EMDR Processing of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Although eye movement desensitisaiton and reprocessing (EMDR) is an established treatment for PTSD in the general population, research on applications of EMDR therapy to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is limited, even scarce. A PsychInfo search threw up only one other reference for the application of EMDR therapy to CFS (e.g., Royle [1]). One of the beliefs about EMDR therapy is its limited applicability to syndromes with a physical, biological or organic origin. The understanding that chronic fatigue syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) is precipitated by a viral infection advances the view that CFS is a medical condition that requires medical interventions. The likelihood, therefore, that a practitioner would refer or undertake EMDR as an intervention for CFS/ME is slim, since CFS/ME as a medical condtion is not related to the processing of negative memories and the resolution of symptoms related to the memories.