Getting the feel of therapy : understanding therapists' views and experiences regarding social-emotional skills in practice : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2016
DOI
Open Access Location
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
Rights
The Author
Abstract
Emotions are arguably at the heart of psychotherapy. While clients’ emotions in therapy have received a great deal of research attention, outside the realm of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic research, therapists’ emotions have largely been neglected. When applied to therapy, the concept of social-emotional skills describes therapists’ ability to be aware of their own and their clients’ emotions and then draw on that information to manage those emotions and in turn, the therapeutic interaction. As therapists’ social-emotional skills are a relatively new area of enquiry, this qualitative study sought to contribute to the literature by exploring therapists’ views and experiences regarding social-emotional skills in practice. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with ten practicing therapist participants between the ages of 31 and 62. Using Thematic Analysis, The Centrality of Emotions in Therapy was determined as a meta-theme and this was further organised into four main themes; Emotional Principles, Emotional Awareness Strategies, Emotional Practices as well as the Learning and Training of Social- Emotional Skills. The findings were visually represented using ‘The Tree of Therapists’ Social-Emotional Interactions’ model. Implications of the findings, limitations of the current study and future research directions are discussed.
Description
Keywords
Psychotherapy, Psychotherapists, Attitudes, Social skills, Emotions, Psychotherapist and patient, Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Psychology::Applied psychology
Citation