Holistically stressed: A qualitative investigation of EMDR

To the researcher’s knowledge, there is no phenomenological knowledge of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with a sub-clinical stressed population. The vast majority of EMDR research has focused on traumatized and clinical populations, leaving a significant gap in what the non-traumatized or sub-clinically stressed participants’ experience. Sub-clinical stress includes any level of stress that does not meet the DSM-IV-TR’s criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or acute stress disorder (ASD). Additionally, a gap in the literature exists in giving a voice to the participants’ experience of EMDR treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the lived experiences of body sensations, emotions, beliefs, and imagery during EMDR treatment of participants with sub-clinical stress. Participants fit into either a young adult (18-35), adult (36-49), or older adult (50-60) maturity category and did not meet the criteria for PTSD or ASD. The sample consisted of 12 participants, from a large metropolitan area in the Northeastern United States. The participants chief complaints included economic stress, relationship stressor, and critical self-talk. The researcher employed a qualitative phenomenological design to gather data in order to answer the research question: what are the lived experiences of sub-clinically stressed participants’ body sensations, beliefs, emotions, and memory imagery during EMDR treatment? The data was collected using the EMDRIA approved research treatment protocol. The researcher included the floatback technique in every reprocessing session to complying with the tenet of the Adaptive Information Processing Model. After installing a safe-place and five reprocessing sessions, the researcher administered a final interview asking questions about what the participants’ experienced in their body, thoughts, emotions, and memory images. All reprocessing session were completed when the participant indicated a SUDs of ‘0’ and a VOC of ‘7’. The data collected during every reprocessing session and the final interviews were analyzed using constant comparative techniques and open coding; verified with member check techniques. The results identify five thematic holistic experiences common in all participants. The themes of responsibility, safety, choices, power, and value emerged from the data. The findings indicate a participants’ lived experience may expand the cognitive themes described in the Adaptive Information Processing Model. The themes of responsibility, safety, power, and value were targeted and reprocessed as disturbing memories. The participants experienced these themes as feeling overly responsible, unsafe, valueless, and/or powerless. The holistic manifestation of the themes of choices emerged as the outcome towards a more adaptive perspective of the disturbing targeted memories. The results of this study further indicate that it may be beneficial to address all four maladaptive themes in mind and body for effective sub-clinical stress resolution. The findings inform scholarly and clinical understanding of the Adaptive Information Processing Model concepts of responsibility, safety, and choices. The findings of this study preliminarily expand the previously unknown holistic manifestation of these themes in sub-clinical participants’ lived sensory experiences. These themes are now in need of additional research to verify and validate the findings of this study.

Conference

English

Earl Grey

Grey, E. (2009, August). Holistically stressed: A qualitative investigation of EMDR. Poster presented at the 14th EMDR International Association Conference, Atlanta, GA