Synchronicity in the therapeutic setting: A survey of practitioners

Aims In this study, we intended to explore whether there are any differences between counsellors, psychologists and psychotherapists in the reporting and interpretation of synchronicity experiences ( SE s) in the therapeutic setting. SE s are defined as psychologically meaningful connections between inner events (such as a thought, vision or feeling) and one or more external events occurring simultaneously or at a future point in time. Design An online survey link was emailed to a random sample of counsellors, psychologists and psychotherapists drawn from membership lists of the B ritish A ssociation for C ounselling and P sychotherapy ( BACP ), B ritish P sychological S ociety ( BPS ) and the U nited K ingdom C ouncil for P sychotherapy ( UKCP ). The survey was designed to investigate the following research questions: do practitioners report SE s in the therapeutic setting? Are there any differences between types of practitioners in terms of explanations for SE s? Were SE s believed to be more likely to occur at certain points in therapy? Results A total of 226 respondents completed the survey. One hundred respondents (44%) reported that they had experienced synchronicity in the therapeutic setting, of whom 55 were psychotherapists, 21 counsellors and 24 psychologists. The majority of respondents (67%) felt that SE s could be useful for therapy. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between practitioner types in their interpretation of SE s but no differences in perception of when synchronicity events were likely to occur. Conclusion Findings have important implications for how practitioners may respond to clients who report SE s and are discussed alongside suggestions for future research.