Moving up the continuum of hope: A qualitative study of hope and its influence in couples therapy
Year: 2006
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Understanding the process of change in couples therapy is an important area of research that is still in its infancy. A necessary step to understanding the process of change is to identify interventions that produce change, how the therapist knows when to use these interventions, and how these interventions are carried out. For years therapists have suggested that hope is an important catalyst in the process of change and the recent emphasis on common factors also emphasizes hopes importance. However, research on hope as it currently stands is lacking in four key areas: (a) a lack of research on the topic, (b) a lack of conceptual clarity about the definition of hope, (c) a lack of the therapist’s perspective on the topic of hope, and (d) a lack of understanding of the processes that engender hope. Fifteen active and experienced marriage and family therapists from across the United States participated in hour-long phone interviews about hope in couples therapy. Therapists confirmed the importance of engendering hope during the couples therapy process and of having and maintaining hope themselves. Moving Up the Continuum of Hope emerged as the core category from the grounded theory analysis of the data. This category represents a process, with general and specific conditions and consequences that both couples and therapists engage in. Therapists defined hope as a belief and feeling that a certain outcome was possible and identified four properties of hope: Options, Action, Evidence, and Connection. In addition, therapists described three distinct levels on the continuum of hope (done, ambivalent/low, and solid). Furthermore, two main subcategories, Cut the Engine on the Freight Train and Getting Over the Hump, represent the processes that both couples and therapists engage in in order to move up the continuum of hope. This study serves as a foundation for future process research on couples therapy, as well as research on hope in other contexts (e.g., individual and family therapy) and with other perspectives (e.g., clients).
Author: David B. Ward
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2289191328