Qualitative Research in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy in Latin America

This book presents a comprehensive overview of a distinctive tradition of qualitative research in clinical psychology and psychotherapy developed in Latin America. Originating mainly from Chile, Argentina and Peru, this tradition has developed innovative qualitative methods to study indicators of change in psychotherapy, mechanisms of change in the psychotherapeutic process and complex phenomena in clinical psychology and psychotherapy. These three lines of research are richly illustrated by the chapters brought together in this volume, that showcase the work of psychotherapist-researchers who developed a research approach that mirrors the qualitative nature of the psychotherapeutic work. 

Qualitative research in psychotherapy has shown significant developments in the context of the Global South. Much of this, in contrast to the strong quantitative tradition based on Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) developed in North America and Europe, is due to the fact that psychotherapy research societies in Latin America were organized by psychotherapists. This has created the identity of the psychotherapist-researcher, a dual identity that entails the notion that psychotherapy research requires a qualitative dimension to make research a part of clinical practice and clinician identity, regardless of their theoretical-technical orientations. This contributed volume aims to provide the reader an overview of the main qualitative methods developed by these psychotherapist-researchers.

Qualitative Research in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy in Latin America: Creativity for Studying Complex Objects in Context will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners in the fields of clinical psychology and psychotherapy interested in methodologies that can contribute to the organic incorporation of research into clinical practice and to the study of complex objects in context.

Some chapters in this book were originally written in Spanish and translated into English with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.