Psychotherapeutic Competencies Techniques, Relationships, and Epistemology in Systemic Practice

This book provides a clear and concise description of the multifaceted notion of psychotherapeutic competencies, building on years of research and training and informed by a systemic approach. Psychotherapeutic Competencies clearly describes methodological principles to guide both trainees and experienced therapists through the definition of four levels of systemic competencies and illustrates each principle with compelling clinical case material. The book emphasises the need for therapists to develop relational skills, which allow for the consolidation of a trusting relationship in which change can take place, as well as acquiring a set of methods and techniques. Psychotherapeutic Competencies encourages therapists of all levels of experience and therapeutic backgrounds to develop epistemological competency and to deepen their awareness of the extended contexts in which they operate and of the possible effects of their practice at a social and cultural level. This book will be essential reading for psychotherapists of all therapeutic backgrounds, in practice and in training, who wish to enhance their understanding of competency, context, and clinical skill. It will also be a key text for systemic and relational psychotherapists, trainers, trainees, clinical supervisors, and researchers.

Part 1: Technical Competency In Systemic Practice: The Dialogical Construction Of A Shared Symbolic Space 1. From diagnosis to care 2. Technical support for dialogical competency Part 2: Relational Competency: Promoting And Analyzing Intersubjectivity 3. The therapeutic alliance 4. The construction of transformative interactive contexts Part 3: Epistemological Competency: Enabling A Change Of Viewpoint 5. Reflexivity: becoming aware of one’s own premises 6. Complex thinking: The exploration of different perspectives 7. Curiosity and decentring: distinguishing reasons from solutions Part 4: Acknowledging The Context: The Social Dimension Of Psychotherapy 8. Relational interdependence and triadic co-evolution 9. Constructing networks 10. The Multi-process analysis Conclusion Beyond Psychotherapy

Laura Fruggeri is a psychologist and psychotherapist and a former professor of psychology of family relationship at the University of Parma. Currently, she is the director of the Bologna Centre of Family Therapy and has been extensively teaching in the UK, Europe, and North and South America for more than 3 decades. She is the author of more than 100 publications in Italian, English, French, Spanish, Danish, and German. Francesca Balestra, PhD, is a psychologist and psychotherapist. She is a family therapist, a researcher, and a trainer at the Bologna Centre of Family Therapy. Her research interests are focused on communicative and interactive processes between therapist and client in psychotherapeutic sessions. Elena Venturelli, PhD, is a psychologist and psychotherapist, adjunct professor of psychology of family relationships at the University of Parma, and a researcher and trainer at the Bologna Centre of Family Therapy. Her main research interests are relationships in the family, with particular attention to the analysis of interactions through observational methodologies (TIAP).