15438. EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION REPROCESSING (EMDR) THERAPY: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. This paper provides an introduction to EMDR therapy and a review of its effectiveness by way of a critical review and analysis of three journal articles focusing on this controversial therapy. Articles included in the review include a study on the use of EMDR for substance abuse authored by the "inventor" of the therapy; a review of seven controlled studies; and a review of 17 empirical studies evaluating EMDR treatment outcome. Concludes that there is scant evidence of EMDR effectiveness and ample evidence that EMDR supporters promise far more than the therapy can deliver. KEYWORDS: controversial therapies eye movement desentiization. 15 pages, 12 footnotes, 3 bibliographic references.