Finding a Balance Between Being Professional and Being Personal. Experiences of Seven Psychotherapists

TL;DR

This study explores how psychotherapists balance their professional training with personal authenticity in their therapeutic work.

Contribution

The study introduces four themes—Congruence, Responsibility, Context, and Flexibility—that influence psychotherapists' professional practices.

Findings

Psychotherapists need to synchronize practical and theoretical knowledge with their personal identity.

A shared professional habitus is formed through training, supervision, and collegial discussions.

Therapists value independence and organizations that support autonomy in their work.

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 practitioner’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 professionals, 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).