Finding a Balance Between Being Professional and Being Personal. Experiences of Seven Psychotherapists
(2025) In Journal for Person-Oriented Research 11(1). p.49-57- Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore factors psychotherapists believe influence their choice of theory, method, and techniques when doing therapeutic work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six certified psychotherapists and one psychotherapist in training. The interviews were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative methodology which explores how individuals make sense of their experiences. With the help of that methodology, we identified four main themes: Congruence, Responsibility, Context, and Flexibility. Our results indicated that practical and theoretical knowledge needs to be synchronized with the individual prac-titioner’s basic personality. This enables the psychotherapists to... (More)
The aim of this study was to explore factors psychotherapists believe influence their choice of theory, method, and techniques when doing therapeutic work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six certified psychotherapists and one psychotherapist in training. The interviews were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative methodology which explores how individuals make sense of their experiences. With the help of that methodology, we identified four main themes: Congruence, Responsibility, Context, and Flexibility. Our results indicated that practical and theoretical knowledge needs to be synchronized with the individual prac-titioner’s basic personality. This enables the psychotherapists to experience themselves as professionals, as well as being their authentic self. When the professional and personal identity is joined together, a space is created for greater flexibility in the use of methods and techniques. The study also indicated the existence of a habitus among the psychotherapists embodied in a common language, derived from professional training, supervision and collegial discussions. There was also a consensus among the psychotherapists that they, as profes-sionals, need to be independent and autonomous when doing therapeutic work. Permissive and supportive organizations were seen as an important asset, as well as access to colleagues and networks. The participants in the present study characterized their attitudes to clinical work using keywords such as curiosity, presence, and co-creation. It is suggested that therapists constantly walk a fine line between being an expert and at the same time bracketing their professional knowledge to meet the needs of their clients. A main limitation of the present study was that almost all participants belonged to one therapeutic orientation within the field of psychotherapy (family therapy).
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- author
- Hörnebrant, Mikael ; Jeppsson, Åsa and Hilte, Mats LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-04-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- habitus, person, phenomenology, profession, professional judgement, psychotherapist
- in
- Journal for Person-Oriented Research
- volume
- 11
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 9 pages
- publisher
- Lundh Research Foundation
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105002461957
- pmid:40207187
- ISSN
- 2002-0244
- DOI
- 10.17505/jpor.2025.27723
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2025, Lundh Research Foundation. All rights reserved.
- id
- e7f2f38e-f06e-4bc0-8147-24954173b519
- date added to LUP
- 2025-08-22 14:59:18
- date last changed
- 2025-08-23 03:00:03
@article{e7f2f38e-f06e-4bc0-8147-24954173b519,
abstract = {{<p>The aim of this study was to explore factors psychotherapists believe influence their choice of theory, method, and techniques when doing therapeutic work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six certified psychotherapists and one psychotherapist in training. The interviews were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative methodology which explores how individuals make sense of their experiences. With the help of that methodology, we identified four main themes: Congruence, Responsibility, Context, and Flexibility. Our results indicated that practical and theoretical knowledge needs to be synchronized with the individual prac-titioner’s basic personality. This enables the psychotherapists to experience themselves as professionals, as well as being their authentic self. When the professional and personal identity is joined together, a space is created for greater flexibility in the use of methods and techniques. The study also indicated the existence of a habitus among the psychotherapists embodied in a common language, derived from professional training, supervision and collegial discussions. There was also a consensus among the psychotherapists that they, as profes-sionals, need to be independent and autonomous when doing therapeutic work. Permissive and supportive organizations were seen as an important asset, as well as access to colleagues and networks. The participants in the present study characterized their attitudes to clinical work using keywords such as curiosity, presence, and co-creation. It is suggested that therapists constantly walk a fine line between being an expert and at the same time bracketing their professional knowledge to meet the needs of their clients. A main limitation of the present study was that almost all participants belonged to one therapeutic orientation within the field of psychotherapy (family therapy).</p>}},
author = {{Hörnebrant, Mikael and Jeppsson, Åsa and Hilte, Mats}},
issn = {{2002-0244}},
keywords = {{habitus; person; phenomenology; profession; professional judgement; psychotherapist}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{04}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{49--57}},
publisher = {{Lundh Research Foundation}},
series = {{Journal for Person-Oriented Research}},
title = {{Finding a Balance Between Being Professional and Being Personal. Experiences of Seven Psychotherapists}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.17505/jpor.2025.27723}},
doi = {{10.17505/jpor.2025.27723}},
volume = {{11}},
year = {{2025}},
}