| Abstract [eng] |
Raminta Vaiciule. The experience of therapeutic relationship of women with eating disorders: Master thesis in clinical psychology / scientific supervisor doc. dr. A. Adler. Vilnius University. Faculty of Philosophy. Department of Clinical Psychology. Vilnius, 2021, 91 pages Eating disorders are complex, multifaceted dysfunction of nutrition and its’ related thoughts and emotions, severely damaging the patient, both physically and emotionally and even causing death. The recovery process from eating disorders is usually long and shifting. Interpersonal relationship, including therapeutic relationship, may become an important resource in the recovery process, but establishing a therapeutic relationship with patients with eating disorders is often difficult for reasons that are not known. This demonstrates the need for in-depth research methods to look at the therapeutic relationship without preconceptions and, most importantly, from the perspective of the patients themselves. The aim of this study was to investigate how women with eating disorders experience a therapeutic relationship. The study included 4 women aged from 23 to 39 years, two of whom had anorexia nervosa, one bulimia nervosa, and one – anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The duration of illness ranged from 2 to 19 years with relapses and remissions. All women had various therapeutic experience, including inpatient experience. A qualitative research strategy, a method of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), was chosen to achieve the research goal. Data were analyzed inductively, “extracted” from the text, regardless of existing theories, the texts’ fragments were later grouped in semantic similarities. The women's stories revealed 3 themes: important therapeutic relationship’s factors, the experience of the therapeutic process, change, and therapeutic relationship in the overall context of care. The topic “Important factors of therapeutic relationship” highlighted such components as listening and empathy, involvement, “taking seriously”, peer relationship, openness, competence, rules and boundaries, connection, closeness, warmth. The topic “Experiencing the therapeutic process, change” revealed the importance of inner motivation to recover, the experience of ventilation as easing process, and the feeling of positive change through therapy. The topic “Therapeutic relationship in the overall context of care” revealed a perception of the therapeutic relationship as more important compared to therapeutic methods (the latter were insignificant for the subjects); at the same time, the experience of inpatient treatment as helpful and the holistic view of therapy as a valuable life experience emerged – TS played an important role in these experiences. |
