The study of the group intervention containing EMDR therapy for children and mothers in the field of trauma after a mine explosion in Turkey

Abstract Background On the 13th of May 2014, 301 miners lost their lives in a coal mine explosion in Soma, Turkey. A field study was conducted by volunteers under the roof of the EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs: Trauma Recovery (EMDR-HAP-TR) organization. Objective All the interventions in this study were aimed to help victims of the disaster. Furthermore, the study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the intervention, specifically the EMDR Group Protocol (EMDR-GP) with Children and Caregivers, which was administered to children and mothers who lost their fathers and husbands in the Soma mine disaster. Methods Participants in the study were 25 children and 16 mothers in the intervention group and 25 children and 16 mothers in the control group. The Child's Reaction to Traumatic Events Scale (CROPS) was administered to the children and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was administered to the mothers. In the intervention groupe, the Subjective Units of Disturbance scale (SUD) was administered both to children and to mothers at different times during the intervention, including before and after desensitization, and at the end of the intervention. CROPS and IES-R were administered before the intervention and 1-year post-intervention. In the control group, CROPS was administered to 25 children and IES-R was administered to 16 mothers. As there was no initial inclusion for a control group due to the field intervention, pre-test measures are not available for the control group. Results The SUD ratings and one-year follow-up results on CROPS and IES-R showed that the EMDR-GP reduced all scores for both children and mothers. Compared to the control group, the decrease of CROPS scores in children was found to be significant, while the decrease of IES-R scores in mothers was not. It can be suggested that the EMDR-GP with Children and Caregivers is an effective treatment. Conclusion These preliminary findings need to be verified by further studies with a larger number of participants and other populations. Future studies should also include a grief-based scale in situations where there is a risk of traumatic bereavement.