Practitioner‐based research and qualitative interviewing: Using therapeutic skills to enrich research in counselling and psychotherapy

Background The researcher's reflexive use of self forms part of a well-established tradition in counselling and psychotherapy research. This paper reviews that tradition briefly, with particular reference to an approach known as ‘practitioner-based research’ that has developed from it. In this approach, researcher-practitioners use their therapeutic skills and judgement and thereby enrich their understanding of research participants, themselves and their relationship. Aim The paper aims to contribute to the practitioner-based approach by showing how it can impact on data collection, using an example from a qualitative interview. Methodology A moment of interaction between a participant and a therapy researcher in a qualitative interview is examined, framed within psychotherapeutic intersubjectivity theory. The researcher's reflexive awareness of micro-aspects of the relationship with the participant is reviewed, captured in their language and the split-second daydreams or reveries that arose as they interacted. Findings The authors argue that the approach enhanced this small-scale study by intensifying the researcher's engagement with the participant and enriching her understanding of their relationship and the subject under investigation. Implications The paper highlights the unique value and contribution that this approach offers to therapy research and practice.