Phenomenon of Co-Presence: Synergy of Counseling and Psychotherapy

   As more and more people seek psychotherapeutic support, the current global situation gives their demands and expectations a certain shared specificity. An effective system of psychological support needs to bridge the gap between the academic psychology and the applied psychotherapy. This research examined the phenomenon and structure of co-presence as a synergetic stage in relations between the psychologist and the client during various types of psychotherapy. It relied on the method of a phenomenological in-depth semi-structured interview, A. Giorgi and B. Giorgi’s qualitative data analysis, the method of group semantic universal, and the factor analysis. The obtained integral model of co-presence was tested as a semantic differential of Psychotherapeutic Co-Presence (see Appendix for a sample form). This complex study proved that co-presence is a comprehensive part of the psychotherapeutic process with particular substantive aspects for each stage of experience. The practical value of the proven hypothesis opens up some prospects of further empirical research.

1. Artemieva E. Yu. Basic psychology of subjective semantics. Moscow: Nauka; Smysl, 1999, 349. (In Russ.)

2. Artemieva E. Yu., Martynov E. M. Probabilistic methods in psychology. Moscow: MSU, 1975, 207. (In Russ.)

3. Buber M. Two types of faith. Moscow: Respublika, 1995, 464. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/sncusd

4. Buber M. I and Thou. Moscow: Vyssh. shk., 1993, 175. (In Russ.)

5. Van Deurzen-Smith E. Therapeutic dialogue. Moskovskii psikhoterapevticheskii zhurnal, 2008, (4): 150–166. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/kaufxb

6. Vasilyuk F. E. Towards synergistic psychotherapy: A history of hopes. Moskovskii psikhoterapevticheskii zhurnal, 1997, 5(2): 5–24. (In Russ.)

7. Geller S. A practical guide to cultivating therapeutic presence. Moscow: Korvet, 2020, 204. (In Russ.)

8. Gendlin E. Subverbal communication and therapist expressiveness: Trends in the development of client-centered psychotherapy. Moskovskii psikhoterapevticheskii zhurnal, 1993, 2(3). (In Russ.)

9. Klyueva N. V. Qualitative research methods. Yaroslavl: YarSU, 2016, 116. (In Russ.)

10. Kochunas R. Basics of psychological counseling. St. Petersburg: Piter, 2005, 240. (In Russ.)

11. Längle A. Existential effect in therapy and counseling. Pra-intentionality as a basis for the emergence and transmission of the "igniting spark" in dialogue. Ekzistentsialnyi analiz: biulleten, 2023, (15): 13–43. (In Russ.)

12. Längle A., Ukolova E. M., Shumskiy V. B. Modern existential analysis: History, theory, practice, and research. Moscow: Iurait, 2018, 556. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/plbjko

13. Längle S. Phenomenological research in existential analysis. Ekzistentsialnyi analiz : biulleten, 2023, (15): 44–68. (In Russ.)

14. Oreshina G. V., Zhukova M. A. The historical evolution and modern research of the alliance in psychotherapy and counseling. Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2023, 12(3): 30–56. (In Russ.) doi: 10.17759/cpse.2023120302

15. Osetrova M. A. Time perception as a criterion of the depth of psychotherapeutic presence. Lomonosov-2023 : Proc. Intern. Sci. Conf., Moscow, 10–21 Apr 2023. Moscow: MAKS Press, 2023. (In Russ.) URL: https://lomonosov-msu.ru/archive/Lomonosov_2023/data/28561/152078_uid687704_report.pdf (accessed 11 Jan 2025).

16. Osetrova M. A., Serkin V. P. Organizational integral model of the phenomenon of presence in the process of psychological counselling. Organizatsionnaya Psikhologiya, 2024, 14(2): 112–127. (In Russ.) doi: 10.17323/2312-5942-2024-14-2-112-127

17. Perls F. The gestalt approach and eye witness to therapy. Moscow: Akad. proekt; Kultura, 2015, 207. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/vrsdrd

18. Rogers C. Client-centered / person-centered approach to therapy. Voprosy Psikhologii, 2001, (2): 48–58. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/nbeund

19. Rogers C. Counseling and psychotherapy. The latest approaches in psychological practice. Moscow: IOI, 2015, 200. (In Russ.)

20. Serkin V. P. Client psyhotherapeutic myth: Methodological and organizational issues. Organizatsionnaya Psikhologiya, 2018, 8(4): 156–167. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/yxscxz

21. Serkin V. P. Psychosemantics. Moscow: Iurait, 2016, 318. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/vtvunp

22. Heidegger M. Being and time. Moscow: Akad. proekt, 2015, 460. (In Russ.)

23. Steinert K. Existential analysis and resonance. Psychotherapy as a space of resonance. Ekzistentsialnyi analiz: biulleten, 2023, (15): 113–141. (In Russ.)

24. Yalom I. Creatures of a day and other tales of psychotherapy. Moscow: Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, 2014, 240. (In Russ.)

25. Giorgi A. P., Giorgi B. M. The descriptive phenomenological psychological method. Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design, eds. by P. M. Camic, Rhodes J. E., Yardley L. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2003, 243–273. doi: 10.1037/10595-013