Psychiatric nurse-delivered Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for adults with moderate to severe post-traumatic stress symptoms in Jordan: a preliminary randomized controlled trial

BMC Nurs. 2026 Jul 17. doi: 10.1186/s12912-026-05068-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with substantial psychological, social, and functional impairment. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based trauma-focused intervention; however, evidence regarding its delivery by psychiatric nurses remains limited, particularly in Middle Eastern settings. This study evaluated the effectiveness of psychiatric nurse-delivered EMDR for reducing post-traumatic stress symptoms among Jordanian adults.

METHODS: A two-arm randomized controlled trial with repeated measurements was conducted among 70 adults experiencing moderate to severe post-traumatic stress symptoms. Participants were randomly allocated to either nurse-delivered EMDR therapy (n = 35) or a waitlist control group (n = 35). PTSD symptom severity was assessed using the Primary Care PTSD Screen (PC-PTSD) at baseline, immediately following the intervention, and at one-month follow-up. Repeated-measures ANOVA and ANCOVA were used to evaluate intervention effects over time.

RESULTS: Participants receiving EMDR demonstrated significantly greater reductions in PTSD symptom scores compared with the waitlist control group at both post-intervention and one-month follow-up assessments. Mean PC-PTSD scores in the EMDR group decreased from 3.71 ± 0.67 at baseline to 2.34 ± 0.68 post-intervention and 0.03 ± 0.17 at one-month follow-up, compared with 3.77 ± 0.43, 3.10 ± 0.56, and 2.70 ± 0.59, respectively, in the waitlist control group. Repeated-measures analyses revealed significant effects of time [F(1,68) = 781.45, p < .001], group [F(1,68) = 159.9, p < .001], and the group × time interaction [F(1,68) = 224.27, p < .001]. After adjustment for sociodemographic and health-related covariates, the intervention effect remained statistically significant [F(1,56) = 127.1, p < .001]. Among the covariates examined, only age was significantly associated with PTSD symptom severity over time [F(1,56) = 4.14, p = .045, partial η²=0.070].

CONCLUSIONS: Nurse-delivered EMDR was associated with significant and sustained reductions in PTSD symptom severity among Jordanian adults. These findings support the feasibility of integrating trained psychiatric nurses into the delivery of trauma-focused psychological interventions and highlight the potential of nurse-delivered EMDR to expand access to evidence-based mental health care. Larger multicenter randomized controlled trials with active comparison groups and longer follow-up periods are needed to confirm these findings.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered on 14/02/2026 at ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier [NCT07423832].

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBERS: [ NCT07423832 ].

PMID:42469765 | DOI:10.1186/s12912-026-05068-y