Page 109 - Post-traumatic stress disorder in adults with mild intellectual disability: Screening, assessment, and brief intensive EMDR therapy

Experiences with intensive EMDR and rotating therapists
all memories of the case conceptualisation were processed. Treatment
duration varied depending on the number of traumatic and stressful events
and the time required to process these events.
Data collection
In-depth interviews were conducted to generate a description of the
participants’ expectations (before) and experiences (after) of receiving
Intensive EMDR therapy with a team of rotating therapists. A total of fifteen
interviews were conducted, and three participants and their professional
caregivers were interviewed two weeks before and two weeks after the
therapy, whereas the three therapists were only interviewed two weeks
after the therapy. The main topics of the interviews were: ‘Expectations/
experiences with EMDR therapy’, ‘Expectations/experiences of the intensive
of the therapy’, and ‘Expectations/experiences of therapy with six different
therapists.
The interviews were conducted individually with each participant,
professional caregiver, and EMDR therapist in their preferred setting (i.e.
participants’ homes, care facilities, or therapy room). The first author, who
conducted all the interviews, did not participate in the therapeutic process,
minimizing potential bias related to dual involvement. The interviews were
recorded and transcribed verbatim. Observational data and field notes
were recorded immediately after each interview, and field notes from the
intervention study (Versluis et al., 2025a) were examined.
Analysis
Data analysis was conducted according to the IPA guidelines (Smith &
Osborn, 2008). Four researchers (first, second, last author, and a master’s
student at Radboud University) collaborated in this process. A shared
analysis was central to ensuring the trustworthiness of the findings.
Researchers engaged in seven discussion meetings (see step three, four
and six below) to compare interpretations and reduce potential bias,
facilitating a more nuanced understanding of the data. For example,
during one meeting, a researcher suggested that a participant’s responses
appeared socially desirable because of the frequent repetition of the
interviewer’s words, while another researcher highlighted instances where
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