This study reports on a group of 10 clients, who completed a long period of psychotherapy (between 1 and 5 years). The clients form part of a larger group of 35, whose course of psychotherapy is discussed in the book The Longest Journey: finding the true self.
Each client was interviewed a year after ending therapy and invited to write a response to the question: “What brought you to counselling and how did the process enable you to change?” The study aimed to identify for each client the core of the early disturbance/wound and the nature of the pathways and drivers for change.
What came to light was a pattern of concealment and disclosure that accompanied the process of psychotherapy. The end stage of the process was marked by an understanding of the core emotions affecting the client, and the impact of these emotions on the client’s mood and action.
