Clinician experiences with EMDR: Factors influencing attrition and retention

This study investigated factors contributing to clinician attrition from eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy. The primary areas under investigation were factors contributing to attrition and retention, as well as the quest to obtain information pertaining to training experiences. A sample of 239 clinicians was purposefully obtained. Several patterns emerged within the data, highlighting the issues of attrition: Loyalty to other treatment modalities and discomfort with using EMDR, either through lack of confidence, inadequate training, or discomfort with client distress, were both correlated with clinician attrition. Treatment efficacy and ongoing consultation were remarkable for retention. Practice setting surfaced as statistically significant, and operating in private practice was positively correlated with greater participation in EMDR support activities. Additionally, the adequacy of the training format was presented, as well as how prepared the participants felt after completion of EMDR training. A number of findings were consistent with earlier studies and the converging results of loyalty to previous modalities and discomfort using EMDR gave rise to recommendations for future training and support of newly trained clinicians. The limitations of the current study were presented, in addition to directions for future research.

Dissertation/Thesis

English

Jacqueline Grimmett

Grimmett, J. (2013). Clinician experiences with EMDR: Factors influencing attrition and retention. Dissertation Abstracts International, Section B. Sciences and Engineering, 73(12-B)(E)