Muss Rewind Therapy to alleviate symptoms related to some form of traumatic experience: A thematic analysis of participants' experiences and their perceived effectiveness of MRT

Abstract

Sometimes referred to as a memory reconsolidation treatment, Muss Rewind Therapy (MRT) is a brief psychological intervention which has shown promise in treating symptoms related to some forms of traumatic experience. This study aimed at adding to minimal existing research by exploring the experiences of UK participants who have chosen to self‐refer for MRT for help with symptoms they attributed to some form of previous traumatic experience. Ten participants were interviewed online, and qualitative data were collected using video recordings and transcription. A semistructured framework was employed to explore participants' individual experiences of MRT. All participants rated MRT as helping alleviate the symptoms they related to a previous traumatic experience. Several key themes emerged regarding the participants' experiences of the treatment, including the overall role of the therapist; participants being at the end of their tether before seeking help; experiencing negative emotions during the intervention; repetition of the MRT process in the therapy room; and experiencing some positive outcomes. However, it was unclear whether positive impacts reported after MRT were due specifically to MRT or nonspecific therapy factors because of variations in the way the MRT protocol was delivered and inclusion of other techniques in or before the MRT sessions. Whilst more rigorous research is needed, including research which follows a strict protocol when MRT is provided, to compare MRT versus control group, this novel addition to the existing research, which looks at clients' perspectives on their experiences and their perceived effectiveness of MRT, can add to and inform further research development.