The phenomenon of the psychotherapist’s self-appearing: a Heideggerian perspective

This thesis explores how experienced humanistically-informed psychotherapists experience their self-appearing during therapeutic practice, using Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology. By contrasting the phenomenon of the self-appearing with the dominant paradigm of self-awareness in psychotherapy, the study illuminates previously unexplored dimensions of therapists’ lived experiences.

In the first phase of a two-phase sequential study, 12 experienced humanistically-informed psychotherapists were interviewed using a micro-phenomenologically-informed approach to explore concrete experiences of noticing themselves appearing in their therapeutic work. Through hermeneutic phenomenological thematic analysis, the study elucidates three key dimensions of the self-appearing process: being-in-convention, being-in-disruption, and being-in-transformation. Being-in-convention reflects therapists’ average everyday way of being, where pre-reflective conventions shape their practice. Being-in-disruption occurs when therapists experience challenges that disrupt their habitual practices, initially leading to a felt sense of vulnerability and resistant attunement to their experience. Being-in-transformation emerges as therapists move toward receptive attunement, holding their vulnerability with openness, enabling a deeper understanding of their conventions and an opportunity to accept or transform them.

In the second phase, a phenomenological discussion group with four experienced supervisors explored the significance of these findings for supervision. The thematic analysis uncovered four themes: holding a phenomenological attitude in supervision, allowing supervisees’ disruptions to be present, exploring disruptions experientially, and modelling working with disruption within the supervision space.

This research makes a unique contribution by shifting focus from therapists’ “use of self” to understanding how therapists experience themselves appearing through a Heideggerian perspective. It demonstrates a pathway for growth in therapeutic wisdom that occurs not through theories or cognitive strategies but through the lived experience of working through disruption. The insights gained have implications for psychotherapy training, supervision, and continuing professional development, offering a lived experience approach to therapist growth that honours the complexities of the therapists’ experiences in the therapeutic context. This research underscores the importance of acknowledging and exploring the phenomenon of the self-appearing at all stages of psychotherapist development.