CO-CREATING A MORE COOPERATIVE CLIENT-THERAPIST RELATIONSHIP THROUGH A DEBRIEFING PROCESS

Previous ethnographic studies have suggested that debriefing can have positive effects on the therapeutic process. This research project has attempted to augment the previous work in this area by comparing and contrasting clients' perceptions of their therapists' role as debriefe r vis-it-vis a third-party debriefer. Results appear to indicate that 1) respondents did not discern an appreciable difference between their therapists' role as debriefer and that of a third-party debriefer, 2) debriefing enhances therapy by introducing more information into the therapeutic system, 3) debriefing facilitates collaboration and appear s to be a user-friendly technique compatible with collaborative styles of therapy, and 4) debriefing may be better suited for client systems that appear to be more comfortable engaging others during conflict re solution than avoiding others during conflict resolution.