Qualitative Research Approaches for Psychotherapy

This anthology is a timely second volume in the series of qualitative research methods edited by Tudor and Wyatt. It is a much needed and thoughtfully curated contribution to research in the profession which mobilises us to think critically and creatively about research that is relevant for our times, our locations, our caring professions.

From the very start it engaged me, as a researcher, trainer of psychotherapists, and clinical practitioner, through its inclusive, comprehensive, and creative vision. In particular, the alignment of research methods with psychotherapeutic methodologies brings relevance and empowerment to practitioner-researchers.

Across the chapters we encounter a vital cultural and critical awareness about the research process that has been often and elsewhere been left as an unexamined execution of research methods. Dream, metaphor (rugby in the pacific), photo therapy, the natural world, everyday enquiry are brought into play by the authors as a stimulus to help us rethink creatively and confidently where we’ve been and where we’re heading in research as a profession.

Tudor and Wyatt have curated a creative blend of traditionally rigorous research methods, and psychotherapeutic process orientations – e.g., Jungian dream analysis, longitudinal narrative portrait approach, the natural world and lived experience – which bridge therapeutic and empirical methods. In an age of big data that privileges old-school positivism, this critical anthology relocates the body and the whole of the person right at the centre of the research endeavour.

Dr Elizabeth Day, Associate Professor, Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand

This book brings together an exciting collection of cutting edge writings about qualitative research in counselling and psychotherapy. The contributions are both theoretically rich and practically innovative, providing inspiration and provocation for researchers, scholars, and students in our field. Reflexivity and ethical values run like threads through the chapters, illuminating how the self of the researcher-practitioner, and the core purpose of therapy in the alleviation of human suffering, propel and enliven counselling and psychotherapy research. This new collection is a must-read for everyone engaged in therapy-related research and will no doubt become an essential addition to the digital bookshelf of counselling and psychotherapy students, trainees, and graduates.

Seamus Prior, Senior Lecturer in Counselling and Psychotherapy (Retired)/Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Volume II in this continuing series on Qualitative Research Approaches immerses the reader in the rich insights of the curious and creative minds behind these contributions. We are invited to consider such things as how research embodies the ways in which we (student, teacher, researcher, therapist, client – all) are in relationship with one another, how we tell stories, make meaning, and how this research folds back into the spaces in-between, as clients and therapists take up position. I eagerly await the next volume.

Trish Thompson, Psychotherapist, Melbourne, Australia

Tudor and Wyatt’s latest edition offers an expansive review of innovative qualitative research approaches. The chapters immerse the reader into each author’s experience while providing in-depth explanations of the process. This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in applying qualitative approaches in research or therapy.

Dr Shawn Patrick, NCC, LCPC, LMHC, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Purdue University Northwest