A phenomenological investigation of participants' experiences of positive events in the therapy process

This study is a phenomenological investigation of a therapist's and a client's experience during positive events in therapy. Independent, taped recall procedures were used to capture in-session, moment-to-moment experiences of therapy participants. Phenomenological analysis procedures included the following steps; 1) thematizing the separate protocols of therapist and client recall sessions, 2) comparing therapist and client recall sessions, and 3) analyzing themes as they emerged over the course of the recall sessions. Results of the study revealed themes, subthemes, and grounds for both therapist and client. Therapist themes were Being With the Client and Doing For the Client whereas client themes were Saying It/Being Understood and Not Saying It/Not Being Understood. Results from analyzing themes over the course of the recall session showed that during the majority of the session, the Moving subtheme of the Being With the Client theme was most figural for the therapist and the Saying It theme was most figural for the client.