“A transformative journey": How child and adolescent psychotherapists experience their work with adolescents with depression. An interpretative phenomenological analysis

This study explores the lived experiences of child and adolescent psychotherapists working with adolescents with depression. In this study, the age group of the adolescents discussed is 13-18 years. In this context, the definition of depression is not limited within psychiatric terms, but includes a variety of presentations, such as long-standing feelings of low mood, hopelessness, lack of motivation, self-harm, and/or suicidal thoughts. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Five child and adolescent psychotherapists were interviewed, the experience of whom varied from ten to more than thirty years. Data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Five group experiential themes emerged from the data analysis across five interviews: Losing internal compass; Risk changes it all; Reaching the adolescent; Therapeutic relationship is a personal matter; Another mind to think with. The main findings of the study show that the work with adolescents with depression has a significant impact on the therapist, who experiences feelings of hopelessness, incompetency, guilt, rejection and sadness among other feelings. The results strongly indicate that countertransference is a helpful tool in understanding the young person’s internal and external reality. Most therapists talked about needing to adapt their psychoanalytic approach, such as transference interpretations, something that raised dilemmas in some therapists. Links between personal and professional life were also made. Finally, risk was discussed as one of the most impactful factors for the therapist which led to findings about the importance of network in managing risk and supporting the therapist.