The therapist experience of client non-response

This study aimed to explore the therapist subjective experience of client non-response, how they made sense of their experience and how they managed the experience. A total of seven therapists were recruited and interviewed using a semi-structured interview format, designed for the purposes of the study. The resulting transcribed interviews were analysed using interpretative-phenomenological analysis. Fifteen super-ordinate themes were found and organised across four discrete, but interacting stages; ‘starting out’, ‘when therapy fails to progress’, trying to end’ and ‘it’s over’. The over-arching theme of ‘the destruction of hope’ encompasses the experiential and time-ordered themes. The therapist experience was marked by challenging feelings of anxiety, helplessness, inadequacy, anger and guilt. Feelings of loss were also apparent, specifically regarding the omnipotence of therapy and the therapist’s identity as a healer. The novel findings are discussed in the context of the extant evidence concerned with the therapist experience of non-response, the distinct contribution made by the current findings and the identified methodological limitations of the research approach.