Theme-Analysis: Procedures and Application for Psychotherapy Research

Abstract

Theme-Analysis is an innovative research method that combines both a qualitative and quantitative dimension in the study of the psychotherapy change process by developing thematic categories from psychotherapy sessions and tracking change on these categories across sessions using a measure of change. This article presents the factors that influenced the development of Theme-Analysis, the definition and types of themes, and the method used to measure change on the themes. It then summarizes the four operations of Theme-Analysis which include unitizing transcripts of psychotherapy sessions, developing themes, identifying targets of the themes, and measuring change on the themes across the sessions. This is followed by the procedures to develop a theme-hierarchy and to select themes for study and by the formats by which to present the data. The initial research findings demonstrate that Theme-Analysis has the potency to extract the deeper underlying variables in human conditions such as overcoming depression and striving to be one's own person.

Keywords:

• Theme-Analysis
• qualitative research
• therapeutic change process
• phases of the change process

Acknowledgements

We wish to express our appreciation to Dr. Richard Feist, Dean of the Department of Philosophy, Saint-Paul University, Ottawa, Canada, for his comments on the section Philosophical Underpinnings of Theme-Analysis. We express our appreciation to the graduate students who participated in our research for their valuable questions and comments regarding the Theme-Analysis Research Method, which contributed to its refinements.