Clients’ lived experiences of therapeutic relationship: A phenomenological study
Background: Therapeutic relationship is one of the most important aspects of psychotherapy, and quantitative methods have been the most popular approach for conducting research in this field. However, during the recent decade, qualitative research has opened new ways of understanding client-therapis...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | fas |
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Dr. Mahmoud Mansour publication
2023-07-01
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| Series: | مجله علوم روانشناختی |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psychologicalscience.ir/article-1-1965-en.pdf |
| _version_ | 1828715800738922496 |
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| author | Vahid Qamari Zamharir Seyed Saeid Pournaghash Tehrani Nima Ghorbani |
| author_facet | Vahid Qamari Zamharir Seyed Saeid Pournaghash Tehrani Nima Ghorbani |
| author_sort | Vahid Qamari Zamharir |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Therapeutic relationship is one of the most important aspects of psychotherapy, and quantitative methods have been the most popular approach for conducting research in this field. However, during the recent decade, qualitative research has opened new ways of understanding client-therapist relationships. Among the qualitative methods, the phenomenological perspective has turned the clients’ experience of the therapeutic relationship into an opportunity to enrich researchers' views on the therapeutic process where literature on Iranian samples suffers a noticeable gap.
Aims: This study seeks the answer to the question of how the therapeutic relationship is experienced by clients. The current study aims at an immediate and phenomenological account of the therapeutic relationship essence from the client’s point of view.
Methods: This study is carried out with the qualitative approach and uses descriptive phenomenology as its method. The participants were 6 former psychotherapy clients, selected purposefully from volunteers based on the predetermined inclusion criteria as representatives of the former psychotherapy clients population. The data was provided by in-depth semi-structured interviews and was analyzed using Giorgi’s four-phased procedure (2003).
Results: The meaning constituents are illustrated in main 5 domains: centrality of relationship and alliance vs intervention, metaphorical understanding of therapy as a facilitator of the experience, active participation of the client in narration-experience dialogue, genuineness, empathy, and positive unconditional regard: the essence of the therapeutic relationship, importance of the person of therapist and contribution of her relational-interpersonal effects to the interactional field of therapy.
Conclusion: According to the findings, the therapeutic experience can be contextualized in the mutual and responsive relationship between the client and therapist. The findings may be useful for psychotherapy supervisors and trainees as a guide in enhancing the therapeutic relationship and alliance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:53:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d4a311705d7e465aa0e2e9ba181b6870 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1735-7462 2676-6639 |
| language | fas |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:53:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Dr. Mahmoud Mansour publication |
| record_format | Article |
| series | مجله علوم روانشناختی |
| spelling | doaj.art-d4a311705d7e465aa0e2e9ba181b68702023-10-20T20:38:46ZfasDr. Mahmoud Mansour publicationمجله علوم روانشناختی1735-74622676-66392023-07-0122124667684Clients’ lived experiences of therapeutic relationship: A phenomenological studyVahid Qamari Zamharir0Seyed Saeid Pournaghash Tehrani1Nima Ghorbani2 Master of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Associate Professor. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Professor. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Background: Therapeutic relationship is one of the most important aspects of psychotherapy, and quantitative methods have been the most popular approach for conducting research in this field. However, during the recent decade, qualitative research has opened new ways of understanding client-therapist relationships. Among the qualitative methods, the phenomenological perspective has turned the clients’ experience of the therapeutic relationship into an opportunity to enrich researchers' views on the therapeutic process where literature on Iranian samples suffers a noticeable gap. Aims: This study seeks the answer to the question of how the therapeutic relationship is experienced by clients. The current study aims at an immediate and phenomenological account of the therapeutic relationship essence from the client’s point of view. Methods: This study is carried out with the qualitative approach and uses descriptive phenomenology as its method. The participants were 6 former psychotherapy clients, selected purposefully from volunteers based on the predetermined inclusion criteria as representatives of the former psychotherapy clients population. The data was provided by in-depth semi-structured interviews and was analyzed using Giorgi’s four-phased procedure (2003). Results: The meaning constituents are illustrated in main 5 domains: centrality of relationship and alliance vs intervention, metaphorical understanding of therapy as a facilitator of the experience, active participation of the client in narration-experience dialogue, genuineness, empathy, and positive unconditional regard: the essence of the therapeutic relationship, importance of the person of therapist and contribution of her relational-interpersonal effects to the interactional field of therapy. Conclusion: According to the findings, the therapeutic experience can be contextualized in the mutual and responsive relationship between the client and therapist. The findings may be useful for psychotherapy supervisors and trainees as a guide in enhancing the therapeutic relationship and alliance.http://psychologicalscience.ir/article-1-1965-en.pdftherapeutic alliancetherapeutic relationshiprelational perspective |
| spellingShingle | Vahid Qamari Zamharir Seyed Saeid Pournaghash Tehrani Nima Ghorbani Clients’ lived experiences of therapeutic relationship: A phenomenological study مجله علوم روانشناختی therapeutic alliance therapeutic relationship relational perspective |
| title | Clients’ lived experiences of therapeutic relationship: A phenomenological study |
| title_full | Clients’ lived experiences of therapeutic relationship: A phenomenological study |
| title_fullStr | Clients’ lived experiences of therapeutic relationship: A phenomenological study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clients’ lived experiences of therapeutic relationship: A phenomenological study |
| title_short | Clients’ lived experiences of therapeutic relationship: A phenomenological study |
| title_sort | clients lived experiences of therapeutic relationship a phenomenological study |
| topic | therapeutic alliance therapeutic relationship relational perspective |
| url | http://psychologicalscience.ir/article-1-1965-en.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vahidqamarizamharir clientslivedexperiencesoftherapeuticrelationshipaphenomenologicalstudy AT seyedsaeidpournaghashtehrani clientslivedexperiencesoftherapeuticrelationshipaphenomenologicalstudy AT nimaghorbani clientslivedexperiencesoftherapeuticrelationshipaphenomenologicalstudy |