Towards an essential description of the experience of psychotherapy

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to explore and clarify what the experience of psychotherapy with ex-detainees entails. This investigation and analysis is conducted within the framework of a phenomenological method. The researcher elicits both the ex-detainees' and the therapist's experiences of psychotherapy. Initially the problematic nature of research in psychotherapy is layed out. This is followed by an overview of literature and theory on trauma and its conceptualizations from various psychotherapeutic perspectives. The treatment implications in each case are mentioned. Trauma occurs in the detention experience so detention is then briefly looked at in terms of torture basically and the detention syndrome, post traumatic stress disorder. Core personality processes in relation to this diagnosis are given and the stress recovery process is summarized.