Experiential therapy: The case of sam

Abstract

Theoretical frameworks emerge in response to the ever-changing needs of direct service professionals to best remediate consumer's struggles with the intersectional complexity of the human condition. And as such, these emerging theories share certain philosophical underpinnings, and evidence-based applications. Thus, integrating theory into therapy is a fluid and responsive process. This holds especially true for social work professionals that wish to merge theory into therapy with the use of experiential work in their clinical practice. This writing will explore the nature of theory, the interconnected nature of experiential therapy as theory, and the therapeutic process. A case centering on a young, single, multi-cultural, transgendered person's conflicted emotional experience connected to his desire to transition will highlight the synergistic application of theory into therapy through experiential work. This writing explains the therapeutic factors at play in the use of experiential therapy that leads a consumer to identify unresolved emotional experiences and work toward resolution.