Therapeutic Processes in Clinical Interventions : A View of Qualitative Methodological Approaches

Abstract

This article examines several qualitative methods to capture and analyze processes in therapeutic and clinical interventions. The study of therapeutic processes provides an understanding of what leads to changes in clinical interventions. This is a goal of any therapeutic intervention. This interest should allow us to try to identify what the therapists do and think they are doing, how they do it, how they think about their interventions, and what happens during the session that might explain changes. These types of studies require that researchers provide clarifications about their epistemological and methodological choices. To meet that requirement, we propose to review a range of issues, methodologies, and tools – which come from qualitative research - that guide us in conducting research in the psychotherapeutic and clinical field. The aim of our article is to put forward a methodological framework for researchers to better explore the patient’s or the therapist’s lived-experience and better reveal, moment-to-moment, the clinical practice.