Psykoterapeuten har också en kropp: en kvalitativ studie om kroppen och självomhändertagande i psykoterapi

Sammanfattning: The aim of the study was to achieve a deeper understanding of how psychotherapists consciously work with body signals to better understand the patient and themselves. In relation to overall aim, the study also includes several questions for example: What have psychotherapists learnt during their education about body awareness? Does the integration of the body contribute to any values such as reflecting on the need for self-care? Qualitative analysis method was used, and data was collected with semi-structured interviews which were conducted with ten registered psychotherapists who are primarily working with adults. The material was analyzed by use of thematic analysis where five themes were identified. Our study clearly shows that there is gap between practice and theory. Knowledge about psychotherapeutic tools for the conscious and practical use of for example transmission and countertransference is lacking. Since our study also confirms the overall picture of the professions’ worrying health state, another conclusion is that there is clearly a need of improved self-care among the therapists to prevent compassion fatigue.