Answering the Call: Qualitative Analysis of an Exceptional Therapist Seeing the Mini-Cases of “Anne,” “Mel,” and “Susan”

Abstract

While some therapists are consistently more effective than others (Heinonen & Nissen-Lie, 2020), there is very little investigation on the in-session processes of these highly effective therapists. One exception is the qualitative and quantitative study of 10 cases of the documented "supershrink" Erigoni ("Er"”) Vlass (Hansen, Lambert, & Vlass, 2015a), so defined on the basis of exceptional outcome data from Lambert et al.’s (1996) Outcome Questionnaire-45  (https://www.oqmeasures.com/oq-45-2/).               

The present project builds on the Hansen et al. study by providing detailed qualitative analysis, using Glaser & Strauss’s (2017) "grounded theory" approach  of the transcripts of three new, separate, therapy "mini-cases" seen by Eri, as an added resource to ongoing therapy with one of the authors (T.R.). The cases included "Anne" and "Mel," each seen for two sessions, and "Susan," seen for one session. The qualitative analysis explored supershrink Eri’s clinical way of being and in-session approach as she carried out therapeutic actions that allowed for an optimized approach that is both unique to herself and adaptable to each client.

The results yielded two core categories: "(1) Keeping a natural, fluid rhythm during the session while balancing directive exploration, frequent associations, and interpretations with a sense of support, empathy and understanding;" and "(2) Fostering a sense of agency, mutual collaboration and positive expectation while co-constructing a credible narrative to be used in hypnosis." Further, the analysis yielded three sub-categories for category 1, and four subcategories for category 2.