Therapists' Experience of Loss: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to explore therapists' experiences of loss. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 therapists and the data were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three master themes emerged from the analysis: (a) the grieving therapist, (b) hindrances in grieving, and (c) the impact of loss on therapeutic work. Therapists talked about their grief and elaborated on how they coped with their bereavement. Hindrances in their grief were reported, emerging both from others' stance and from their own. Participants found that their experience of loss was related to both challenges and advancements in their therapeutic work.

The transformative process of the bereaved therapist.

“…The grief-related issues of denial, anger, guilt, dependency, and vulnerability that Morrison (1996) presents in his account of his wife’s death, and the emotions expressed in the narratives of Millon’s (1998) participants of numbness, dislocation, overwhelming sadness, changes to sense of self and world view, are all potent, visceral reminders of our human fragility. Is it any wonder that therapists experience impaired self-image in the aftermath of loss (Antonas, 2002), fears of being overwhelmed by their grief (Millon, 1998), avoidance of engaging with certain client material (Chasen, 1996), and fears of overidentifying with client issues (Kouriatis & Brown, 2013–2014)?…”

“…Scholarly literature concurs with this experience. The single most cited observation made by research in the field of therapist bereavement is therapists’ enhanced ability to empathize and their increased capacity for connection with clients (Antonas, 2002; Bozenski, 2006; Broadbent, 2011; De Santis, 2015; Devilly, 2014; Kouriatis & Brown, 2013–2014; Millon, 1998). The literature proffers the sense that the experience of a loved one’s death and associated pain and grief can provide therapists with an increased understanding of mortality, loneliness, powerlessness, and the felt timelessness of pain.…”

Grief therapy: the history of formatiom and current practice in the foreign studies

“…Еще меньше исследований о том, как практикующие психологи и психотерапевты справляются со своим горем и как этот опыт влияет на их профессио-нальную деятельность. В качестве интересного примера такого иссле-дования можно привести работу К. Куриатис и Д. Браун (K. Kouriatis, D. Brown) из Университета Суррея [36]. На основе феноменологического анализа полуструктурированных интервью с шестью психотерапевтами авторы описали их опыт потери.…”

“…Другие психотерапевты находили, что небольшой перерыв в работе или ее сокращение может выступать как форма самопомощи в этот период. В целом, исследование дает понять, что достижение баланса между тем, чтобы горевать и тем, чтобы быть открытым жизни может быть решающим для внутреннего благополучия; это позволяет не только оставлять пространство для горя, но также дает надежду на будущее [36].…”

The Impact Of Patient Suicide on Doctors and Nurses: A Critical Interpretive Meta-Synthesis

“…The shift toward rigorous qualitative studies (e.g., Darden & Rutter, 2011;Kouriatis & Brown, 2014;Sanders, Jacobson, & Ting, 2005) allows investigation and contextualization of phenomenological complexity (Clarke & Jack, 1998). Such studies support further meaningful exploration of how clinicians experience patient suicide, enabling the development of more nuanced strategies for postvention and clinician self-care (Norcross, 2000).…”