Frontliners narratives: qualitative insights into EMDR group therapy during COVID-19

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic raised unprecedented challenges for frontline healthcare workers and emergency volunteers, leading to significant psychological distress. To address these issues, EMDR-IGTP (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing-Integrative Group Treatment Protocol) was proposed as a trauma-focused group intervention. Although its efficacy is widely documented, little is known, from a qualitative perspective, about the experiences of frontliners who underwent this treatment during the pandemic.Objective: This study aimed to investigate the experiences of frontline professionals and volunteers who underwent EMDR-IGTP during the first wave of the pandemic, to improve psychotherapists' knowledge and skills in managing the psychological processes activated during treatment. Method: A qualitative study was conducted within the Emergency Psychology Programme of a northern Italian Health Authority. Semi-structured interviews were performed with 20 frontline workers who had attended EMDR-IGTP sessions. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to identify patterns and insights from participants' narratives.Results: Two overarching themes: (1) the participants' experiential journey through EMDR-IGTP, encompassing dealing with an unfamiliar treatment and with multifaceted reactions to adverse bodily sensations, be wondered of floating between the present and the past, achieving relief after going through complex reactions and searching for meanings for the lack of benefit; and (2) insights into intervention components, namely psychoeducation, the 'butterfly hugging' technique, and the group as both a safe container and a challenging context.Conclusions: Our findings offer insights for psychotherapists conducting group EMDR in emergency contexts. Psychoeducation and linking EMDR techniques to their theoretical underpinnings can help recipients fully benefit from the intervention. Adequate time should be reserved to create a safe environment and to evaluate how single receivers 'inhabit' the group. Future research should address the longer-term impact of group EMDR through longitudinal follow-up of recipients, as well as participant characteristics that shape engagement with EMDR in the group setting.