Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Scott Gfeller

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a national health care problem. This violence affects 10 million people on average in the United States every year. This research focused on the treatment resistance for PTSD, a severe and disabling condition. This qualitative descriptive study provided a purposeful sampling of female survivors’ lived experiences and perceived effectiveness of EMDR in treating PTSD symptoms as a result of IPV. Study participants were 7 females, 18 years or older, residing in the Southwestern United States. The theoretical framework of the self-efficacy model was used to look at how posttraumatic symptoms can be so severe from IPV that they meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. The data analysis for the qualitative research involved hand-coding, categorizing, and interpreting as it related to the phenomenon. Audio recordings for each participant ensured accuracy in transcribing the results. The key findings revealed that 5 out of 7 women survivors of IPV considered EMDR an important treatment for healing their symptomology but with expressed caveats. Recommendations for future research are focused on a broader geographic area and larger sample size that can provide ways to bridge gaps in the effectiveness of different interventions like EMDR. The overall results provide a platform for future voices of women who experienced IPV while expanding knowledge of the effects of debilitating symptoms of PTSD and chosen interventions. The implication for positive social change is that this study provides data for practitioners and researchers as to whether EMDR is the right choice in treating PTSD resulting from IPV for long term results.

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