Termination of psychotherapy: The journey of ten psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapists

Objectives: Literature on termination originates mainly from clinical and theoretical accounts as well as practitioners' autobiographical reports. There is, however, a paucity of psychological research on termination, and studies of therapists' experiences are particularly rare. The purpose of this study is to examine the process of termination of therapy based on therapists' narratives of experiences of endings with patients. Design: Grounded Theory methodology has been applied in this study in order to conceptualise the process of termination from the therapist’s perspective. Methods: Ten psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapists were interviewed for this study. Results: Grounded Theory analysis of the data revealed five central categories: therapist as a person, therapist's awareness of termination, development of therapeutic relationship, working through termination, and the aftermath (post-termination phase). Conclusions: The results offer a Grounded Theory model of the therapist's journey through termination of therapy with patients. Subcategories and their relationships will be explored. Implications for clinical practice, limitations and suggestions for further research will be discussed

Research-active therapists and therapy trainees: The need for continuity and clinical significance in our research

Mick Cooper is Professor of Counselling Psychology, as well as Acting Director of the Centre for Research in Psychological Wellbeing (CREW) at the University of Roehampton. Aside from being a research-active practitioner, with research interests in counselling with children and young people as well as humanistic, existential and relational approaches to therapy, Mick is co-developer of the pluralistic approach to therapeutic practice. He has published numerous research articles and texts including his latest book ‘Psychology at the Heart of Social Change: Developing a Progressive Vision for Society’. Mick kindly agreed to be interviewed by two of our editors (Deborah Bailey-Rodriguez & Eva Fragkiadaki) to discuss qualitative research within psychotherapy and counselling research, his own research journey as a therapist and to give us tips and pointers for therapy trainees and bridging the gap between research and therapeutic practice for our Special Issue

Loss separation termination : A portfolio on endings

This paper aims to explore gender differences in reactions to romantic relationship dissolutions. Within the body of research on relationship breakups, attachment theory is frequently mentioned. Empirical data on adult attachment styles and how they relate to gender differences and reactions to separations will also be explored. The issue of gender is prevalent in psychological literature. Such classification regarding reactions to relationship breakups is ambiguous and research should turn to individuals and relationships when exploring breakups

The path towards a professional identity: An IPA study of Greek family therapy trainees

Objective: Contemporary psychotherapy research has focused mainly on practitioners' training and education. The impact of training on professional development and the application of therapeutic skills have been the primary foci of the empirical literature. The aim of this paper is to present the experiences of seven family therapy trainees regarding their personal paths toward the development of professional identity as they underwent training in systemic psychotherapy. Method: In-depth interviews were conducted and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results & Conclusions: Seven themes were identified: The Quest, Developing by Relating, Learnings, Personification of Training, Use of Self, Self-Care and Empowerment, and Reflecting on the Role of the Therapist. The findings are discussed with regard to the development of the 'therapist as a person', gaining acknowledgement and autonomy, and the development of a community of therapeutic practice. © 2013 British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries

What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or "WEIRD" measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or "independent"), high-arousal emotion. However, research from Eastern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an interpersonal aspect emphasizing harmony and connectedness to others. Following a combined emicetic approach (Cheung, van de Vijver & Leong, 2011), we assessed the cross-cultural applicability of a measure of independent happiness developed in the US (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and a measure of interdependent happiness developed in Japan (Interdependent Happiness Scale; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015), with data from 63 countries representing 7 sociocultural regions. Results indicate that the schema of independent happiness was more coherent in more WEIRD countries. In contrast, the coherence of interdependent happiness was unrelated to a country's "WEIRD-ness." Reliabilities of both happiness measures were lowest in African and Middle Eastern countries, suggesting these two conceptualizations of happiness may not be globally comprehensive. Overall, while the two measures had many similar correlates and properties, the self-focused concept of independent happiness is "WEIRD-er" than interdependent happiness, suggesting cross-cultural researchers should attend to both conceptualizations

Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries.

What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or "WEIRD" measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or "independent"), high-arousal emotion. However, research from Eastern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an interpersonal aspect emphasizing harmony and connectedness to others. Following a combined emic-etic approach (Cheung, van de Vijver & Leong, 2011), we assessed the cross-cultural applicability of a measure of independent happiness developed in the US (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and a measure of interdependent happiness developed in Japan (Interdependent Happiness Scale; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015), with data from 63 countries representing 7 sociocultural regions. Results indicate that the schema of independent happiness was more coherent in more WEIRD countries. In contrast, the coherence of interdependent happiness was unrelated to a country's "WEIRD-ness." Reliabilities of both happiness measures were lowest in African and Middle Eastern countries, suggesting these two conceptualizations of happiness may not be globally comprehensive. Overall, while the two measures had many similar correlates and properties, the self-focused concept of independent happiness is "WEIRD-er" than interdependent happiness, suggesting cross-cultural researchers should attend to both conceptualizations

The economic well-being of nations is associated with positive daily situational experiences

People in economically advantaged nations tend to evaluate their life as more positive overall and report greater well-being than people in less advantaged nations. But how does positivity manifest in the daily life experiences of individuals around the world? The present study asked 15,244 college students from 62 nations, in 42 languages, to describe a situation they experienced the previous day using the Riverside Situational Q-sort (RSQ). Using expert ratings, the overall positivity of each situation was calculated for both nations and individuals. The positivity of the average situation in each nation was strongly related to the economic development of the nation as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). For individuals’ daily experiences, the economic status of their nation also predicted the positivity of their experience, even more than their family socioeconomic status. Further analyses revealed the specific characteristics of the average situations for higher HDI nations that make their experiences more positive. Higher HDI was associated with situational experiences involving humor, socializing with others, and the potential to express emotions and fantasies. Lower HDI was associated with an increase in the presence of threats, blame, and hostility, as well as situational experiences consisting of family, religion, and money. Despite the increase in a few negative situational characteristics in lower HDI countries, the overall average experience still ranged from neutral to slightly positive, rather than negative, suggesting that greater HDI may not necessarily increase positive experiences but rather decrease negative experiences. The results illustrate how national economic status influences the lives of individuals even within a single instance of daily life, with large and powerful consequences when accumulated across individuals within each nation