Abstract:Phenomenological qualitative methods were used to identify and describe moral elements in therapeutic relationships. Using the relational philosophy of E. Levinas (1961Levinas ( /1969Levinas ( , 1979Levinas ( /1987 as a base, data in which therapists and clients identified and described morally responsive experiences in therapy sessions were analyzed. These moments were often unexpected and included categories of surprise, interruption, willingness to change, and clarifications/repairs. Additional moral phenom… Show more
“…Some articles that discuss the importance of underlying attributes and relational stances include Arbinger (), Boyce (), Davis (), Fishbane (), Fowers (), Warner (), Warner and Olson (), and Whiting et al. ().…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…An exercise that one of us uses to facilitate reflection on these ideas involves students reading quotations from therapists about their experiences with clients and then discussing the questions ( in italics ) below (quotes taken from Fife, ; Whiting et al., ). For example: Therapist A: “It's a struggle for me between being selfish and not being selfish….…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Whereas with [current therapist], it feels like he actually cares, you know. I'm sure the others cared a little bit, but I think their satisfaction came from themselves being: “Oh, I'm so good, you know, and I can fix blah blah blah.” (Whiting, Nebeker, & Fife, , p. 50).…”
Common factors in therapy such as the therapeutic alliance and client motivation have been found to account for more change than therapy models. But common factors have been critiqued as only lists of variables that provide little practical guidance. Some researchers have demonstrated that certain common elements (e.g., the therapeutic alliance) account for more variance than others (e.g., techniques), suggesting that some factors should be emphasized over others. Such findings suggest the need for alternatives to model-based therapy, with one alternative being meta-models, or "models of models," that focus on how therapeutic factors interact with each other to produce change. The purpose of this article is to propose a meta-model describing the relationship between two specific common factors-the therapeutic alliance and interventions. We also propose a new factor-a therapist's way of being-that we believe is foundational to effective therapy. The model is proposed in pyramid format, with techniques on top, the therapeutic alliance in the middle, and therapist way of being as the foundation. The hierarchical relationships between these three concepts are discussed, along with implications for training, research, and therapy.
“…Some articles that discuss the importance of underlying attributes and relational stances include Arbinger (), Boyce (), Davis (), Fishbane (), Fowers (), Warner (), Warner and Olson (), and Whiting et al. ().…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…An exercise that one of us uses to facilitate reflection on these ideas involves students reading quotations from therapists about their experiences with clients and then discussing the questions ( in italics ) below (quotes taken from Fife, ; Whiting et al., ). For example: Therapist A: “It's a struggle for me between being selfish and not being selfish….…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Whereas with [current therapist], it feels like he actually cares, you know. I'm sure the others cared a little bit, but I think their satisfaction came from themselves being: “Oh, I'm so good, you know, and I can fix blah blah blah.” (Whiting, Nebeker, & Fife, , p. 50).…”
Common factors in therapy such as the therapeutic alliance and client motivation have been found to account for more change than therapy models. But common factors have been critiqued as only lists of variables that provide little practical guidance. Some researchers have demonstrated that certain common elements (e.g., the therapeutic alliance) account for more variance than others (e.g., techniques), suggesting that some factors should be emphasized over others. Such findings suggest the need for alternatives to model-based therapy, with one alternative being meta-models, or "models of models," that focus on how therapeutic factors interact with each other to produce change. The purpose of this article is to propose a meta-model describing the relationship between two specific common factors-the therapeutic alliance and interventions. We also propose a new factor-a therapist's way of being-that we believe is foundational to effective therapy. The model is proposed in pyramid format, with techniques on top, the therapeutic alliance in the middle, and therapist way of being as the foundation. The hierarchical relationships between these three concepts are discussed, along with implications for training, research, and therapy.
“…This therapeutic move, which may include discussion of the client's and the therapist's values, may cause a struggle for the therapist because he or she may feel that this deviates from ''best practice'' guidelines or formalized theory. Nevertheless, although this type of intuitive deviation from clinical models to engage in moral discussions is not something most therapists are trained to do, many do it because of its therapeutic value (Jensen, Bergin, & Greaves, 1990;Whiting, Nebeker, & Fife, 2005).…”
Section: Values Of Mft Theories and Modelsmentioning
Values have been shown to be a pervasive part of both marriage and family therapy (MFT) clinical practice and research. Yet, many therapists and researchers remain unclear about how values affect their work. This article examines the influence of Western philosophical assumptions and therapy traditions in light of current understandings of values in therapy. The influence of values in MFT research processes is similarly examined. Implications for how family therapy professionals can be more reflective and sophisticated in their understanding of values in clinical practice and scientific inquiry are discussed. Suggestions for addressing values in MFT training also are given.
“…Today, both worldviews contribute to many areas of civilization. Nevertheless, both have limitations (Sexton, 1997;Smith, 2006;Whiting, Nebeker, & Fife, 2005). Thus, researchers look to the next generation of worldviews to address the limitations of modernism and postmodernism and to capitalize on the contributions of these two worldviews.…”
The author introduces an emerging worldview that could affect counseling concepts and methods greatly in the relatively near future. The worldview, dynamicalism, incorporates essential features of modernism and postmodernism. It also incorporates cutting-edge concepts from physics and philosophy. The synthesis of these ideas provides a conceptual basis for thinking about and conducting counseling in new ways.A quiet revolution is taking place that will affect counseling in significant ways. It stems from the revolutions of general and special relativity and quantum mechanics in physics during the early to mid-20th century (Greene, 1999;Laudan, 1996). Quieter concurrent conceptual revolutions took place in such professions as anthropology (Bateson, 1972) and biology (Bertalanffy, 1967). Although these sciences differ from physics, anthropology's and biology's conceptual changes were similar to those observed in physics. The combined effects of these revolutions over several decades have fostered conditions for the emergence of even bolder models that seem to be harbingers of future developments for civilization in general and counseling in particular. How these developments might affect counseling appears in a fictional story.
A Story About the FutureWendy Li listened to Kara pour out her heart, in starts and stops, interlaced with occasional tears. Kara felt depressed, lost, and confused. While Kara talked, Wendy alternated between taking notes on her computerized notepad and marking a depression screening checklist on the split-screen application of her notepad. Between how Kara shared her story and the checklist, Wendy concurred that Kara indeed seemed depressed. Kara and Wendy agreed to meet again in 3 days.The second counseling session took place, as agreed, at Kara's apartment. As Wendy climbed the stairs to the apartment, she briefly reflected on how much of her client load entailed sessions at places other than her office. Since she graduated from a master's program in 2020, Wendy figured that nearly 40% of her client hours included at least a few visits at client homes or other settings such as shopping centers. She saw some clients nearly entirely at sites away from her office. These on-site visits allowed her to get more of a "real-time" sense of her clients' experiences in the context of those experiences than she could get in her office. She recalled from her counseling history studies that out-of-office sessions had existed for several decades but were
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