Conference Agenda

In an era of global changes and mental health challenges, clinicians strive to reflect the emerging realities in their areas of practice and inquiry. As a practitioner, what I find largely defining the process, and potentially the outcome of psychotherapy, is: a) the relational space between me and my client, b) the relational space within my different selves, and c) the interconnectedness of these relational spaces. In my doctoral research, I used the concept of relational space, which includes human and non-human elements, verbal and non-verbal interactions, emotions, embodied responses... and more. In order to study the complex encounter of relational spaces in the therapy room, in my doctoral research I used stories about an event that occurred during a therapy session or about something I reflected on about a particular client or a particular session. In these autoethnographic stories, the focus is not on the therapy techniques, nor on the client’s difficulties. Instead, the focus is on the relational conversation between my client and myself, as well as on how my dialogical self emerges in the therapy room, my inner dialogue and thoughts and feelings. In a way, what I am trying to do is create a professionally employable space for the personal. The collaborative dialogue between these relational spaces as shown in autoethnographic stories creates relational ripples, which in turn open up possibilities and generate transformative practices in the psychotherapy process. Writing autoethnographic stories and their use in my practice and in my inquiry is a methodological tool, applicable and useful to other practitioners, who need to respond to current mental health challenges.