Francine Shapiro

Francine Shapiro
Born(1948-02-18)February 18, 1948
Brooklyn, New York City, US
DiedJune 16, 2019(2019-06-16) (aged 71)
Sea Ranch, California, US
Alma materBrooklyn College
New York University
OccupationPsychologist
Known forEye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy

Francine Shapiro (February 18, 1948 – June 16, 2019) was an American psychologist and educator who originated and developed eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a form of psychotherapy for resolving the symptoms of traumatic and other disturbing life experiences.[1][2]

In 1987, she had an experience walking through a park that led to the observation that moving her eyes from side to side appeared to reduce the disturbance of negative thoughts and memories.[3] This experience led her to examine this phenomenon more systematically. Working with approximately 70 volunteers, she developed standardized procedures to maximize therapeutic outcomes, conducted additional research and published a randomized controlled study with trauma victims.[4] After further research and elaboration of the methodology, she published a textbook in 1995 detailing the eight phases of this form of psychotherapy. The text is now in its third edition.[5]

  1. ^ Shapiro, F. & Solomon, R. M. (2010). EMDR. In I. Weiner and W.E.Craighead (Eds.). The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology (4th edition). Vol. 2 Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
  2. ^ Olga Khazan (July 27, 2015). "EMDR Eye Movement Therapy for Victims of Trauma and PTSD - The Atlantic". The Atlantic.
  3. ^ "History of EMDR". EMDR.com. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  4. ^ Shapiro, Francine (1989). "Efficacy of the eye movement desensitization procedure in the treatment of traumatic memories". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 2 (2): 199–223. doi:10.1002/jts.2490020207.
  5. ^ Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures. (3rd Edition. New York: Guilford Press.