Rate My Professor Sarah Schubert

Sarah Schubert is a clinical psychologist affiliated with Murdoch University's School of Psychology and Exercise Science. She holds a B.Psych (Hons), M.App.Clin.Psych, and PhD from Murdoch University, awarded in 2016 for her thesis "EMDR therapy: crucial processes and effectiveness in a non-clinical and a post-war, cross-cultural context," supervised by Christopher W. Lee and Peter D. Drummond. Her academic interests focus on eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, including its efficacy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychophysiological correlates such as changes in heart rate, skin conductance, and respiration during treatment, and comparisons to other trauma therapies.

Schubert's key publications include "Adult PTSD and Its Treatment With EMDR: A Review of Controversies, Evidence, and Theoretical Knowledge" (Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 2009, with C.W. Lee), which reviews EMDR's evidence base showing large effect sizes superior to waitlists and comparable to exposure therapies, alongside the adaptive information processing model. In "The Efficacy and Psychophysiological Correlates of Dual-Attention Tasks in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)" (Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2011, with C.W. Lee and P.D. Drummond), she demonstrated EMDR with eye movements reduces distress more than without, linked to physiological dearousal and orienting responses. Additionally, "The Effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Treatment for Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Randomized Controlled Trial" (Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2016) highlights EMDR's benefits. Her research supports EMDR as an evidence-based treatment endorsed by bodies like the APA and ISTSS, and she received an EMDR Research Foundation grant. Schubert was listed among 2011 APS College award recipients.