Effect of EMDR for Reduction of Pain Interference in Children With Sickle Cell Disease

NCT07001631 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 40

Last updated 2025-06-03

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Children with sickle cell disease may experience frequent painful episodes. This, together with the traumatic experiences during a hospitalization, can lead to the development of posttraumatic stress reactions. As the stress can trigger painful episodes (pain crisis) in children with sickle cell disease, the investigators think that treating these stress symptoms can reduce the pain-related problems in their lives. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is proven to be an effective trauma treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. Research studies show that EMDR can reduce pain in adults. The investigators want to study now if EMDR effective is in reducing pain-related problems in children with sickle cell disease.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

The Dutch version of the standard EMDR protocol with age-specific adaptations for children and adolescents will be used. The eight phases consist of history taking, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation. During an EMDR session, the child focuses on emotionally disturbing memories (images, thoughts, emotions, and sensations) while simultaneously focusing on an external distracting stimulus (e.g., eye movements). This process facilitates accessing and desensitizing the traumatic memory network, so information processing is enhanced, and new associations can be made between the traumatic memory and more adaptive memories and information. As a result, the traumatic memory representation will be less intense and emotionally disturbing. After the intake session (week 1), including case conceptualization and treatment plan, a maximum of 6 weekly EMDR sessions with a duration of 1 hour per session will be offered.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA)

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Karin Fijnvandraat, prof. dr. · Amsterdam UMC

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
6 Years
Max Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-09-20
Primary Completion
2026-07-01
Completion
2027-07-01

Countries

  • Netherlands

Study Locations

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Entities

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07001631 on ClinicalTrials.gov