https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2023.668

Personal Projects Analysis as an idiographic approach in psychotherapy: an exploratory study

Vol. 26 No. 1 (2023)
Submitted: November 9, 2022
Accepted: April 5, 2023
Published: May 8, 2023
Goals, personal projects, psychotherapy, counseling, idiographic approach
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Authors

Margarida Pedroso de Lima
mplima@fpce.uc.pt
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6239-1137
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
Isabel Albuquerque
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
Paulo Jorge Martins
Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisboa, Portugal.
António-José Gonzalez
Institute of Applied Psychology - ISPA, Portugal.

Client feedback research is a new but encouraging area that recognizes the importance of engaging patients in offered treatments and the relevance of the relationship between therapist and client. This study aimed to explore clients’ experiences of goal-oriented work using Personal Projects Analysis (PPA). PPA was applied to 5 participants of a psychodrama group after their consent and in agreement with the ethics and deontology research university committee. Their progress was evaluated with Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure (CORE-OM; 4 moments) and subjective well-being measures. Findings show how personal projects may be informative about clients’ difficulties and change processes. All outcomes on CORE-OM went below clinical cut-off points, and all these changes are reliable and clinically significant. PPA offers a consistent way to implement the goals approach in a psychotherapeutic context successfully. Nevertheless, some adjustments need to be implemented in the goal-oriented work using PPA.

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How to Cite

Pedroso de Lima, M., Albuquerque, I., Martins, P. J., & Gonzalez, A.-J. (2023). <i>Personal Projects Analysis</i> as an idiographic approach in psychotherapy: an exploratory study. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2023.668
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