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Client‐centred therapy for severe childhood abuse: A case study
Author(s) -
Murphy David
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
counselling and psychotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.38
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1746-1405
pISSN - 1473-3145
DOI - 10.1080/14733140802655992
Subject(s) - psychology , distress , therapeutic relationship , meaning (existential) , psychotherapist , childhood abuse , identity (music) , interpersonal relationship , child abuse , poison control , suicide prevention , medicine , social psychology , medical emergency , acoustics , physics
Aims: This case study demonstrates the experience of client change in non‐directive client‐centred therapy for a client (‘Mac’) who had experienced severe and repeated childhood abuse within an institutional care setting and shows how complex post‐traumatic stress involving difficulties in identity, problems forming and maintaining non‐abusive interpersonal relationships were encountered within the therapy. Method: The data were taken from the detailed notes of 160 sessions of client‐centred therapy. Following detailed reading and re‐reading a phenomenological analysis of the data produced four emergent themes. Results: The four themes were labelled: post‐traumatic distress, acceptance and understanding, new meaning‐accurate symbolisation and growth and relationship. Conclusion: The findings suggest that following severe trauma the experience of being in a client‐centred therapeutic relationship was related to a reduction in post‐traumatic distress. In turn, new meaning was created through accurate symbolisation of previously denied and/or distorted traumatic experience. Additionally, the client displayed growth in the development of a small number of non‐abusive relationships that improved his quality of life. It is proposed that client‐centred therapy can help client adjustment to the consequences of severe and traumatic childhood abuse.