METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS AND INNOVATIONS IN POSTMODERN THERAPY RESEARCH

Postmodern therapy researchers produce studies of participants’ experiences of therapy, clinical encounter processes, and outcomes of treatment as found in more traditional psychotherapy research but differ in emphasizing an affinity between theoretical assumptions and methodological procedures among the therapies they study and the clinical studies they conduct. These commonalities, which include questioning grand narratives, ideals of truth, and objectivity; adopting the social construction of knowledge; valuing reflexivity and subjectivity; championing collaborative relationships; embracing social justice; and engaging in social change, can produce innovations in both therapy and research. In four interconnected phases or “waves” that start in the 1980s and continue today, postmodern therapy has expanded from primarily practice-based accounts to include traditional research designs along with emerging initiatives involving social justice perspectives and participatory and collaborative designs.