The Emergent Post-Loss Experience (EPLE) in Grief Therapy: A Mixed-Method Study

Emergent Post-Loss Experiences (EPLEs) are reported in experiential grief therapies such as Reparative Experience-Based Grief Therapy (REGT) and Induced After-Death Communication Therapy (IADC). Through these experiences, such approaches have demonstrated notable effectiveness and efficiency in the treatment of complicated grief. Yet their phenomenology and structure remain poorly defined, and no validated instruments are available for their assessment. The present study aims to address this gap by examining the phenomenological characteristics of EPLEs and developing a brief instrument for their assessment. Using a cross-sectional mixed-method design, an 87-item EPLE questionnaire was administered retrospectively to 64 former REGT patients alongside the Near-Death Experience (NDE) Scale. A qualitative phase was subsequently conducted to identify phenomenological domains of EPLEs, which informed the derivation of a 22-item EPLE Scale. The scale was examined using exploratory factor analysis, internal consistency, convergent validity, and network analysis. High inter-rater agreement supported the organization of EPLEs into four phenomenological domains: Contact, Sensoriality, Space/Time, and Impact. EPLEs were characterized by relational presence, multisensory perceptual features, altered spatial–temporal experience, and predominantly comforting and meaning-related effects. The EPLE Scale showed satisfactory internal consistency (ω = 0.79). Exploratory factor analysis did not support a stable multidimensional structure, suggesting that the scale is more appropriately interpreted using a global score. Network analysis revealed a highly sparse configuration with selective conditional associations and two organizing nodes, indicating a policentric organization of the experience. Convergent validity was supported by a moderate-to-strong correlation with the NDE Scale (ρ = 0.62, p < 0.001). EPLEs appear to constitute complex and structured experiential configurations that may play a reparative role in relation to the loss and promote adaptive reorganization of the grieving process. The EPLE Scale provides a concise global measure for future research and clinical applications.