Linguistic changes during EMDR sessions: A preliminary single-case study

Several studies have used text analysis software such as Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) to study how language modification reflects improvements in individuals’ psychophysical health. The aim of this preliminary single-case study was to evaluate the linguistic changes occurring during EMDR sessions in a patient suffering from anorexia nervosa. Each weekly session (N = 73) of an entire one-and-a-half-year treatment was divided into three different stages (pre-stimulation, stimulation and post-stimulation phase): the patient's speech was analysed at each phase. Results showed significant changes in the examined linguistic categories: affective processes, cognitive processes, biological processes and non-fluency words. These changes were observed before, during and after the bilateral stimulations. These results are discussed in the light of previous studies concerning the linguistic changes occurring in traumatic event disclosure. They suggest access and reprocessing of painful events during each session, especially when the clinician uses bilateral stimulation. It is possible to suppose the patient's progressive processing of the traumatic experience, followed by its integration into more adaptive mnemonic networks at the end of the therapeutic session. In conclusion, the observed linguistic changes could be representative of an adaptive resolution of adverse life experiences, allowing the patient to create new connections between thoughts, images and bodily sensations linked to the target memories. The clinical implications and limits of this single-case study are also discussed.