A qualitative study of cognitive behavioural therapy in multiple sclerosis: experiences of psychotherapists

Figures & data

Table 1. The content analysis process of the psychotherapists’ experiences of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for people with multiple sclerosis and depressive symptoms.

Step 1. The transcribed interviews were read through in their entirety several times in order to get a sense of their content.

Step 2. The text was divided into meaning units, which consisted of the words and sentences that were related to each other through their content.

Step 3. The meaning units were condensed into shorter text that still contained the core of the meaning units and without interpretation.

Step 4. Each condensed meaning unit was labelled with codes, in a process of abstraction interpreting the underlying meaning.

Step 5. All codes were then compared with each other, and those with similar content were generated into sub-themes. The initial number of sub-themes was then reduced through a process of reading the codes, including the interpretation of the underlying meaning, and considering the whole context, thereby moving between the whole and the parts of the texts.

Step 6. The sub-themes were analysed according to their latent content, answering the question of how the psychotherapists experienced the CBT, and two themes were created based on the underlying meaning of the sub-themes.