A qualitative single case study of parallel processes

Abstract

Parallel process in psychotherapy and supervision is a phenomenon manifest in relationships and interactions, that originates in one setting and is reflected in another. This article presents an explorative single case study of parallel processes based on qualitative analyses of two successive randomly chosen psychotherapy sessions with a schizophrenic patient and the supervision session given in between. The author's analysis is verified by an independent examiner's analysis. Parallel processes are identified and described. Reflections on the dynamics of parallel processes and supervisory interventions are reported and discussed.

Keywords:

• Supervision
• parallel process
• psychoanalytic
• psychotherapy

I would like to express my warm thanks to all the agents involved, to the psychologist Lone Fr⊘lund, and to the ‘Research Group in Psychotherapy’ under ‘The Danish National Schizophrenia Project (DNS)’, Lars Thorgaard, Bent Rosenbaum and Birgitte Gr⊘nvall.

Notes

¹P's flow of speech is 'acting in’ and may be assumed, together with the absence of reflection (cf. ex. 1), to have an anxiety reducing effect and constitute the way in which T becomes the carrier of the anxiety.

²Cf. the processes that Doehrman (1976) documented in her work.

³Cf. Samtag, Muran & Safran's (2002, p. 199–200) list of rupture marker behaviors, which includes many para- and nonverbal cues.