Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

Synchronicity in the therapeutic setting: a survey of practitioners

Roxburgh, E. C., Ridgway, S. and Roe, C. A. (2016) Synchronicity in the therapeutic setting: a survey of practitioners. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research. 16(1), pp. 44-53. 1473-3145.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: Aims: In this study we intended to explore whether there are any differences between counsellors, psychologists, and psychotherapists in the reporting and interpretation of synchronicity experiences (SEs) in the therapeutic setting. SEs are defined as psychologically meaningful connections between inner events (such as a thought, vision or feeling) and one or more external events occurring simultaneously or at a future point in time. Design: An on-line survey link was emailed to a random sample of counsellors, psychologists, and psychotherapists drawn from membership lists of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, British Psychological Society, and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy. The survey was designed to investigate the following research questions: Do practitioners report SEs in the therapeutic setting? Are there any differences between types of practitioners in terms of explanations for SEs? Were SEs believed to be more likely to occur at certain points in therapy? Results: A total of 226 respondents completed the survey. One hundred respondents (44%) reported that they had experienced synchronicity in the therapeutic setting, of whom 55 were psychotherapists, 21 counsellors and 24 psychologists. The majority of respondents (67%) felt that SEs could be useful for therapy. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between practitioner types in their interpretation of SEs but no differences in perception of when synchronicity events were likely to occur. Conclusion: Findings have important implications for how practitioners may respond to clients who report SEs and are discussed alongside suggestions for future research.
Additional Information: A pre-publication version of this article was made available electronically by the publisher on 15 December 2015
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF1175 Coincidence
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF1001 Parapsychology. Psychic research. Psychology of the conscious
R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC435 Psychiatry > RC475 Therapeutics. Psychotherapy
Creators: Roxburgh, Elizabeth C, Ridgway, Sophie and Roe, Chris A
Funders or Sponsors: Bial Foundation
Grant Reference Number: 108/12
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Institute of Health and Wellbeing > Centre for Applied Mental Health Research
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > School of Social Sciences (to 2016)
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology
Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology
Research Centres > Centre for Psychology and Social Sciences
Research Centres > Centre for Health Sciences and Services
Date: March 2016
Date Type: Publication
Page Range: pp. 44-53
Journal or Publication Title: Counselling and Psychotherapy Research
Volume: 16
Number: 1
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12057
ISSN: 1473-3145
Status: Published / Disseminated
Refereed: Yes
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/7900

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