An interpretative phenomenological analysis of therapists’ embodied experiences in the therapeutic process

This dissertation explores therapists’ embodied experiences in the therapeutic process using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). It examines how therapists make sense of these experiences and whether they inform their practice.

Although interest in embodiment within psychology and psychotherapy has grown, the therapists’ body remains underexplored, despite the prevalence and potential distress of somatic phenomena. Previous research has primarily been conducted through a psychoanalytic and often quantitative lens. Understanding therapists’ experiences qualitatively and without prior classification offers valuable insights.

This study involved semi-structured interviews with six therapists (five women, one man) recruited through volunteer sampling, who shared their experiences of somatic phenomena in the therapeutic encounter. IPA analysis identified three group experiential themes. First, therapists described journeys of reconnecting with their embodied selves after periods of disconnection, often linked to early relational experiences. Second, they emphasised the inherent wisdom of embodied experiences and their profound impact on practice, highlighting a gap in mainstream therapeutic literature. Third, they conveyed the challenging nature of these experiences, marked by discomfort, fear, and difficulty articulating or making sense of them, alongside apprehension about scepticism and judgement from others.

These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of therapists’ embodied experiences, advocating for greater acceptance and integration of embodied perspectives within the field of Counselling Psychology and psychotherapy. A central contribution is the articulation of Intentional Embodied Relational Disclosure (IERD), the therapist’s deliberate, clinically informed choice to explicitly share their embodied experience within the therapeutic encounter. Unlike general embodied awareness, IERD is grounded in conscious therapeutic intent, relational attunement, and ethical judgement, positioning embodied awareness not merely as personal experience but as a clinical resource. The study highlights the benefits of reclaiming bodily awareness and fostering openness, and calls for further research and training that support embodied self-awareness and legitimise therapists’ use of IERD in practice.