Therapeutic Letters as Relationally Responsive Practice

Abstract

Therapeutic letters have become a practice adopted by many clinicians as an adjunct to therapeutic conversations. This article presents selected findings from a larger study that examined both the letter-writing practices of nine clinicians as well as the experiences of seven adult clients who received a therapeutic letter or letters during the course of individual or family therapy. A novel aspect of this study is that data from clients were gathered in the form of letters—eight letters written by the clients to the researcher about their experience of receiving a therapeutic letter or letters from their clinician. Thematic analysis guided the analysis of the data. Findings are placed within the context of relationally responsive (or relationally engaged) practice. An invitation is extended to conceptualize letters not as monologic documents but as a means of dialogically relating to clients and to the “goings-on” of therapeutic conversations.