Francine Shapiro
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. In 1987, she had an experience walking through a park that ignited the chance observation that moving her eyes from side to side appeared to reduce the disturbance of negative thoughts and memories. 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. After further research and elaboration of the methodology, she published a textbook in 1995 detailing the eight phases of this form of psychotherapy. EMDR was recommended as an effective treatment for trauma by some international practice guidelines. However, a recent study found the treatment was not effective for active military and post-military service personnel, but the study admits “This negative finding may be real but may also be due to chance and several other factors including small sample sizes leading to insufficient power, chronicity and treatment-resistance of participants, and  sub-optimal delivery of EMDR (two studies reported novice EMDR therapists with only level one training (2 days) (Carlson et al., 1998; Jensen, 1994) and two studies offered only two EMDR therapy sessions.” As well, the treatment received a 'conditionally recommended' rating by the American Psychological Association in 2017 along with brief eclectic psychotherapy and narrative exposure therapy. This rating was behind 'strongly recommended' treatments such as CBT, CPT, PE, and CT. Early life. Shapiro was born in Brooklyn, the daughter of Dan, who managed a garage and a fleet of taxis, and his wife, Shirley. The death of her  younger sister Debra at the age of nine affected her deeply. Education. Shapiro held a BA (1968) and MA (1974) in English Literature from Brooklyn College, City University of New York. In 1974, while employed full-time as a high school English teacher, she enrolled in a PhD program in English Literature at New York University. In 1979, having completed all but her dissertation, she was diagnosed with cancer. Shapiro travelled, then settled in San Diego and set up a nonprofit organization, Human Development Institute, along with Shirley Phares-Kime. Her post-recovery experiences shifted her attention from literature to  the effects of stress on the immune system, based on the work of Norman Cousins and others. Over the next few years she participated in numerous workshops and programs exploring various stress reduction and self-care procedures. During that time, she enrolled in the Professional School of Psychological Studies, San Diego (which was not regionally accredited, but was approved by the state of California for psychologist licensure and is now defunct). Her observations regarding the beneficial effect of eye movements, and the development of procedures to utilize them in clinical practice, became the basis of her dissertation. She received her  PhD in 1988, and her thesis was published in the "Journal of Traumatic Studies" in 1989, followed by an invited article that was published in the "Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry". Affiliations, presentations, publications. Shapiro went on to devote herself to the development and research of EMDR therapy. She was a senior research fellow emeritus at the Mental Research Institute, Palo Alto, California, executive director of the EMDR Institute, Watsonville, California, and founder and president emeritus of EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs, a non-profit organization that coordinates disaster response and pro bono trainings worldwide. The organization was a  recipient of the 2011 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Sarah Haley Memorial Award for Clinical Excellence. Shapiro was designated as one of the “Cadre of Experts” of the American Psychological Association & Canadian Psychological Association Joint Initiative on Ethnopolitical Warfare, and served as advisor to a wide variety of trauma treatment and outreach organizations and journals. She was an invited speaker at psychology conferences and universities worldwide, and wrote and co-authored more than 60 journal articles, chapters, and books about EMDR, including the primary text "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: Basic Principles, Protocols and Procedures." She was a licensed  clinical psychologist and resided in Northern California. Awards. As the developer of EMDR, Shapiro was the recipient of a variety of awards, including the International Sigmund Freud Award for Psychotherapy of the City of Vienna in conjunction with the World Council for Psychotherapy, the American Psychological Association Trauma Psychology Division Award for Outstanding Contributions to Practice in Trauma Psychology, and the Distinguished Scientific Achievement in Psychology Award presented by the California Psychological Association. Death. Shapiro received a second cancer diagnosis in her later years. She died suddenly on June 16, 2019 at a medical center North of San Francisco not  far from her home, after a long-term struggle with respiratory issues. The actual cause of death was unknown.