Discuss and develop an idea for research in the field of counselling studies in relation to epistemological issues and debates discussed on the course

Research s in Counselling Studies Research in Counselling Studies

Introduction

One of the basic tenets of qualitative research methods , which is the primary tool used in psychological researches , is the attempt to understand and represent the experiences and actions of people as they encounter , engage and live through past and present situations , without the strict quantifications and standardisations that characterise the quantitative research paradigm . Thus , in counselling and other psychotherapy researches , the researcher attempts to develop understandings of the phenomena under (Elliott et al , 1999 . While there are a wide [banner_entry_middle]

array of research approaches and theories subsumed under the umbrella of qualitative approach , something that cut across all of these approaches is the importance to developing in-depth relationship between the client and therapist in to adequately understand the client ‘s experience from his /her perspective

Bond (2004 ) conceded that the trust placed by clients on practitioners is perhaps one of the distinct dimensions of counselling and psychotherapy practice and research . From his argument it is evident that the quality of relationship formed between the client and practitioner is imperative for achieving the client ‘s aspirations Infact , all approaches to counselling and psychotherapy researches recognize the importance of a positive relationship between practitioner and client so that the work of therapy can progress (Ornstein , 1990

Fallout of this client-therapist relationship is the concept of ‘transference . This concept accounts for the carryover , or transfer from past relationships to current relationships . In this regards Fenichel (1945 , states that It is a general human trait to interpret one ‘s experience in the light of the past (Fenichel , 1945

.30 However , the pattern this takes in counselling and psychotherapy is that the patient ‘s perceptions and feelings that were present in earlier life and relationships are heightened under the therapy situation and often transferred to the therapist (Freud , 1912 Fenichel , 1945 . In sum transference could be viewed as that aspect of the therapist-client relationship that develops when significant relationships from the client ‘s past are re-capitulated and repeated , or transferred ‘ to the therapist (Freud , 1912 Strachey , 1934 Fenichel , 1945

However , patients under therapy spend much of their time outside the therapy settings and also explore relationships with people other than their therapist during their time in therapy . Relationship with significant people in their lives may also have some transferential dimensions however , the primary role ascribed to the curative function of the therapeutic transference – as the transference resulting from the client /practitioner relationship is known , as often meant that extra therapeutic transferences are relegated to the background

Therefore , the research questions that will be developed and discussed in this include “how do therapists think about and use the material that emerges when patients describe transferential relationships outside of the therapy relationship the so-called extra-therapeutic transferences ? Do they see clients ‘ outside relationships in terms of the concept of transference ? What theoretical concepts guide practitioners as they listen to clients ‘ presentation of outside relationships

Significance of the chosen

The centrality of the importance… [banner_entry_footer]