Micro-Fenomenología de la Subjetividad del Psicoterapeuta Sistémico

Therapists' own subjective experiences, particularly their en-active emotional responses, play a crucial, underrecognized role in systemic therapy. Using micro-phenomenological interviews with six therapists, the study found that en-active emotionality is an invariant feature of the therapist's subjectivity, functioning as an intelligent motivation that continuously monitors and guides the therapeutic process within the intersubjective relationship. This suggests that traditional research has undervalued these emotions and that improving therapy quality involves not only recognizing but also cultivating this invariant.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Systemic psychological therapy takes place in a relational context, where the subjectivities of the consultants and the therapists interact. Traditional research has focused more on the characteristics of the consultants than on the subjectivity of the therapist. Hence, "third person" perspectives have been privileged. The few studies that investigate the subjectivity of the therapist resort to introspective, interpretive and prescriptive methodologies. How to access the subjectivity of the therapist from different perspectives than those offered by "third person" observation and "first person" introspection? The purpose of the article is to explore, through the micro-phenomenological method, how the subjectivity of the therapist is shown in the first impression of a consultant. To do this, interviews were conducted with six therapists. The results show that en-active emotionality appears as an invariant of the therapist's subjectivity; and that this invariant operates as an "intelligent motivation", which enters "into action" in the course of the intersubjective relationship itself and permanently monitors and guides the therapeutic process. The results allow us to consider, on the one hand, that traditional research has undervalued the importance of en-active emotions in the therapeutic process; and, on the other, that the qualitative improvement of therapy implies not only recognizing this invariant, but also cultivating it. Palavras-chave : Subjectivity; Systemic therapy; Micro-phenomenology; En-active emotion; Experience.