Title
Pursuing the question of reflexivity in psychotherapy and qualitative methods: The contributions of David L. Rennie
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2015
Abstract
Background This article documents the intellectual contributions of the psychologist David Rennie to the fields ofpsychotherapy research, qualitative methods and humanistic psychology by tracing the central position of reflexivity across these bodies of work. This work had a profound influence on his field and led to his viewing the fostering of clients' reflexivityas the central task of psychotherapy. Aims It follows his path as a researcher, beginning with his advancement of grounded theory methods and their application within psychotherapy research. His development of a humanistic experiential person-centred approach to psychotherapy is described as an extension of this valuing of reflexivity and the recognition of the role of clients' agency within sessions. In addition, the paper reviews the innovative methodological research that led him to propose a model of inferential processes that underlies qualitative research methods and that is rooted in the process of embodied reflexivity. His contextualising qualitative methods within a form of methodical hermeneutics permitted a unifying framework for understanding the logic of qualitative methods.
Recommended Citation
Levitt, H. M., Lu, E. C., Pomerville, A., & Surace, F. I. (2015). Pursuing the question of reflexivity in psychotherapy and qualitative methods: The contributions of David L. Rennie. Counselling & Psychotherapy Research. 15.1, 3-11. doi: 10.1002/capr.12021
Publisher
Counseling & Psychothearpy Research