Shared Spaces: An Intersubjective Case Study of a Graduate Student by a Graduate Student

Abstract

The intersubjective therapeutic experience creates a shared space within which client and therapist are affected and changed, as seen in a psychotherapy case involving graduate students and a graduate student clinician. Analysis of a clinical case composite from an intersubjective perspective is the primary tool used to examine client–therapist concurrent graduate work. A composite is used to protect confidentiality. Several themes are explored: anxiety, perfectionism, and socioculturally situated life stage. As a search of the literature revealed no previous work on the intersubjective experience of psychotherapy when client and therapist are engaged in concurrent graduate work, further exploration is encouraged.

KEYWORDS:

• intersubjectivity
• case study
• graduate student
• psychotherapy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emily C. Gosterisli

Emily C. Gosterisli, LCSW, is a clinical social worker currently working on her dissertation for a PhD in social work at Smith College. Emily has worked in child and adolescent residential treatment, college counseling, and private practice in Atlanta, Georgia.