A Qualitative Study on Clients’ and Therapists’ Perceptions of Therapeutic Interventions that Foster Hope

Much research has shown that hope is beneficial in facilitating change and promoting progress in psychotherapy (Larsen & Stege, 2010a, 2010b, 2012; Lopez et al., 2004). However, little research has been done looking at specific interventions clients and therapists perceive as fostering hope and promoting change in clients’ lives (Larsen & Stege, 2010a, 2010b, 2012). This study involves interviews with clients and therapists following an early psychotherapy session using a technique called Interpersonal Process Recall (Larsen, Flesaker, & Stege, 2008). During this interview, participants were able to review video clips of their session and comment on ways they felt hope was communicated or fostered in session. Information from interviews was used to develop themes and categories relating to therapeutic interventions that affect the level of hope experienced by clients. Five categories were formed to encompass the identified interventions. Four of these categories related to interventions that foster hope (therapeutic relationship, reframing/providing a new perspective, empowering clients, and highlighting the client’s utilization of resources), and one category addressed interventions that have the potential to lower hope. These results will be beneficial in informing psychotherapists of ways hope can be communicated and fostered in psychotherapy, thereby enriching the experience for both the psychotherapist and client as well as improving client care and therapeutic outcomes