With the Compliments of Springer Publishing Company, LLC
JOURNAL OF
EMDR
PRACTICE
AND RESEARCH
www.springerpub.com/emdr
EMDR in Psychosis:
Guidelines for Conceptualization and Treatment
David P. G. Van den Berg
Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, Den Haag, The Netherlands
Berber M. Van der Vleugel
Community Mental Health Service GGZ Noord-Holland Noord, Alkmaar, The Netherlands
Anton B. P. Staring
Altrecht Psychiatric Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Paul A. J. De Bont
Mental Health Organization GGZ Oost Brabant Land van Cuijk en Noord Limburg, Boxmeer, The Netherlands.
Ad De Jongh
Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA)
University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam
School of Health Sciences, Salford University, Manchester, United Kingdom
A significant proportion of clients with psychosis have experienced childhood trauma and suffer from
comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder. Research indicates that exposure to distressing early life events
plays an important role in the emergence and persistence of psychotic symptoms—either directly or
indirectly. The Two Method Approach of EMDR conceptualization and recent findings on reprocessing
of psychosis-related imagery fit with the existing cognitive models of psychosis. This article presents
a series of preliminary guidelines for conceptualizing EMDR treatment in psychosis, which are based
on both theory and clinical experience and are illustrated with case examples. Several obstacles and
related treatment strategies for using EMDR in psychosis are described. EMDR in psychosis can very
well be combined with other standard interventions such as psychotropic medication and cognitive
behavioral therapy.
Keywords: trauma; psychosis; EMDR; delusions; auditory verbal hallucinations; PTSD
ecent studies unequivocally show that most
people with psychosis have suffered childhood trauma and that these adverse experiences may causally influence the development
and persistence of psychotic symptoms (Matheson,
Shepherd, Pinchbeck, Laurens, & Carr, 2013; Read,
Van Os, Morrison, & Ross, 2005; Varese et al., 2012).
Moreover, relationships between trauma and psychosis have become clearer (Morrison, Frame, &
Larkin, 2003). This suggests that trauma-focused
treatments may be an important addition to
the treatment of psychosis (Callcott, Standart, &
Turkington, 2004).
R
208
A significant portion of clients with psychosis suffer from comorbid posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). Estimated prevalence rates for
current PTSD in psychosis vary between 10% and
30% (Achim et al., 2011; Buckley, Miller, Lehrer, &
Castle, 2009). Other studies into PTSD in psychosis find higher prevalence rates, but most of these
studies have major limitations because of the use
of self-reports or small samples. Also, some studies
did not indicate whether lifetime or current PTSD
was studied.
Many clinicians are reluctant to use EMDR
therapy or other trauma-focused therapies such as
Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, Volume 7, Number 4, 2013
© 2013 EMDR International Association http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/1933-3196.7.4.208
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
prolonged exposure (PE) in clients with psychosis
and comorbid PTSD. Accordingly, psychosis has
been an exclusion criterion in almost all PTSD studies (Spinazzola, Blaustein, & Van der Kolk, 2005).
Although the empirical evidence for the effectiveness of trauma treatment in psychosis is scarce,
clinical experience and exploratory studies are
promising (De Bont, Van Minnen, & De Jongh,
2013 Frueh et al., 2009; Van den Berg & Van der
Gaag, 2012). These studies challenge longstanding
beliefs that psychosis should be a contraindication
for the treatment of comorbid PTSD in people with
psychosis.
Two of these studies successfully and safely
applied EMDR therapy. Dropout rates were low
and treating PTSD was found to be associated with
significant improvements in depression, anxiety,
self-esteem, and even appeared to have decreased
the amount of hallucinations in one of these studies (Van den Berg & Van der Gaag, 2012). Clearly,
more research is needed. At the moment of writing,
a multicenter randomized clinical trial is being conducted, investigating safety and efficacy of EMDR
therapy and prolonged exposure for treating clients with psychosis and comorbid PTSD (De Bont,
Van den Berg, et al., 2013). It should be underlined
that in these studies, no procedures for stabilization were used prior to the application of the
EMDR procedure.
To date, only one published study used EMDR
to specifically target psychotic symptoms instead of
comorbid PTSD. In this randomized clinical trial,
psychotic symptoms were targeted by EMDR in a
hospital setting (N 5 45; Kim et al., 2010). Effects
of three sessions of EMDR were compared to relaxation training. No effects or significant differences
were found. This lack of effect is probably caused
by the fact that all clients were admitted for an acute
psychotic episode and, accordingly, received extensive treatment (including medication). This may
have concealed all other treatment effects. Perhaps
most important to note is that EMDR did not cause
any adversities.
This article describes the conceptualization
and application of EMDR in the treatment of psychotic symptoms and psychosis-related imagery,
using the Two Method Approach. The focus is
predominantly on delusions and auditory verbal hallucinations (i.e., voices). This approach is illustrated
with several case examples. Moreover, attention
is paid to obstacles and complications one may
encounter in the application of EMDR therapy in
clients with psychosis. Treatment strategies to cope
with these obstacles are presented. Because of the
complex nature of most psychoses, it is suggested
that EMDR is combined with other therapeutic
strategies, including the use of cognitive behavioral interventions. It should be noted that there is no
scientific basis for using EMDR in psychosis as yet.
Accordingly, this article is based on the clinical experience of the authors.
Talking About Trauma in Psychosis
Clients with severe mental illness (SMI) usually feel
an urge to talk about their traumatic experiences
(Lothian & Read, 2002). In contrast, clinicians seem
to fear that this will inevitably result in adverse events
(Read, Hammersley, & Rudegeair, 2007). This “harm
hypothesis” is nevertheless contradicted by intervention studies (De Bont, Van Minnen, et al., 2013 Frueh
et al., 2009; Mueser et al., 2008; Van den Berg & Van
der Gaag, 2012). In addition, this assumption is not
supported by a study that found that SMI clients
cope well with trauma interviews (Grubaugh, Tuerk,
Egede, & Frueh, 2012).
Disclosure of traumas and dysfunctional interactional experiences with parents, peers, and
others may be unsettling for clients but this is not
observed exclusively in those suffering from psychosis. The therapist should therefore be empathic
but goal oriented. A useful analogy is that of a first
aid doctor who cleans and stitches a nasty wound
not only in an empathic but also in a task-orientated
way rather than projecting a fear of blood and pain.
The emotional suffering that comes along with
addressing traumas is usually temporary. The burden of going through life with untreated PTSD
is often much more distressing because it results
in negatively reinforcing cycles between symptoms of PTSD and psychosis (Mueser, Rosenberg,
Goodman, & Trumbetta, 2002). Consider the following rationale:
Unfortunately you experienced some really
terrible things. Fortunately these things
are now in the past. However, you are still
experiencing intrusive memories of them.
As you know, memories can be very unsettling, but they cannot really harm you [give
an example, for instance: your father really
physically hurt you; but your memory of father does not]. In the treatment, we will work
through your worst memories. This will help
you experience that you have the strength and
resilience to cope. I am confident that you too
will succeed.
Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, Volume 7, Number 4, 2013
EMDR in Psychosis
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
209
Many SMI clients carry coping plans or emergency
plans. To facilitate stability and safety, these
plans might be updated and adapted before EMDR
treatment starts. Moreover, the current authors
emphasize the importance of experience with
clients with psychosis before using EMDR in this
group. Although the use of standard EMDR procedures is advocated, it is deemed important to be
familiar with the complexity of most psychoses,
the presence of comorbid disorders, and the context of working within a multidisciplinary mental
health team.
Indications for EMDR in Psychosis
First, EMDR is indicated in psychosis for comorbid
PTSD. PTSD is a highly prevalent comorbid disorder in psychosis (Achim et al., 2011; Buckley et al.,
2009). Untreated PTSD negatively influences symptoms of psychosis and clients’ prognosis (Mueser
et al., 2002).
Second, EMDR can be used in symptoms of psychosis that are directly related to earlier (traumatic)
life events. For instance, paranoia that started directly
after a traumatic experience (e.g., being assaulted) or
voices that are clearly trauma related (Hardy et al.,
2005; Morrison et al., 2003).
Third, the use of EMDR is indicated when life
events indirectly influence psychosis via core beliefs
and intermediate assumptions about self, others, and
the world. For example, being bullied in childhood
may result in negative expectations of others, which
eventually results in paranoid delusions (Fisher
et al., 2012). Similarly, low self-esteem has shown
to strongly influence reactions to insulting voices
(Paulik, 2012). Research indicates that these assumptions form an important cognitive link between
TABLE 1.
trauma and psychosis (Fowler et al., 2006; Gracie
et al., 2007).
Lastly, EMDR can be used to reprocess negative unrealistic and fearful imagined expectations
or negative psychosis-related imagery. Most
clients with psychosis report these types of intrusive imagery (Lockett et al., 2012; Morrison
et al., 2002; Schulze, Freeman, Green, & Kuipers,
2013). Preliminary results show that working
on imagery might reduce psychotic symptoms
(Morrison, 2004).
Table 1 shows the possible indications and conceptualizations for the application of EMDR in psychosis
using the Two Method Approach (De Jongh, Ten
Broeke, & Meijer, 2010). The therapist can follow
the standard EMDR protocol, yet must be aware of
some possible specific obstacles that may appear in
clients with psychosis. These will be addressed later in
this article along with various treatment strategies to
deal with them.
EMDR, the Two Method Approach and
Imagery
Experience gained from the application of EMDR
over the past years has shown that it is possible to
extend this treatment to a broad variety of psychological symptoms. Consequently, when a therapist
in the context of his or her treatment decides to
use EMDR therapy, the treatment will focus on reshaping the memories that underpin the symptoms
from which the client suffers. Therefore, before commencing treatment, the therapist will need to draw
up a coherent hypothesis regarding the relationship
between complaints, other than PTSD per se, and
a series of significant target memories to be treated
with EMDR.
Indications and Conceptualization for EMDR in Psychoses
Goal
Target
Method
Reduction of comorbid PTSD
symptoms
Memories of traumatic life events
that are frequently relived
Standard EMDR Protocol
Reduction of psychotic symptoms
Memories of life events that are directly
connected with psychosis
EMDR First Method Approach
Memories of life events that are indirectly connected with psychosis
EMDR Second Method Approach
Relevant psychosis-related imagery
EMDR on “flash-forwards” or
(fantasy) imagery
Note. PTSD 5 posttraumatic stress disorder; EMDR 5 eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.
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Van den Berg et al.
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
Assessment
Symptoms
(e.g., reliving events
anxiety, avoidance)
Dysfunctional
core beliefs
(e.g., “I am worthless”)
When did these
symptoms start?
Which situations/experiences
“prove” that you are a...?
Which problems are you
experiencing in the present?
Resource
development and
installation (RDI)
Target memory/memories
Cognitive
interweave (CI)
EMDR protocol
FIGURE 1.
Two Method Model of EMDR. Adapted from De Jongh, A., Ten Broeke, E., &
Meijer, S. (2010). Two method approach: A case conceptualization model in the context of
EMDR. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 4(1), 12–21.
The Two Method Approach is a comprehensive
approach aimed at helping therapists conceptualize
their cases thereby making it possible to formulate
hypotheses regarding which targets are essential for
alleviating symptoms. In other words, it is a structured
procedure that is executed prior to the actual EMDR
to select what target memories to reprocess. After
the targets have been identified using this method,
the standard EMDR protocol is used to reprocess the
memories (De Jongh et al., 2010). The Two Method
Approach is considered to be an expansion of the
traditional way of conceptualizing EMDR through
questioning (Shapiro, 1995, 2001). This model of case
conceptualization has two components (see De Jongh
et al., 2010 for a detailed description).
The First Method (see Figure 1) is used in symptoms
whereby the memories of etiological and aggravating
events can be meaningfully identified and formulated
on a timeline. It is primarily aimed at conceptualizing
EMDR in the treatment of Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text
Revision (DSM-IV-TR) Axis I disorders. Starting point
is the target symptom (cluster). Etiological and subsequent aggravating events are identified. Questions
to clarify this are the following: “From your point of
view, which event or events is/are responsible for the
current complaints or might have worsened them?”
or “Which events led to your symptoms?” The course
of the complaints is then plotted on a timeline. The
most important target memories are identified and
Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, Volume 7, Number 4, 2013
EMDR in Psychosis
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
211
rated in a hierarchy. Subsequently, the standard protocol is applied.
The Second Method is used to identify memories
that underlie the dysfunctional core beliefs or intermediate assumptions of the client. This method is
primarily used in complex psychopathology in which
dysfunctional underlying assumptions have an important influence. Starting point in the Second Method
are the negative dysfunctional core beliefs that are
connected with the client’s problems. Target images of experiences that have led to the formation of
these negative beliefs about self, others, and the world
(the so called “evidence”) are identified. Questions
that can be asked here are the following: “What
caused you to (start) believing/believe that you are
(a) . . . [core belief]?”; “What ‘taught’ you that you
are (a) . . . [core belief]?”; “Which early experiences
currently ‘prove’ so to speak, that you are (a) . . . [core
belief]?”; or “Think of a more recent situation that
makes it clear to you that you are (a) . . . [core belief]?”
These pieces of evidence are then rated in a hierarchy
(from strong to weak “proof ”) and reprocessed via
standard EMDR protocol to obtain a deactivation of
the negative schemas or a decrease of their credibility
to the client.
In addition, there is a third way of case conceptualization within EMDR. This is directed at unrealistic
and fearful expectations or negative imagery that is
associated with the psychopathology. It dovetails with
mounting evidence showing that imagery is an important factor in the emergence and persistence of
emotional disorders (Beck, 1970; Hackmann, Surawy,
& Clark, 1998). EMDR originally targets negative imagery of past events (i.e., memories or flashbacks).
Engelhard, Van den Hout, Janssen, and Van Der
Beek (2010) showed that taxing working memory,
such as EMDR, is capable of reducing vividness and
emotionality of negative imagery of feared future
events (so called flash-forwards). This development
has opened up an entire new area of application for
EMDR (Engelhard et al., 2011; Logie & De Jongh,
in press).
First Method Approach in Psychosis: EMDR
Aimed at Experiences That Are Directly
Connected to Symptoms
When there are apparent, direct connections between certain life events and the development
and persistence of psychotic symptoms, the First
Method can be used. In essence, there is no difference in the way EMDR is applied in the treatment
of anxiety disorders (De Jongh & Ten Broeke, 2007).
212
Via the First Method, experiences are targeted that
are directly related to the start or worsening of psychotic symptoms or to the content of these symptoms. Most clients are capable of identifying stressful
events that they subjectively relate to their paranoia
or hallucinations. Also, the actual moment that a client’s confusion got replaced by delusional conviction
is often clearly remembered. Memories of the etiological and aggravating events can be meaningfully
formulated on a timeline and then processed using
the standard EMDR protocol (De Jongh et al., 2010;
Shapiro, 2001). Actually, drawing this timeline with
a client can be very insightful, putting the events on
the X-axis and the psychotic symptom on the Y-axis
(Figure 2).
Case Example: First Method With
Comorbid PTSD
Judy was a 46-year-old woman diagnosed with
schizoaffective disorder more than 20 years ago. She
received intensive case management and her psychotic symptoms were mostly managed with medication. She worked at a restaurant for 12 hours a
week, where she still experienced ideas of reference.
When stressed, she sometimes reacted with a burst of
aggressive emotion.
A TV program about a rapist triggered some of
Judy’s memories. When she was 19 years old, she was
molested on a beach. By running away, she was able to
prevent being raped. However, the TV program worsened the flashbacks of this event as well as insomnia,
hyperarousal, and other PTSD symptoms that were
dormant. She strongly started to feel that she had
barely escaped certain death on that particular day.
When assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD
Scale (CAPS; Blake et al., 1990), she met diagnostic
criteria for PTSD.
The event and target selection for EMDR was
not difficult in this case: a clear-cut single event
with current flashbacks of the face of the aggressor. The negative cognition (NC) associated with the
target was “I am defenseless,” the score on the subjective units of disturbance (SUD) scale was 9 (0 5 no
disturbance, 10 5 worst possible). The desensitization
process went quickly and without significant obstacles. The SUD decreased to 5, then 3, then 1, and then
0. The validity of the positive cognition (PC; “I can
handle this”) increased to maximum, all in a single
session. The session ended with the procedure of a
future template: Judy imagined seeing a newsflash on
TV about a rapist and a murderer. She quickly judged
that she would be able to handle this.
Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, Volume 7, Number 4, 2013
Van den Berg et al.
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
PSYCHOSIS
Severity of
psychotic
symptom
TIME
Event that triggered the start
of hallucinations or paranoia
Confirmatory/
worsening event
FIGURE 2. EMDR First Method Approach in psychosis.
In the following session, a few days later, Judy stated
that she was surprised by the result. Talking about the
memory no longer triggered intense emotional reactions. However, she had been avoiding watching TV
during the previous week, fearing that the flashbacks
might return. Another future template session was
conducted as well as an actual exposure assignment:
Judy and the therapist searched and looked at rapecase news items on the Internet.
At follow-up, 6 months after the end-of-treatment,
Judy had recovered further and had stopped her avoidance behaviors. She no longer slept with the light on,
did not avoid the TV or newspapers, and was using
public transport without a problem. She no longer
met PTSD criteria on the CAPS.
Case Example: First Method With Voices
Francis was an asylum seeker from Sierra-Leone.
He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia
8 years ago. During assessment, he reported hearing voices, threatening him with statements such as
“we are going to chop your hands off ” and “we will
kill you.” He believed these voices belonged to
people who were actually out to get him and this
made him very suspicious and anxious. He was
jumpy, suffered from nightmares, and had difficulty
concentrating. The voices started after he witnessed
rebels torching people and cutting off their hands.
The psychotic symptoms (auditory hallucinations
and paranoid interpretation) were directly associated with these traumatic experiences, both in onset
and content. Using the First Method Approach, it
was hypothesized that reprocessing these memories would have a positive effect on his psychotic
symptoms.
The therapist provided Francis with information
on consequences of experiencing trauma. He shared
his hypothesis that the voices were directly related to
the traumatic experiences in Sierra Leone and that
he expected that trauma treatment might result in a
reduction of distress. Francis identified two very distressing target memories: (a) Witnessing someone
being burned alive and (b) seeing someone losing
both hands. The NC accompanying both pictures was
“I am in danger.” The EMDR standard protocol for
desensitization was used and SUD scores started to
decline.
The hallucinations complicated the treatment.
The voices were continuously threatening Francis
during the eye movements, blocking a decrease of
the experienced distress. Francis did not regard the
Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, Volume 7, Number 4, 2013
EMDR in Psychosis
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
213
voices as symptoms of a disorder. He was convinced
these voices were the actual killers and that they
were present in the Netherlands, so he felt his life
was in great danger. The therapist applied a cognitive intervention that can be regarded an extended
cognitive interweave. He challenged Francis’s beliefs
on the possibility that the murderers he saw in
Sierra-Leone 10 years ago were now here to get
him. Making a cumulative probability calculation,
Francis realized there were quite a few conditions
that would have to be met and that the odds that
this was actually the case were low. Although he still
thought it was possible, he felt safer and EMDR was
continued. SUD scores of both targets dropped to 0
in a few sessions.
Integrating psychoeducation, cognitive interventions,
and EMDR helped Francis to change his appraisals
of the voices. The idea that the voices were actually
very vivid flashbacks slowly gained credibility, which
motivated him to start ignoring them. This reduced
preoccupation with the voices. As a result, Francis felt
much better and was less burdened by the voices in his
functioning.
Case Example: First Method With Delusions
Leonard was a 48-year-old man with paranoid schizophrenia; he was diagnosed subsequent to symptoms
appearing after a life-threatening robbery a few years
ago; prior to this, he had never been in contact with
mental health services. The perpetrator threatened
him with a knife and Leonard thought at the time
that he had narrowly escaped death. A few weeks
later, Leonard encountered the perpetrator in the
company of some friends. The perpetrator looked
at Leonard and made a threatening gesture with his
hand (cutting his throat) and the assailant’s friends
all laughed. Leonard concluded “he is a gang member and they are going to kill me.” From that day on,
Leonard was extremely alert when outside. This hypervigilance evolved into a paranoid delusion unto
the point all Black people were part of a conspiracy to
murder him. Leonard isolated himself, his company
went bankrupt, and his wife left him. When he sought
treatment at the mental health service, he was totally
convinced that all people with dark skin in his hometown were after him. Leonard experienced no reliving
symptoms such as flashbacks or nightmares. But he
continued to worry about his safety and was preoccupied with being threatened. Because of these symptoms, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia
and his psychiatrist prescribed antipsychotic medication. Leonard became somewhat less preoccupied
214
with his Black neighbors, but his convictions did not
change and he did not leave his house. Leonard was
referred for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Leonard and his therapist started working on the
case formulation. It was clear to Leonard that there
were two important experiences related to his current
fear of Black people: (a) The actual robbery and (b) being threatened on the street. The therapist compared
Leonard’s complaints to those of someone developing a phobia for dogs after being bitten and Leonard
felt well understood. Psychological treatment started
with EMDR for these experiences with the plan of
continuing with CBT.
The first target was the image of the perpetrator
putting his knife on Leonard’s throat. The NC looking at this image was “I am helpless.” The SUD score
started at 10 and drops to 0 in one session. The validity
of cognition (VOC; I can handle this) rose from 3 to
7. The therapist installed a future template to reduce
the fear of walking his dog and encountering Black
neighbors. Leonard concluded that he was a strong
person and he was motivated to start walking his
dog himself.
At the next session, Leonard reported less anxiety
and preoccupation. He had walked the dog on his own
several times and succeeded in ignoring Black men.
The second target was his memory of the assailant
making the threatening gesture while with his friends.
The NC was I am in danger and the desired PC was
“I am safe now.” The future template focused on
shopping at the local grocery store, which is visited
by many immigrants. Again, Leonard concluded he
was strong.
EMDR was successful in desensitizing the target
memories and Leonard stated he had doubts about
the veracity of his suspicion. Therefore the therapist applied cognitive techniques. Leonard and his
therapist gathered all the evidence supporting his
belief that the gang still wanted to murder him.
They also took a close look at matters that argued
against this belief, for example, the fact that years
had gone by without a single attack. After some
behavioral experiments, Leonard continued the exposure in vivo.
The group of imagined potential assailants shrank
rapidly. Eventually, Leonard feared only the perpetrator of the robbery and the three comrades. He
was able to move freely in his neighborhood and to
return to work on a part-time basis. Leonard still
makes sure that he does not encounter the perpetrator. The therapist tried to motivate Leonard for a
final behavioral experiment: making inquiries to test
whether the perpetrator was still interested in him.
Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, Volume 7, Number 4, 2013
Van den Berg et al.
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
Activating event
Negative/dysfunctional core
beliefs and intermediate
assumptions:
Traumatic
events
and
Negative life
experiences
Dysfunctional
interpretation
• Self
• Others
• World
• If … then …
• Thoughts
• Emotion
• Behavior
FIGURE 3. EMDR Second Method Approach in psychosis.
Leonarddeclined this option and therapy ended in
mutual agreement.
Second Method Approach in Psychosis:
EMDR Aimed at Experiences That Exert
an Indirect Influence on Psychotic
Interpretations of Present Activating Events
Basic assumptions about self, others, and the world are
important factors in the development and maintenance
of psychoses (Garety, Kuipers, Fowler, Freeman, &
Bebbington, 2001). These negative schemas develop as
a consequence of negative life events such as childhood
adversity, being bullied, and experiencing discrimination. The Second Method Approach of EMDR aims to
identify and change these negative dysfunctional core
beliefs (De Jongh et al., 2010).
First, an assessment procedure aims to conceptualize the clients’ problems. Figure 3 presents the general
model. Core beliefs and intermediate assumptions,
relevant life experiences, and dysfunctional responses
are assessed.
TABLE 2.
Case formulations vary individually—by definition. However, the therapist may keep in mind
that, especially, childhood traumas characterized by
intention to harm (e.g., sexual abuse, physical abuse,
bullying, discrimination), neglect, and being raised
in an institution are causally linked to symptoms
of psychosis in adults (Bentall, Wickham, Shevlin,
& Varese, 2012; Varese et al., 2012). To illustrate
the way EMDR can be conceptualized in psychosis
via the Second Method Approach, three simplified
individual EMDR case formulations are summarized
in Table 2.
Based on the case formulation, EMDR via the
Second Method Approach is directed at those traumatic life events that are felt by the client to be the
most convincing evidence that his dysfunctional core
beliefs and intermediate assumptions are true. Each
of these pieces of evidence is reprocessed with the
standard EMDR protocol. Dysfunctional NCs are
reprocessed (note that each traumatic situation may
have a different NC and PC) and more functional
PCs are installed. The intended effect is that the
Brief Illustrations of the EMDR Second Method Approach in Psychosis
Trauma
Core Beliefs or
Intermediate
Assumptions
Dysfunctional Response
Activating Event
Cognition
Emotion
Behavior
Punishments by perfectionistic father
“I am a failure”
Hearing a voice
(“Hey moron!”)
“I knew it. I can’t do
anything right”
Sad
Socially withdraw
myself; ruminate.
Physical abuse
by mother and
siblings
“I am in danger;
Nobody can be
trusted”
Mother in law
criticizes the
way I run my
household
“She hates me, she
wants to kill me”
Fear, shame
Call on my husband
to protect me
from his murderous mother.
Childhood sexual
abuse
“I am a
weakling”
Imperative voices
(“Throw yourself off the
stairs!”)
“I have to give in to
them or they will
hurt me even
worse”
Sad, fear
Self-mutilate; do
what the voices
tell me to do.
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215
Activating event
Accusatory voices
Sex with brother
Death of brother
and hearing voices
Funeral of father
Mother depressed
“I am a bad person”
“I am worthless”
Dysfunctional interpretation
“Others are demanding
and unpredictable”
“The world is
unpredictable”
Thoughts
“They are right!”
“It’s all my fault!”
“I’m of no use!”
Emotion
Fearful and sad
Behavior
Isolate myself
Avoid others
Think about suicide
Suicide of husband
and cell phone off
FIGURE 4. Second Method Approach case formulation: Irene.
conglomerate of newly established PCs helps to disprove the overall dysfunctional core beliefs. They also
help the client to recognize that his symptoms are
understandable responses to extraordinarily adverse
life experiences.
Case Example: Second Method Approach
With Voices
Irene was a 49-year-old woman who was diagnosed
with schizophrenia and major depressive disorder
in her early 20s. She suffered several psychotic episodes and was, on average, admitted once a year.
Irene received intensive case management and lived
in a sheltered home. In her 40s, things started to
improve for Irene. Psychotic episodes occurred less
frequently, she got her own apartment, and eventually she married a man she had met during one of
her admissions. Last year, things went wrong when
Irene’s husband committed suicide while she was admitted. She turned off her cell phone because he kept
calling her over and over. That night he committed
suicide. This resulted in a lengthy admission during
which Irene tried to commit suicide herself more
than once. She was discharged from hospital after
10 months. She was then referred for psychotherapy.
Irene was hearing voices that insulted her and accused her of being hurtful to other people. She was
depressed and had a lot of suicidal thoughts. Irene
had strong negative core beliefs about herself, others,
and the world. Her most dysfunctional core belief
was “I am a bad person.” A lot of different traumatic
life experiences contributed to this core belief and the
216
therapist introduced the Second Method Approach to
determine what target memories to reprocess. Irene
was asked what life experiences still felt like evidence
to her core belief. This proof was part of her case formulation (see Figure 4): When Irene was 7 years old, a
brother forced her into having sex several times. Irene
got used to it and felt increasingly indifferent about it.
The same brother died in a car accident when Irene
was 12 years. The day after his death, Irene started
hearing voices. A few years later, Irene froze and was
unable to speak at the funeral of her father. Mother
labeled this moment as the worst moment of the day
and the starting point of her major depression that
lasted for 4 years. Last was the fact that Irene switched
off her cell phone the night her husband committed
suicide.
The EMDR therapy was focused on the following
targets: Not picking up the phone when husband
was panicking (NC: I am a bad person); having sex
with brother (NC: “I am a stupid slut”); and listening to mother’s comments on her funeral speech
(NC: “I am worthless”). One by one, the targets
were processed and PCs were installed. Together,
the PCs helped diminish the intensity and credibility of the negative core belief, I am a bad person.
The voices intensified during the first weeks of
treatment. The therapist normalized this. Irene
and her therapist discussed what to do about this
situation and agreed on continuing with the EMDR
therapy.
As the EMDR treatment progressed, Irene began
questioning and disputing the voices. She learned to
view them as “phantoms of her past” and became
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Van den Berg et al.
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
Activating event
Seeing a stranger on the street
Dysfunctional family:
aggression and neglect
Severely bullied by peers
Best friend laughed at
me when I was bullied
Dysfunctional interpretation
“I am a weakling”
“Other people are
malevolent”
“Other people are not
to be trusted”
Neighbor beat me up
Thoughts
“It’s one of them,
“he will kill me”
“I cant do anything”
Emotion
Fear
Behavior
Flee the situation.
Avoid going out.
Take precautions
(bicycle).
FIGURE 5. Second Method Approach case formulation: Albert.
less responsive to them. Although feelings of guilt decreased, the fear of becoming overwhelmed again by
the voices remained strong. To address this, the therapist and Irene constructed an imaginary future image
that they used as a target for EMDR reprocessing
(see “Imagery in Psychosis” section). The image was
of Irene, sitting in her room, surrounded by voices
coming from mother, brother, father, pillows, wires,
and tables. The NC was “I am powerless.” The SUD
dropped to 0 in two sessions. The PC (“I can cope with
this”) was installed in two sets of eye movements.
A series of future templates was directed at specific
situations to help Irene engage in normal daily activities such as not avoiding men and meeting her sister
again. At the end of treatment, Irene was still hearing
voices, but she paid less attention to them and was
less occupied with fears of getting overwhelmed. Her
self-esteem improved significantly and she felt less
depressed.
Case Example: Second Method Approach With
Paranoid Delusions
Albert was a 36 year-old-man. Ten years ago, Albert
was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when
he started hearing voices that insulted him. He suspected his neighbor to be behind this. He confronted
his neighbor, who told Albert to “piss off ” and stop
his “crazy allegations.” The two men ended up in
a fistfight and Albert was beaten up quite severely.
Albert came into the custody of mental health services. Medication made the voices abate. His paranoid thinking, however, remained. Albert was still
convinced that his neighbor and his friends were
watching him and waiting to kill him in revenge for
his accusations. Albert stayed at home as much as
possible, only leaving his house on a bike to be able to
quickly flee if necessary.
In CBT, Albert learned to question and doubt
his delusional beliefs. Albert revealed important life
experiences. His parents were addicted to alcohol
and neglected him. Albert repeatedly witnessed
his father beating up his mother. Peers in primary
school bullied Albert. In high school he succeeded
in developing a friendship with a classmate, but the
next year, when fellow students again beat him up
and threw him in the dumpster, his “best friend”
laughed. All this brought about his core beliefs:
(a) “I am a weakling” and (b) “people are malevolent and not to be trusted.” See Figure 5 for the case
formulation.
Albert expressed his conviction to the therapist
that many life experiences proved his beliefs to
be true. The decision was made to apply EMDR
via the Second Method Approach. Albert and his
therapist listed specific traumatic experiences that
fuelled Albert’s core belief I am a weakling: Father
punches mother, I freeze (NC: I am powerless); a
bullying experience at elementary school (NC: I am
a weakling); being beaten up and thrown into the
dumpster, best friend laughing (NC: I am a fool);
and beaten up by neighbor (NC: I am in danger).
Each of these memories was reprocessed via the
standard EMDR protocol. During EMDR processing, Albert spontaneously rescripted some of the
targets, imagining that he protected his mother
from his abusive father and that he fought off his
aggressive neighbor.
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217
His core belief “people are malevolent” was
addressed in the same way: listing past experiences
that functioned as evidence for this negative core
belief, applying EMDR procedure, and installing
positive cognitions. After all this, Albert felt his negative core beliefs to be less convincing. This increased
his motivation to test his paranoid predictions in a
series of behavioral experiments that were supported by EMDR, reprocessing the negative imagery of
these predictions. At the end of treatment, Albert
was able to leave the house for walks or shopping. His paranoid preoccupation had diminished
considerably.
Imagery in Psychosis: EMDR Aimed at
Unrealistic and Fearful Expectations or
Negative Imagery Related to Psychosis
The “Third Method” of EMDR is directed at
two of the types of imagery that were found to be
most dominant in psychosis (Morrison et al., 2002):
(a) images of feared catastrophes (i.e., flash-forwards) and (b) visualizations of the perceived origin,
appearance, or content of a symptom (i.e., activating
event).
Reprocessing “worst case scenarios” (often intermediate assumptions, “if I do . . . , then . . . will
happen”) with EMDR can greatly reduce anxiety
and associated avoidance behaviors. In this EMDR
procedure, the client is asked to describe his worstcase scenario. In some clients, this concerns intrusive
imagery they are familiar with (i.e., intrusive flashforwards), in others this target imagery is formed
within the session. Next, client and therapist identify
the most unpleasant image of this scenario, that is,
the regular way of target selection but in this case
not on a memory but on a fantasized disaster image.
The NC is per definition in the domain of loss of
control (i.e., being powerless to the intrusive image),
the PC is “I can handle this,” and the SUD are usually
high enough to jumpstart the processing of client’s
flash-forward. The regular protocol for desensitization is used.
The second type of psychosis-related imagery that
EMDR can target is mental imagery that the client
has of the perceived cause, appearance, or content
of a psychotic symptom. In the context of voices or
paranoia, a client may for instance form a mental image of his “assailants.” Reprocessing this image can
reduce emotional involvement and preoccupation.
A target image might for instance be that the client
sees himself sitting on the bed with a man besides
him who is yelling nasty things at him through a
218
loudspeaker. EMDR is applied in the regular way.
The NC and PC can be in any domain in this type of
imagery.
It is recommended not to use flash-forwards and
imagery until the client has developed at least some
awareness of the possible hallucinatory nature of
his/her perceptions. For reprocessing of imagery to
be effective, the client needs to have at least some
awareness of the fact that the feared expectations
might not be realistic or that intrusive experiences really should not receive that much attention. During
processing the healthy, adult, nuanced perspective on
reality needs to become dominant. When emotionality decreases, it creates space for distance and nuance.
Similar to a client with PTSD, the client with psychotic symptoms need to start realizing that there is no
current threat, that he/she is now safe. Therefore, it is
best to start with cognitive work and then use EMDR
on imagery when the client has at least some doubt
about his/her psychotic appraisals. This can then, if
necessary, be followed up with cognitive behavioral
interventions such as behavioral experiments or exposure assignments.
Case Example: Voices and Imagery
Marjorie was 21 years old, diagnosed with paranoid
schizophrenia, and burdened by auditory verbal hallucinations. This started 4 years ago when her grandfather died. She felt very lost and alone, and she was
unable to express her emotions. She felt responsible
for the suffering in her family. Above all, she worried
about her younger sister. The first time she heard
a woman’s voice, she was in the bathroom. The voice
instructed her to commit suicide and threatened
to harm her sister if she did not comply. Marjorie
started to think that this voice was a powerful spirit
that could actually kill her sister. To prevent this from
happening, Marjorie undertook three very serious
suicide attempts. She was anxious, torn by guilt, and
suffered from dissociation and automutilation. The
main trigger of these symptoms was not the voice
itself but an intrusive image of her dead sister lying
in bed.
The EMDR focused on the intrusion of her
dead sister, for it was hypothesized that this would
reduce symptoms. The image became less vivid and
symptoms began to abate. Marjorie’s motivation
to investigate her beliefs about the voice with CBT
techniques increased. She dared to test what would
happen if she did not obey the voice’s instructions.
She found out that less submissiveness did not actually result in injury to her loved ones (especially
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Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
her sister). Therefore, it was easier for her to ignore
the voice and both frequency and intensity of hallucinations declined.
Case Example: Delusions and Imagery
Faye was 45 years old and had been diagnosed with
schizoaffective disorder about 20 years ago. A year
ago, she started building up debts. To pay these
debts and save some money, she let her attic to a
student. She relapsed into psychosis and started
developing delusions about the tenant and especially about his Rastafarian friend. She became
obsessed with black magic and was afraid that she
was targeted with voodoo. Faye was admitted to a
mental hospital.
During the admission, Faye received antipsychotic medication and CBT, which helped her recover.
Faye was released from hospital after 3 months, continuing the CBT. She performed several behavioral
experiments and concluded that the tenant had no
bad intentions toward her. Because he knew it was
difficult for her to be confronted with his friend, he
stopped seeing him at the house. Several times, Faye
intended to tell her tenant that it was okay if he wanted to invite his friend again. But when she tried to
do this, she had an intrusive image of a voodoo doll
with blood streaming from its eyes. Although she
was no longer convinced of the voodoo, the images
frightened her and prevented her from carrying out
her plan.
The therapist proposed to use EMDR for this
image. The NC formulated was I am in danger.
SUD scores dropped fast, with the targeted image
changing rapidly. The first time they went back to
TABLE 3.
target, the picture had changed: there were crusts
of blood on the eyes now. The second time, Faye
started laughing. Daisies had replaced the crusts
and the SUD was 0. The future template dealt with
Faye opening the door for a visit of her tenant and
his friend.
A few days later, Faye sent an e-mail to her therapist:
This afternoon my tenant and his friend dropped
by for a visit. It was nice. I don’t know whether it
was the EMDR that worked or me deliberately
recalling the daisy-image in advance, but it went
fine. Thank you so much, Faye.
Obstacles and Related Treatment
Strategies
Several obstacles that may be specific to using EMDR
in clients with psychosis are presented, accompanied
by possible treatment strategies that may be useful
(also see Table 3).
Ongoing Traumatization Because of
Psychotic Experiences
When a client attributes auditory hallucinations, such
as voices, to the actual aggressor of a traumatic experience in the past, then this client may continue to feel
threatened and unsafe. Similarly, paranoid delusions
may cause ongoing traumatization. For example, a
client may feel that criminals, long after they have
mugged him with a weapon, are still watching him
and are out to get him. These clients might be unable
to feel safe in the present situation, even in the therapist’s room because they are convinced that people
are still out to hurt or kill them.
Adaptive Strategies for EMDR in Clients With Psychosis
Obstacle
Strategies
Limited concentration
Repeat the instructions whenever required during the session.
Low energy and poor continuous attention
Work slowly, possibly with shorter session duration.
Low working memory
Prevent complete flooding of the working memory by either
traumatic flashbacks or the distracting stimulus. The
distraction should closely match the intrusiveness of the
target image. Vary the distractive stimulus accordingly.
Lessened affective expression
Explicitly discuss how the client will rate his/her distress and
levels of anxiety.
Ongoing traumatization because of external attributions
of psychotic experiences
Cognitive behavior therapy, cognitive interweaves, or
resource development installation.
Medications that block the cholinergic system disrupt
the learning effects of EMDR
If possible and safe: do not take the medications on the day
of the EMDR session.
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219
Although it is not always the case, external attribution of psychotic experiences can prevent the
client from developing distance between past and
present. During EMDR sessions, the SUD levels will
be high, irrespective of the target selection, and will
not go down. External attribution may function as a
“blocking belief ” within EMDR, preventing the traumatic experiences to be reprocessed. Here, CBT may
be necessary to correct dysfunctional attributions.
Other options are cognitive interweaves (CIs) or resource
development and installation (RDI).
Cognitive Impairments
Poor concentration may be an obstacle. It is often
present as a cognitive impairment in psychotic
disorders (Bora, Yucel, & Pantelis, 2009). During
EMDR, clients may have difficulty following instructions and concentrating on the target image. Some
clients are unable to follow the fingers of the therapist (or other distracting stimulus) with their eyes
for a long time, and need repeated instructions to
keep doing so. Voices that are talking to them during
the session also distract some clients. Preferably, the
therapist nevertheless continues in the usual way. In
case of severe impairments, sessions may be cut short
in time. Yet it is advised only to do so when absolutely
necessary.
Some clients with psychosis have poor working
memory (Bora et al., 2009). Working memory is
assumed to play a central role in the desensitization
phase of EMDR (Andrade, Kavanagh, & Baddeley,
1997; Gunter & Bodner, 2008). Vividness and the
emotionality of traumatic imagery have been found
to decrease following the taxation of one’s working memory (Van den Hout et al., 2010). Too little
distraction does not work because a client may get
lost in flashbacks, yet too much distraction may
prevent the client from thinking about the memories at all. An optimal taxation of working memory
seems best (Gunter & Bodner, 2008). Some clients
with psychosis may benefit from a working memory
demanding task that is not too demanding; that is,
not taxing their working memory too much. On
the other hand, severely intrusive traumatic imagery requires strong distraction for the client not to
get overwhelmed. Therefore, individual fine-tuning
is needed.
Difficulty With Eye Movements
Some people with schizophrenia have impaired
saccadic eye movements (Krebs et al., 2010); these
are directional movements over a large angle, often
220
with the eyes following a stimulus. In people with
psychosis, saccadic eye movements can be slower
or sometimes impaired by involuntary movements.
Impaired saccadic eye movements may reflect general impairments in sensomotor processes in the
frontal cortex (Lee & Williams, 2000; Reilly, Lencer,
Bishop, Keedy, & Sweeney, 2008). Specifically, impaired saccadic movements may be connected to
prefrontal impairments in motor inhibition (Krebs
et al., 2010).
It is unknown whether these impairments are
an obstacle for EMDR. Obviously, they may cause
some difficulty with eye tracking of a distracting
stimulus. But recent findings suggest that EMDR’s
working mechanism is mostly rooted in the taxation of the working memory while thinking about
traumatic images (Van den Hout et al., 2010), and
this probably does not get obstructed by saccadic
impairments. If needed, other working memory
tasks may be useful instead of eye movements, for
example, bilateral auditory beeps, mental calculations, drawing something, games, walking around,
and tapping objects.
Antipsychotic Medication
Some researchers have concluded that EMDR may
work because it activates the cholinergic system
in the brain (Elofsson, von Schèele, Theorell, &
Söndergaard, 2008). This system is associated with
learning, memory, and attention. However, antipsychotic medication sometimes blocks cholinergic
receptors, with consequential side-effects such as a
dry mouth, constipation, increased heart rate, pupil
dilatation, and restlessness. Some clients get a specific anticholinergic agent prescribed as a remedy for
motor side-effects of antipsychotics (e.g., benztropine or trihexiphenidyl). While on such medications,
EMDR may turn out to be less effective; unable to
activate the cholinergic system. This is not yet certain, however; but it may be useful to consider such
interactions when EMDR is not working and a client
is heavily medicated. Lowering the anticholinergic
dosage may help.
Low Affective Expression
Apathy, anhedonia, and affective flattening are
some of the negative symptoms in psychotic disorders. Research indicates that affective flattening
mainly consists of lessened emotional expression,
not an absence of the subjective emotional experience (Foussias & Remington, 2010; Myin-Germeys,
Delespaul, De Vries, 2000). This, however, can make
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Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC
it hard to tell how the client is feeling during EMDR.
Sometimes a client reports high SUD, while at the
same time his facial expression shows no signs of
distress. This makes it harder to help a client stay
within the “optimal arousal zone” or “window of
tolerance” (Ogden & Pain, 2006). It is advised to discuss this in advance: which SUD scores indicate what
type of experience to the client? The therapist may
not see it on the outside, but the client can experience intense emotions within. It is usually no problem to talk about this.
Unusual Side-Effects and Destabilization
Sometimes unusual reactions occur. The authors
have encountered clients who keep hearing the
beeps of the auditory bilateral distracting stimuli
for some days after an EMDR session. These effects
have thus far always disappeared again within a couple of days.
Psychotic symptoms may temporarily increase
during EMDR (e.g., voices might increase in frequency or intensity for a few days). We advise to
mention this possibility in advance so the client feels
less alarmed when this happens. In all the years that
the authors of this article have been using EMDR in
psychosis (in outpatients and inpatients), no complete
psychotic breakdowns have occurred. However, one
cannot exclude this possibility for the future. A plan
for signaling an increase in psychosis and close contact with colleagues and the client’s social network are
important.
Dissociation symptoms may occur during EMDR.
The authors view dissociation as a dysfunctional
coping mechanism for high levels of stress. In the
case of dissociative reactions, it is important for the
therapist to stay calm and present. Most clients are
able to hear the therapist. Say something like “stress
apparently rose too high. We will just wait until
the stress is manageable again.” It may help to make
the client focus on details of the surroundings. It can
also be useful to discuss strategies beforehand, such
as a touch on the shoulder or naming 10 blue things
in the room. Clients themselves often know what
strategy is effective for them. Dissociation itself
is harmless and it is our experience that it always
passes.
Discussion
In this article, we provided guidelines for the conceptualization and use of EMDR. The illustrative
case examples show that psychotic disorders are
generally complex. They compose biological, psychological, and social factors and there is almost always comorbidity (Buckley et al., 2009). The authors
therefore advocate integrating EMDR in a more
comprehensive psychological treatment. In clinical
practice, we combine EMDR with CBT. For an extensive description of CBT in psychosis, the authors
refer to one of the many protocols (e.g., Morrison,
Renton, Dunn, Williams, & Bentall, 2004). Clinical
practice shows that EMDR and CBT can be combined very well. Quite often, cognitive challenging
is necessary to create a context within which EMDR
has a good chance of success. And in many clients,
EMDR needs to be followed up by exposure assignments or behavioral experiments to realize further
improvement. It is important to note that in CBT
for psychosis, treatment effects are greater when full
treatment programs are executed (Dunn et al., 2012).
The authors believe that delivering EMDR and CBT
combined has a synergic effect. Research into this
field is needed.
Being familiar with the phenomenon psychosis
and relevant treatment strategies is a requisite when
working with EMDR in psychosis. Psychoses are
often complex and are usually accompanied by comorbid disorders. On the other hand, therapists who
are experienced in working with psychoses know
that they don’t have to be too careful and that clients can handle a lot more than is generally assumed
by clinicians that are unfamiliar with psychoses. It
is emphasized that there is no scientific evidence
that any psychotherapy for psychosis is harmful. In
our experience, most difficulties in executing EMDR
in psychosis occur in the presence of comorbid personality disorders in which emotional instability is a
key symptom. This may for instance increase chances
of dissociation. The authors usually don’t use any
stabilizing techniques, however, and adopt standard
EMDR procedures. It has to be noted that the clients
we generally treat with EMDR are predominantly
diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and that these clients usually receive extensive
case management and antipsychotic medication. In
other words, often quite some stabilizing interventions have already been implemented. Unfortunately,
there are no data that show clear indications and
conditions for EMDR. At this time, every therapist
should judge what can and can’t be done given his or
her clinical expertise. Of course, clinicians should be
attentive to factors that influence the ability of clients
to undergo EMDR. When there are clear contraindications, treatment should be postponed or a different
treatment strategy should be adopted. However, the
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221
authors note that these factors are no different in clients with psychosis than in any other group of clients.
Moreover, it is emphasized that one of the main problems in the care for people with psychosis is the fact
that effective psychotherapeutic interventions are not
delivered.
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Acknowledgment. The authors appreciate the editorial
guidance of Daeho Kim in the preparation of this article.
Correspondence regarding this article should be directed to
David P. G. Van den Berg, Parnassia Psychiatric Institute,
Zoutkeetsingel 40, 2512 HN, Den Haag, The Netherlands.
E-mail: d.vandenberg@parnassia.nl
Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, Volume 7, Number 4, 2013
Van den Berg et al.
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