Qualitative Psychotherapy Research Research Articles

Capturing the change: a case study investigation of emotional and interactional transformation in emotion-focused therapy for couples

ABSTRACT Emotion-focused therapy for couples (EFT-C) is therapy which has a substantial evidence base both for process and outcome studies. However, to date there have been no in-depth empirical case studies that track interactional and emotional transformation in the couple, minute-to-minute, across the entire course of therapy. This case study aimed to observe the interactional transformation and emotional transformation in a couple over 11 sessions of EFT-C therapy. Videos of each session were analyzed using theoretically informed qualitative psychotherapy research. Results showed clients presenting with a negative interactional pattern, which appeared to be composed of two separate but linked cycles. Over the course of treatment, the clients presented with secondary emotions and behaviors including criticism and withdrawal. The individuals within the couple progressed at different rates through the expression of core pain and unmet needs, and after several sessions they were able to give and receive compassion to each other. They also showed signs of beginning to self-soothe more effectively and let go of some pain. The expression of assertive or healthy anger was found to be particularly important for the change in their interaction. Strengths, limitations and ideas for future research are discussed.

Taking stock of descriptive–interpretative qualitative psychotherapy research: Issues and observations from the front line

AbstractThe paper offers a perspective on some of the methodological issues present in current qualitative psychotherapy research (QPR). The authors are involved in this type of research (for 20 and 40 years, respectively) as researchers, as reviewers of papers submitted to journals publishing QPR, as well as past editors of such journals. The authors reflect at how the overall field of psychotherapy research has had an influence on how QPR is conducted. The authors further discuss a wide range of issues pertaining to QPR that often bring confusion in the community of psychotherapy researchers. These include: brand naming largely overlapping qualitative methods; epistemological confusion arising from the context and application of these methods; issues of data collection and the range of types of qualitative data; the confounding of investigative questions or aims with findings; the issue of interpretative frameworks in data analysis; strategies by which findings are generated; difficulties in assessing the representativeness of findings to the target sample; issues of generalisability of findings; and possibilities for developing cumulative knowledge across studies. The paper specifically focuses on those genres of qualitative research that have a descriptive–interpretative character, typically represented by brand‐name approaches such as empirical phenomenology, hermeneutics, interpretative phenomenological analysis, consensual qualitative research, grounded theory and thematic analysis, etc.

Metamethod study of qualitative psychotherapy research on clients' experiences: Review and recommendations.

A metamethod study is a qualitative meta-analysis focused upon the methods and procedures used in a given research domain. These studies are rare in psychological research. They permit both the documentation of the informal standards within a field of research and recommendations for future work in that area. This paper presents a metamethod analysis of a substantial body of qualitative research that focused on clients' experiences in psychotherapy (109 studies). This review examined the ways that methodological integrity has been established across qualitative research methods. It identified the numbers of participants recruited and the form of data collection used (e.g., semistructured interviews, diaries). As well, it examined the types of checks employed to increase methodological integrity, such as participant counts, saturation, reflexivity techniques, participant feedback, or consensus and auditing processes. Central findings indicated that the researchers quite flexibly integrated procedures associated with one method into studies using other methods in order to strengthen their rigor. It appeared normative to adjust procedures to advance methodological integrity. These findings encourage manuscript reviewers to assess the function of procedures within a study rather than to require researchers to adhere to the set of procedures associated with a method. In addition, when epistemological approaches were mentioned they were overwhelmingly constructivist in nature, despite the increasing use of procedures traditionally associated with objectivist perspectives. It is recommended that future researchers do more to explicitly describe the functions of their procedures so that they are coherently situated within the epistemological approaches in use. (PsycINFO Database Record

Supplemental Material for Metamethod Study of Qualitative Psychotherapy Research on Clients’ Experiences: Review and Recommendations

Supplemental Material for Metamethod Study of Qualitative Psychotherapy Research on Clients’ Experiences: Review and Recommendations

Grounded Theory methods in child psychotherapy research

This article considers the place of qualitative research in psychoanalysis and child psychotherapy. It discusses why research methodology for many years occupied so small a place in these fields, and examines the cultural and social developments since the 1960s which have changed this situation, giving formal but also qualitative methods of research much greater significance. It reflects on the different pressures to develop explicit research methods which arise both from outside the psychoanalytic field, as a condition of its continued professional survival, and from within it, where its main aim is the development of fundamental psychoanalytic knowledge. It suggests that the conduct of mainly quantitative research into treatment outcomes is largely a response to these external pressures, whilst the main benefits to be gained from the development of qualitative research methods, such as Grounded Theory, are in facilitating the knowledge-generating capacities and achievements of child psychotherapists themselves. The paper describes Grounded Theory methods, and explains how they can be valuable in the recognition of hitherto unrecognised meanings and patterns as these are made visible in clinical practice. Finally, it briefly describes three examples of completed doctoral studies, all of which have added significantly to the knowledge-base of child psychotherapy, and which demonstrate how much can be accomplished using this method of research.

Introduction to the Special issue on Qualitative and Quantitative Research in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy

Not available.

Qualitative research in adolescent psychotherapy: attachment and reflective functioning as psychotherapy’s outcomes of an adolescent with anorexia nervosa

The aim of this study was to examine both the change in attachment state of mind and mentalization competencies as outcomes of a two-year weekly psychodynamic psychotherapy of a female adolescent with anorexia nervosa. The Attachment Interview for Childhood and Adolescence (AICA) was administered at pre and post-treatment, and coded both with the attachment coding system and the Reflective Functioning (RF) scale. At the pre-treatment, the anorexic adolescent was assessed as insecure dismissing with very low level of RF, while in the post-treatment a secure attachment model and higher RF were highlighted. The AICA can be considered a useful method to assess the outcomes in adolescent psychotherapy, like the AAI is useful in adult psychotherapy.

Qualitative psychotherapy research: the journey so far and future directions.

This article documents the evolution of qualitative psychotherapy research over the past 3 decades. Clients' and therapists' accounts of their experiences in psychotherapy provide a window into the psychotherapy relationship and its mechanisms of change. A sizable body of literature has been generated that uses qualitative methods to collect and analyze these accounts and to shed light on the psychotherapy process. It notes changes in the field such as growing numbers of dissertations and publications using qualitative methods as well as a strengthening emphasis on qualitative research within graduate education and research funding bodies. Future recommendations include developing principles for practice from qualitative methods and conducting qualitative meta-analyses. Other recommendations include forming journal review policies that support the publication of qualitative research and that focus on coherence in adapting methods to meet research goals, in light of a study's characteristics and epistemological framework, rather than focusing on sets of procedures.

A Review of Qualitative Research in Counseling and Psychotherapy

In reviewing Qualitative Research in Counseling and Psychotherapy (McLeod, 2011), I encountered with this text a backdrop of a grand tour question, "How well has the author contextualized qualitative inquiry in the realm of counseling and psychotherapy theory and practice?" I found McLeod (2011) constantly embedding qualitative methodology and plethora of methods into counseling and psychotherapy field by pointing out the relationship between research and practice of counseling and psychotherapy and giving detailed account on philosophical foundations and actual practice of qualitative methods while zigzagging among multiple levels of contexts. At the same time, McLeod maintained his pluralistic position on methodologies and methods by critically examining multiple forms of knowing and positioning toward production of knowledge.

Problematische Selbstverhältnisse und Vermittlung

Summary Problematic self-relations and mediation. Qualitative therapy research as a reconstruction of the reflection of the relation between ego, self and society Qualitative psychotherapy research methods make it possible to take a closer look at the self-organisation of mental and social processes and thus develop a substantiated understanding of the systemic dynamics of psychotherapy. This article introduces the concept of polycontexturality as a methodological perspective with the aid of which therapeutic processes can be reconstructed on the basis of the reflective relationships between the »I«,

Text Analysis within Quantitative and Qualitative Psychotherapy Process Research: Introduction to Special Issue

The present paper introduces the special issue on Text Analysis in Quantitative and Qualitative Psychotherapy Process Research. The motivation for this special issue grew out of recognition of the following: (1) both quantitative and qualitative psy-chotherapy process research (PPR) make extensive use of text analysis (TA); (2) TA presents different characteristics that serve different aims in quantitative and qualitative PPR; and (3) researchers are not always fully aware of these differences in explicit and systematic ways. The present paper, together with the special issue it introduces, aims at stimulating a more explicit and systematic methodological reflection on the different ways in which TA may be used in quantitative and qualitative PPR. We first outline the general differences between TA in quantitative and qualitative PPR; then, we describe the extent to which the papers in this special issue illustrate these differences. Finally, we conclude by stressing that PPR may significantly benefit from researchers becoming more fully aware of the differences.

Situating the researcher in qualitative psychotherapy research around spirituality

This paper explores how the culture of the researcher can influence the interpretation of data collected using interview transcripts from a study into psychotherapy and spirituality. In the original study 18 psychotherapists and counsellors who were also members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) were interviewed about how their faith impacts on their therapeutic practice. The researcher was white, male, British, a humanistic therapist and a Quaker. Five out of the 18 interview transcripts were randomly selected and were given to seven researchers, from a variety of religious backgrounds who also analysed the interviews and commented on their experience of doing the analysis. Their reactions to the data were subjected to a heuristic thematic analysis drawn from Moustakas’ heuristics. The main themes that emerged were: researchers’ religious and spiritual reactions to the data; researchers’ reactions as therapists; and researchers’ reactions to the interviews and interview process. The implications for the standpoint of the researcher in qualitative research are explored.

Solicited diary studies of psychotherapy in qualitative research–pros and cons

Diary studies are scarce within the field of qualitative psychotherapy research. In this article arguments for and against the employment of solicited diary studies in qualitative psychotherapy research are investigated. The strengths of diary studies are presented along with arguments concerning their pertinence to the field. Limitations and potential critiques regarding the use of diaries are also addressed.

Therapists’ understandings and experiences of working with clients with problems of addiction: A pilot study using Q methodology

AbstractThis pilot study aims to increase our understanding of therapists’ subjective attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of working with clients with problems of addiction. The study yielded useful clarifications, arising from the finding that opinions about the nature of addiction support different approaches to therapy. In addition, it seems that diverse or conflicting attitudes and beliefs are likely to impact on the ability of therapists to work together effectively. Another objective was to test the feasibility of using Q methodology in this study and more broadly in qualitative research in psychotherapy. Participants were 13 therapists from a variety of backgrounds and working in a range of agencies. Using Q methodology, four distinctive factors were identified, indicating divergent understandings of addiction. Each factor is shown to be a multifaceted construct which does not correspond to any single theory or therapeutic orientation. It is suggested that the results have significant implications for therapists’ training and supervision. In addition, this study demonstrates the capacity of Q methodology to identify commonalities and diversity in viewpoints which do not conform to a priori conceptualisations. As a pilot study, this paper invites further discussion and research.

What clients find helpful in psychotherapy: Developing principles for facilitating moment-to-moment change.

Clients who had completed psychotherapy were interviewed about the significant experiences and moments they recalled within their sessions. These interviews were analyzed using grounded theory, creating a hierarchy of categories that represent what clients find important in therapy. From the hermeneutic analysis of the content of these categories, a list of principles was constructed to guide the moment-to-moment process of psychotherapy practice. The authors respond to the call for qualitative outcome studies and demonstrate how qualitative psychotherapy research can lead to empirically derived principles that then can become the foundation of future research and psychotherapy integration efforts.

Anglo-North American qualitative counseling and psychotherapy research

Qualitative counseling and psychotherapy research produced in the United Kingdom and in Canada and the United States is examined. It is shown that the methods and methodologies in the British research have been influenced by postmodern epistemology more than in North American work, which reflects a greater effect of positivism. Correspondingly, it is shown that a higher value has been placed on methods in the latter region compared with the former. The differences are discussed in terms of the way the field of counseling has developed in the United Kingdom compared with the United States and Canada. Also discussed are the tensions between realism and relativism and, correspondingly, between positive valuing of method and skepticism. The article concludes with thoughts about the implications of qualitative research for the field of counseling and psychotherapy as a whole.

Qualitative psychotherapy research in German-speaking countries

The authors present an overview of qualitative psychotherapy research in German-speaking countries. Special attention is paid to specific characteristics of methods, topics, and results, about which little is known in English-speaking countries. The authors describe historical and sociological developments in psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, clinical psychology, and the social sciences relevant to the advancement of qualitative psychotherapy research. They then focus on the development of methods of analyzing and generalizing data obtained from qualitative observations. Finally, they outline the most important topics and results of these methods: first interviews with patients/diagnostics, psychosomatic syndromes, patient's experience of the therapy process, interaction between patient and therapist, therapist's experience of the therapy process, and follow-up research.

Book Review: Qualitative Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Book Review: Qualitative Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Beyond grounded theory: The use of a heuristic approach to qualitative research

The grounded theory approach has become established as the qualitative methodology of choice for many counselling and psychotherapy researchers. It is now becoming apparent to many researchers that there are significant difficulties associated with defining what the grounded theory method actually is, and how is should be implemented. In addition, its popularity has tended to keep other qualitative approaches under‐explored and under‐utilised. This paper explores some of the methodological issues raised by the grounded theory approach, before presenting and then contrasting heuristic inquiry as a very different but equally useful form of qualitative methodology. Finally, the notion of researcher as bricoleur will be considered in the light of the need to develop pluralistic approaches to qualitative research in counselling and psychotherapy.

Restitutional Factors In Group Music Therapy With Psychiatric Patients Based On a Modification of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM)

The article focuses on a qualitative music psychotherapy research project at Set. Hans Hospital in Denmark. Nine patients participated in a group music therapy setting over six months. The article describes the effect of music therapy on the patients' level of functioning and the patients' own evaluation of the music therapy. Data sources included the GAF (DSM axis 5), a self-administered questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The music therapy model used is a receptive approach using music and imagery inspired by GIM. The model used is based on patients' imagery during selected, primarily classical, music specially designed for an inpatient setting. Results: The GAF investigation showed a positive effect of 7.2% in a meridian score, and the interview and questionnaires pointed out which parts of the therapy the patients found most supportive. The study indicates that the music therapy group was a good support for the patients, and the identified results suggest the need for investigations and empirical studies within this area. The patients benefited from the structured form, and they found the music part of the therapy helpful, both emotionally and structurally. It can be concluded that even if the study includes only a small number of participants, the music therapy method described here as modified GIM, may be a suitable treatment for schizotypical and schizophrenic patients in long-term therapy, with careful selection of musical pieces. The patients' own comments about the music therapy group show that eight out of nine patients were satisfied with the therapy and felt themselves supported. This was also evident in a decidedly stable attendanceof 98 %.