ABSTRACT

Our integrative framework places great importance on the therapist's use of the self. First, as we have seen, the therapeutic process involves signi®cant levels of implicit communication that is generally body-based. The therapist's understanding of this process and the recognition that some messages will be conveyed through, for example, the process of projective identi®cation, enables the therapist to attend to the building of con®dence in what they experience in themselves in relation to the client and the client's stories and issues. This knowledge can then be used for further phenomenological exploration as well as informing strategies and goals in the course of the therapeutic process. One of the advantages of the therapist undertaking their own therapeutic work is that this experience enables them to become more skilled in their re¯ective capabilities in terms of their own material and responses, as well as becoming more familiar with the process of re¯ecting in this way. They can therefore learn more quickly and accurately to catch responses in the moment with the client and use these for ongoing exploration.