Now in print: Virtue engagement in contemporary relational psychotherapy

We used our clinic’s Relational Spirituality Assessment to identify a group of clients growing in relational virtues during treatment and then used interviews to understand their unique perspectives and experiences in therapy. This yielded key insights about relational dynamics in therapy and shifts in client understandings of virtues interacting with a variety of cultural and related identity dynamics.

Crabtree, S.A., Captari, L.E., Hydinger, K.R., Jankowski, P.J., & Sandage, S.J. (2024). Virtue engagement in contemporary relational psychotherapy: A mixed method practice-based study. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research. http://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12856

Abstract

Positive psychology and virtue ethics traditions suggest that virtue development is a pathway to well-being, but few studies have examined how psychotherapy in naturalistic settings contributes to clients’ virtue engagement. This study was conducted at a community mental health clinic specializing in contemporary relational psychotherapy (CRP) in the northeast United States. The embedded, explanatory mixed method design included (a) longitudinal mixture-modelling to identify clients showing gains in relational virtue engagement over time, and (b) interviewing a subsample (N = 15) of these clients. Our findings suggest that virtue engagement in CRP emerges (a) within the dynamic conditions of the alliance and (b) through holistic attunement to clients’ identities, experiences, mental health and growth in capacities that promote wisdom and flourishing. Clinical and research implications and future research directions are discussed.