218
13
Final Reflections
In this closing chapter, I will present my final reflections on the
single-session conversations that appear in this book. My comments
will centre on the reflections offered by the volunteers that appear
at the end of Chapters 2–12. Each of the volunteers (all therapists
who signed up for a single session on their struggles over the
Christmas period) were invited to provide their reflections on their
particular session. In the letter of invitation, I wrote as follows:
‘Your reflection will go at the end of the chapter which will
contain the transcript of our session. I am happy for you to structure
the reflection in any way you wish. However, if you want some
suggestions, I think readers would be interested in what your
experience was in having the session with me, what you took from
the session and what difference it made to you.’
I was thus asking for their views on the process of the session
and its outcome. However, I also stressed that they were free to
reflect on the session in whatever way made most sense to them.
Outcome
Each of the volunteers provided their reflections of their particular
session about six months after the session itself. Sufficient time had
elapsed therefore for volunteers to gauge what difference the session
made to them if they chose to address this issue. Two volunteers
pointed to very specific things that they got from the session. Thus,
Jennie (Chapter 12) mentioned that the session gave her some tips
to employ in the future with her brother with whom she has a
difficult relationship and Eleonora (Chapter 5) pointed to a specific
technique known as the ‘Big I – Little I’ technique that I used with
her as being a catalyst for change in the session and later.
The rest of the volunteers’ comments about outcome can be
grouped into three broader themes: (i) achieving acceptance; (ii)