The lived experience of adaptive resolution in EMDR therapy: A phenomenological study

This study investigated the lived experience of adaptive resolution in EMDR therapy as both a process and outcome, from the perspectives of adult clients in outpatient mental health settings in the United States.

Resource 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.”

—Description from publisher

Resource Access

Open Access

Dekker, D. (2026). The lived experience of adaptive resolution in EMDR therapy: A phenomenological study. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 20, Article 37. https://doi.org/10.34133/jemdr.0037