title: Delving into the 'emotional storms': A thematic analysis of psychoanalysts' initial consultation reports.
abstract: Psychoanalysts' written reports on initial consultations are a window into the complexities of a crucial aspect of psychoanalytic work. However, systematic research in this area has largely focused on patients' demographic factors or standardized measures. The present study looked at reports of all the consultations taking place at the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis over one calendar year (N = 100). The aim was to explore psychoanalysts' different explicit styles of working and reporting as well as further understanding implicit processes used in thinking and writing about each particular consultation experience. A thematic analysis revealed a set of themes that related to a style of working and thinking about the consultation process as a dyadic experience, where the interaction, affective reactions and contact made between the two are the focus when thinking of making a recommendation for psychoanalysis. The majority of the reports had an open, exploratory quality. The writing of reports appears to give the analyst an opportunity to process the consultation experience and arrive at a more triangular position. Writing reports is a more valuable part of the consultation process than has formally been recognized and acknowledged. The limitations of this study as well as the relevance of these findings for future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: The British Psychoanalytic Society, Byron House, 112a Shirland Road, London, W9 2BT, UK. a.perezcorres@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alejandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.affiliation: The London Clinic of Psychoanalysis, Byron House, 112a Shirland Road, London, W9 2BT, UK. penelope.crick@iopa.org.uk.
authors.forename: Penelope
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Crick
authors.affiliation: The British Psychoanalytic Society, Byron House, 112a Shirland Road, London, W9 2BT, UK. ssabey@aol.com.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lawrence
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011572:Psychoanalysis / Q000379:methods*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014167:Transference, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: assessment; consultation; counter-transference; emotional storm; enactment; initial meeting; initiation; qualitative research; thematic analysis; writing reports