Together in depression: Clinical implications of a qualitative study of therapists’ experience with a depressive client

Working with depressive clients burdens therapists themselves significantly. This article offers a theoretical frame for describing therapists’ experience, which appear in the therapy situation with a depressive client. A model resulting from a qualitative study is presented: the therapists’ experience is conceptualized as “Experiential oscillation” between gravitating towards a clients’ depressive experience and moving away from it. It’s evolvement over the course of a session is depicted by a model of “Depression Co-experiencing Trajectory” with six phases: 1. Sharing depressive experience, 2. Turning to oneself, 3. Striving for symptom change, 4. Distancing from depressive experience, 5. Turning to a client, 6. Focusing on relationship. Results of the study are connected with a psychotherapy practice so the model can be used for therapists to orientate themselves in their own experiences and to cope with them. Finally the text offer guidelines for psychotherapy work with depressive clients.

Jan Roubal, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republice-mail: jan.roubal.cz@gmail.com