JOURNEY OF A MASTER THERAPIST: NARRATIVES OF SELECTED FILIPINO MASTER PSYCHOTHERAPISTS

MARISSA L. CADAO
PH.D. PSYCHOLOGY (OCTOBER 2011)
Department of Psychology

This phenomenological study was conducted to understand the professional life journey of seven Filipino master psychotherapists who came out from a survey conducted among 64 fellow professionals. Digitally-recorded qualitative interviews were conducted to gather data in the study. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was employed in the analysis of data. Findings revealed the surrounding conditions and the journeying path that the participating experts passed through in the process of becoming a master therapist. A master therapist is defined in bifurcated aspects: in terms of one’s achievements and in terms of five categories of characteristics: Cognitive, Psycho-emotional, Psycho-social, and Psycho-spiritual and Nationalistic attributes. It was concluded that there is a nature-nurture interaction behind the making of a master therapist and that the journey to becoming a master therapist is a long and not a straightforward process. It was recommended that the proposed model of The Journeying Path of a Master Therapist and the bifurcated terms in the definition of a master therapist be subjected to further quantitative analysis. Professionalization, promotion and indigenization of psychotherapy practice in the Philippines were also recommended.