as an evidence-based treatment for PTSD.
EMDR for Depression - 2019
The Hollywood Clinic, Perth
Sarah was the lead researcher in a randomised controlled trial investigating the efficacy of additional individual therapy sessions for people in a group mood and anxiety management program. As well as overseeing all aspects of recruitment and data collection, she supervised a research team and delivered evidence-based interventions (CBT and EMDR) and psychometric assessments. Sarah received grants totalling $23,000 from the EMDR Association of Australia and the Hollywood Private Hospital Research Foundation to support this research.
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Dominguez, S. K. (2022). EMDR therapy for depression: Implications for mental health. Go With That. EMDR International Association.
Dominguez, S. K., Matthijssen, S. J., & Lee, C. W. (2021). Trauma-focused treatments for depression. A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 16(7), e0254778.
Dominguez, S., Drummond, P., Gouldthorp, B., Janson, D., & Lee, C. W. (2020). A randomised controlled trial examining the impact of individual trauma‐focused therapy on people receiving group treatment for depression. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice.
Dominguez, S. K., & Lee, C. W. (2019). Differences in international guidelines regarding EMDR for posttraumatic stress disorder: Why they diverge and suggestions for future research. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 13(4), 247-260.
Dominguez, S. K., & Lee, C. W. (2017). Errors in the 2017 APA clinical practice guideline for the treatment of PTSD: What the data actually says. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 1425.
Wibbelink, C. J., Lee, C. W., Bachrach, N., Dominguez, S. K., Ehring, T., van Es, S. M., ... & Arntz, A. (2021). The effect of twice-weekly versus once-weekly sessions of either imagery rescripting or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing for adults with PTSD from childhood trauma (IREM-Freq): a study protocol for an international randomized clinical trial. Trials, 22(1), 1-22.
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