Pluralistic psychotherapists' and counsellors' experiences of working with actively suicidal clients: A qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

Background

Clients presenting as suicidal have been widely recognised as one of the most challenging presenting issues for psychotherapists and counsellors. There is a wealth of literature exploring risk assessment, collaboration, goals, tasks, methods, shared decision making and client preferences employed in therapy with this presenting issue. Yet, no literature explicitly explores combining these approaches or provides a framework that integrates them. Working with actively suicidal clients as a pluralistic psychotherapist and counsellor (PCP) has not been thoroughly examined to date, even though this framework and philosophy for therapy combines many of the aforementioned approaches. Therefore, it is imperative that ways of working safely with this presenting issue, for both the client and the practitioner, are explored and researched through the lens of PCP.

Objective

To interpret and explore pluralistic psychotherapists' and counsellors' experiences of working with actively suicidal clients to find what might be added to the body of knowledge.

Methods

A qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis of PCP with actively suicidal clients was conducted via four semi-structured recorded interviews. Four participants were recruited purposively. Four themes and two subthemes were identified and explored.

Discussion

The findings showed PCP to be a robust holistic approach to actively suicidal clients that is safe for both client and practitioner. Furthermore, the results point towards the need for further research into the idea that PCP is useful when working with actively suicidal clients in line with recommended best practice from the client's perspective.