How Psychotherapists Who Practice With Clients With Dissociative Identity Disorder Experience Their Work: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis

IF 1.2 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

Counselling & Psychotherapy Research Pub Date : 2025-01-12 DOI:10.1002/capr.12879

Nicholas A. Pierorazio, Briana L. Snyder, Mu-Yin Chang, Benjamin S. Israel, Bethany L. Brand

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Abstract

Background

Psychotherapists who treat clients with dissociative identity disorder (DID), a trauma-related condition, have unique experiences and challenges. There is a dearth of literature investigating the experiences and perspectives of therapists who treat clients with DID.

Methodology

We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 DID-treating therapists. We used reflexive thematic analysis, drawing upon constructivist and critical paradigms, to generate an understanding of how these therapists experience, relate to, and make sense of their work with clients with DID.

Analysis

We created four primary themes: (1) ‘Here and Now’: Working in the Present to Facilitate Healing for Clients with DID; (2) ‘I Was Made To Do This’: Finding Meaning in the Calling to Work with Clients with DID; (3) ‘Churning my Stomach Up’: From Holding Trauma and Dissociation to Vicarious Traumatisation; and (4) ‘Pulling Back the Veil’: Working with DID as Social Justice Practice.

Conclusions

We recommend therapists work to leverage their experiences and perspectives in positive ways, such as embracing a here and now stance and what is meaningful about the work, while caring for themselves to manage potential vicarious traumatisation. Supervisors and/or consultants of these therapists must support them in this work.

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来源期刊

Counselling & Psychotherapy Research PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

12.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： Counselling and Psychotherapy Research is an innovative international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to linking research with practice. Pluralist in orientation, the journal recognises the value of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods strategies of inquiry and aims to promote high-quality, ethical research that informs and develops counselling and psychotherapy practice. CPR is a journal of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, promoting reflexive research strongly linked to practice. The journal has its own website: www.cprjournal.com. The aim of this site is to further develop links between counselling and psychotherapy research and practice by offering accessible information about both the specific contents of each issue of CPR, as well as wider developments in counselling and psychotherapy research. The aims are to ensure that research remains relevant to practice, and for practice to continue to inform research development.