The Lived Experience of Adaptive Resolution in EMDR Therapy: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

This study investigated the lived experience of adaptive resolution in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy as both a process and outcome, from the perspectives of adult clients in outpatient mental health settings in the United States. Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method was used to analyze interview data from 8 participants. The results were used to answer research questions about the nature and extent of the change, how the experience of adaptive resolution impacts the clinical issues for which a client seeks treatment, and to better understand how trauma resolution is determined. The analysis revealed a phenomenological structure of adaptive resolution as a change process characterized by movement from constriction to expansion through a process of descent and re-emergence. Essential constituents of this process were identified along with the various pathways that participants took to resolve trauma. Findings included transpersonal experiences that appeared to facilitate the resolution of trauma. A further finding was change beyond symptom reduction, including spiritual and transpersonal dimensions of growth. These findings suggest that adaptive resolution in EMDR therapy may be a multidimensional change process, and that attending to clients’ lived experience can inform both research and clinical practice.