Stories about therapeutic change. Cliënts reflect on mechanisms of change that they experienced while participating in an ACT therapeutic group
Method Stream: Qualitative research
ECs: 23EC
Description
Participating in (group) psychotherapy is an important and often life changing experience. Before therapy starts, people have a reason to participate in a group and expectations about what it can bring them. Afterwards they will reflect on their experiences and the extent to which they experienced personal growth. This study focusses on these afterwards reflections, to get more insight in the mechanisms of change that clients experience in therapy. Is for example the mutual recognition of shared experiences an important factor according to the clients? Or did they learn new skills and do these skills help them to get more grip on their initial complaints and to improve wellbeing? You will interview individuals who have participated in an ACT group treatment. This is an effective form of treatment from which many people benefit. However, we still lack sufficient understanding of the processes that explain this success.
You will perform an analysis of the material of interviews, this analysis will be based on the model that about therapeutic change that was developed by the ACT group therapist, the ‘Pause keuze model’ (stop, reflect and make a choice model). This model states that people benefit from therapy because their reflective capacity improves as well as their possibility to make own choices. Through the analysis of the interviews, you will test this model and potentially contribute to the formulation of alternative explanations.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for a student who has a feel for systematic analyses, but also for nuances in what people tell.