‘The bereaved therapist speaks’. An interpretative phenomenological analysis of humanistic therapists' experiences of a significant personal bereavement and its impact upon their therapeutic practice: An exploratory study

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the research was to explore the under-researched area of therapists' personal bereavement and its impact upon their therapeutic practice. Method: Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with four humanistic therapists and were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Findings: Four master and eight subordinate themes emerged from the rich data collected that exemplified both convergence with and divergence from the small body of extant literature on therapist bereavement and current thinking in thanatology. The findings suggest that bereavement is a unique experience that can affect the individual's personal and social identity and worldview. It can also be a transformative experience resulting in personal growth and a renewed sense of self and agency. In terms of professional practice, the findings suggest that the lived experience of the grieving process, mediated by supportive supervision, enabled participants to experience deeper levels of empathy and connectedness within their therapeutic relationships. Conclusion and implications: Bereavement is an experience that can profoundly impact upon therapists' personal identity and assumptive world. Such an experience can have an equally profound impact upon their therapeutic practice. There are therefore implications for students, trainers, therapists and supervisors particularly in terms of self-care and the use of the ‘self’ in therapy. Further research needs to be undertaken in order to explore in greater depth the intersection between personal bereavement and therapists' evolving personal and professional identity development.

Keywords:

• identity
• interpretative phenomenological analysis
• therapeutic relationship
• therapist bereavement
• grieving process

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr Rita Mintz for her support in supervising the research project, and the four participants who told their stories so bravely and honestly. I hope their voices have been heard.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jeanne R. Broadbent

Biography

Jeanne Broadbent is a humanistic bereavement counsellor in a hospice and a counsellor in private practice. She is a second year PhD research student in the Department of Social Studies and Counselling at the University of Chester.