Narratives of personal and professional experiences of psychotherapists working with cases of child and adolescent sexual abuse: A qualitative longitudinal study
{"title":"Narratives of personal and professional experiences of psychotherapists working with cases of child and adolescent sexual abuse: A qualitative longitudinal study","authors":"Estrella Azócar, Camila Gómez, Claudia Capella, Daniela Águila, Macarena Espeleta","doi":"10.1002/capr.12714","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Background</h3>\n \n <p>Studies delving into the personal and professional experiences of psychotherapists working with children and adolescents who have been sexually abused are scarce and mostly cross-sectional.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Aim</h3>\n \n <p>The present qualitative longitudinal study aimed to describe the narratives that therapists construct about their personal and professional experiences of working with children and/or adolescents who have been victims of sexual aggression during different moments of the psychotherapeutic process.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Method</h3>\n \n <p>Eight psychologists were interviewed and asked about the psychotherapy of 12 cases they were developing. These cases were of children and adolescents who had been sexually abused. Each participant was interviewed at different moments of the cases' psychotherapy (6 months into the process, 12 months into the process and once more at the end of therapy for those who received therapy for longer than 12 months). A total of 34 interviews were conducted and studied through narrative analysis.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Results</h3>\n \n <p>Three major themes involving the personal and professional experiences of psychotherapists emerged: regarding the patient and their family; regarding the institutional context; and regarding the personal/professional experience. Also, identified and analysed convergences and divergences that appear within these themes at different points in the participants' interviews are highlighted.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Discussion</h3>\n \n <p>The findings suggest that therapists manage to navigate the most complex and distressing aspects of each intervention case in the earlier moments of the psychotherapeutic process and later are likely to have an emotional connection with pleasant or satisfactory elements in their work and are likely to end treatment with an appreciation for the learning experiences they have had working with challenging cases and a sense of amazement at the resources and resilience of the children and adolescents they work with.</p>\n </section>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":46997,"journal":{"name":"Counselling & Psychotherapy Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Counselling & Psychotherapy Research","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/capr.12714","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Studies delving into the personal and professional experiences of psychotherapists working with children and adolescents who have been sexually abused are scarce and mostly cross-sectional.
Aim
The present qualitative longitudinal study aimed to describe the narratives that therapists construct about their personal and professional experiences of working with children and/or adolescents who have been victims of sexual aggression during different moments of the psychotherapeutic process.
Method
Eight psychologists were interviewed and asked about the psychotherapy of 12 cases they were developing. These cases were of children and adolescents who had been sexually abused. Each participant was interviewed at different moments of the cases' psychotherapy (6 months into the process, 12 months into the process and once more at the end of therapy for those who received therapy for longer than 12 months). A total of 34 interviews were conducted and studied through narrative analysis.
Results
Three major themes involving the personal and professional experiences of psychotherapists emerged: regarding the patient and their family; regarding the institutional context; and regarding the personal/professional experience. Also, identified and analysed convergences and divergences that appear within these themes at different points in the participants' interviews are highlighted.
Discussion
The findings suggest that therapists manage to navigate the most complex and distressing aspects of each intervention case in the earlier moments of the psychotherapeutic process and later are likely to have an emotional connection with pleasant or satisfactory elements in their work and are likely to end treatment with an appreciation for the learning experiences they have had working with challenging cases and a sense of amazement at the resources and resilience of the children and adolescents they work with.
期刊介绍:
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research is an innovative international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to linking research with practice. Pluralist in orientation, the journal recognises the value of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods strategies of inquiry and aims to promote high-quality, ethical research that informs and develops counselling and psychotherapy practice. CPR is a journal of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, promoting reflexive research strongly linked to practice. The journal has its own website: www.cprjournal.com. The aim of this site is to further develop links between counselling and psychotherapy research and practice by offering accessible information about both the specific contents of each issue of CPR, as well as wider developments in counselling and psychotherapy research. The aims are to ensure that research remains relevant to practice, and for practice to continue to inform research development.