Zita Schiller
Doctor of Nursing Practice, USA
Title: Managing parental stress with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing resource development installation
Biography
Biography: Zita Schiller
Abstract
Early experiences shape the architecture of the developing brain, and consequently, social, emotional, and cognitive development. Young children, who experience significant neglect and adverse parenting, are at increased risk for developing a range of health problems, including behavioral and emotional difficulties. This can further develop into more serious disorders over time. Resource Development Installation (RDI) is emerging evidence based Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) method, utilized to enhance positive emotions, thoughts and behaviors, associated with positive memories and augment emotional balance. An Evidence Based Practice (EBP) project was developed to explore positive resourcing with EMDR RDI among parents of children ages 0-12, receiving behavioral health services through Arizona’s Children Association (AZCA), and its effect on parental stress and subsequently children’s behavior, after 7 sessions. The Parental Stress Index fourth edition (PSI4) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were utilized to collect the pre- and post-intervention data, while the Wilcoxon Sign-Ranked Test was applied to compare the scores recorded. A decrease in post-intervention scores was noted on several parental stress as well as child behavior problem domains. Therefore, EMDR RDI represents an effective treatment method for parental stress, which further influences parental perception of child behavior. Nevertheless, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test did not elicit a statistically significant change, (Z=-1.069, p=0.285), due to the rather small participant sample size (n=3), thus the project represents an exploratory pilot study, and it is utilized to generate a hypothesis. Implications for current and future practice, and need for further research is discussed.
