The therapist´s personal therapy : What influence does it have on their clinical practice

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentado no ISPA - Instituto Universitário para obtenção do grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Clínica Problema: Encontram-se, nos estudos já existentes relativamente à experiência de terapia pessoal do terapeuta e a sua influência na prática clínica, algumas limitações como o caso de serem estudos relativamente antigos e o de focarem em populações de terapeutas muito específicas. Objetivo: Este estudo tem como objetivo compreender através do relato da experiência vivida dos participantes o impacto que a terapia pessoal do terapeuta tem na sua prática clínica. Método: Foram realizadas entrevistas qualitativas semiestruturadas, baseadas no método fenomenológico, com 19 participantes (terapeutas) em que todos tiveram pelo menos uma experiência de terapia pessoal. Resultados: Foi possível identificar 8 constituintes essenciais, “Integrating a role model”; “Personal therapy: a necessary work to be therapist”; “Discover personal and professional identity”; “Feel free to be who you are” e “Self-awareness as a good resource”; “Therapeutic relationship: Presence, trust, safety and acceptance”. Para além destes seis que estão presentes em várias referências literárias já existentes, surgiram mais dois constituintes essenciais que apenas surgem na literatura existente através de uma única referência, como é o caso de “The importance in being a human person” e “Becoming better therapists – more passionate, more mature, more efficient, more capable and more critical about themselves”. Discussão: Verifica-se, a partir dos significados psicológicos, um impacto positivo da terapia pessoal do terapeuta sobre a sua prática clínica. Problem: In the existing studies regarding the therapist's experience of personal therapy and its influence on clinical practice there are some limitations such as being relatively old studies and the fact that they focus on very specific populations of therapists. Objective: This study aims to understand, through the report of the lived experience of the participants, the impact that the therapist's personal therapy has on their clinical practice. Method: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were carried out, based on the phenomenological method, with 19 participants (therapists) who all had at least one experience of personal therapy. Results: It was possible to identify eight essential constituents, “Integrating a role model”; “Personal therapy: a necessary work to be therapist”; “Discover personal and professional identity”; “Feel free to be who you are”; “Self-awareness as a good resource” and “Therapeutic relationship: Presence, trust, safety and acceptance”. In addition to these six that are present in several existing literary references, two more essential constituents emerged that only appear in the existing literature through a single reference. They are, “The importance in being a human person” and “Becoming better therapists – more passionate, more mature, more efficient, more capable and more critical about themselves”. Discussion: Based on the psychological meanings, there is a positive impact of the therapist's personal therapy on their clinical practice