Therapists’ and clients’ experiences of therapeutic endings
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Therapists’ and clients’ experiences of therapeutic endings in long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy
IRAS ID
195257
Contact name
Michael Larkin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a therapy which can help individuals who are experiencing mental health difficulties. This therapy understands current problems in the context of past experiences. Therapeutic work involves identifying and exploring relational patterns and emotions as they emerge in the therapeutic relationship in order to bring positive change. Individuals offered this kind of therapy in the NHS typically have experienced difficulties associated with separation and loss in their early lives that has influenced their emotional development. Therapeutic endings can revive earlier losses and mourning, leading to the individual re-experiencing painful affect even after time limited therapy has finished, it is anticipated that the ending phase will potentially revive difficulties and conflicting feelings within the client, therapist and their relationship; but also provide an opportunity for reworking and resolving these. It is anticipated that the process of ending will be influenced by therapists own experiences of loss and separations. This research study aims to explore how therapists and therapy clients experience therapeutic endings in time limited psychodynamic psychotherapy. The research will consider how they both think about endings, their previous experiences of separation, loss and mourning, how these may have re-occurred in therapy and how endings were reworked leading to discharge. The study intends to recruit four therapist participants and four client participants who have experienced an agreed therapeutic ending. Therapist participants will be asked to choose a case to base the majority of their reflections on, with the option of deviating. Client participants will be ask to reflect on their therapeutic work with a Devon house therapist. Participants will take part in a 60 minutes(approx.)semi-structured interview. The interviews will be audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis(IPA) method. This analysis method will produce themes which help understand the named processes, as experienced and understood by the participants.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0263
Date of REC Opinion
8 Jul 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion