Understanding the experience of clients with psychosomatic symptoms in person-centered therapy. A grounded theory

Abstract

ABSTRACT This qualitative research aimed to investigate clients’ perceptions regarding the impact of person-centered therapy on how they dealt with their psychosomatic symptoms. Grounded theory methodology was applied to analyze data that were collected through semi-structured interviews with six clients, who were engaged in or had recently completed person-centered therapy. The theoretical model that emerged sheds light on how clients make sense of their psychosomatic symptoms through person-centered therapy and was organized around the core category of ‘Validation, empathy, and acceptance as keys of a healing relationship for clients with psychosomatic symptoms’, which includes two key-categories, namely ‘Person-centered therapy and psychosomatic symptoms’ and ‘The person-centered therapeutic process’. According to the emergent theory, the therapeutic relationship plays a vital part in the therapeutic process and the therapists’ validation, empathy, and unconditional acceptance are experienced as the key ingredients of the therapeutic process for clients with psychosomatic symptoms. These results have important implications for practicing professionals, including the importance of managing these clients’ expectations early in therapy and of the steady provision of empathy, acceptance, and validation for the clients’ experiences.