The embodied listener: a dyadic case study of how therapist and patient reflect on the significance of therapist's personal presence for the therapeutic change process.

Objective: There is a need to understand more of the dyadic processes in therapy and how the therapist's ways of being are experienced and reflected upon by both patient and therapist. The aim of this dyadic case study was to investigate how the therapist's personal presence was perceived by the patient and the therapist as contributing to change.Method: From a larger project on collaborative actions between patient and therapist, a dyadic case involving in-depth interviews of the therapist and patient was selected to examine the research question. Interpretative phenomenological analysis of four interviews with the therapist and one interview with the patient was conducted.Results: The analyses indicated that the therapist's way of being, as perceived by both therapist and patient, was expressed at a superordinate level through the concept of embodied listening, which was of particular help for the patient, and influenced by the therapist's theoretical orientation, as well as being rooted in his own personal history. Three sub-themes emerged from the analysis, each illustrating how embodied listening contributed to the therapeutic relationship and process. Our findings flesh out how the underlying phenomena of emotional attunement, presence, and genuineness are observable in therapeutic encounters.

Differential localization of voltage-gated potassium channels during Drosophila metamorphosis.

Neuronal excitability is determined by the combination of different ion channels and their sub-neuronal localization. This study utilizes protein trap fly strains with endogenously tagged channels to analyze the spatial expression patterns of the four Shaker-related voltage-gated potassium channels, Kv1-4, in the larval, pupal, and adult Drosophila ventral nerve cord. We find that all four channels (Shaker, Kv1; Shab, Kv2; Shaw, Kv3; and Shal, Kv4) each show different spatial expression patterns in the Drosophila ventral nerve cord and are predominantly targeted to different sub-neuronal compartments. Shaker is abundantly expressed in axons, Shab also localizes to axons but mostly in commissures, Shaw expression is restricted to distinct parts of neuropils, and Shal is found somatodendritically, but also in axons of identified motoneurons. During early pupal life expression of all four Shaker-related channels is markedly decreased with an almost complete shutdown of expression at early pupal stage 5 (∼30% through metamorphosis). Re-expression of Kv1-4 channels at pupal stage 6 starts with abundant channel localization in neuronal somata, followed by channel targeting to the respective sub-neuronal compartments until late pupal life. The developmental time course of tagged Kv1-4 channel expression corresponds with previously published data on developmental changes in single neuron physiology, thus indicating that protein trap fly strains are a useful tool to analyze developmental regulation of potassium channel expression. Finally, we take advantage of the large diameter of the giant fiber (GF) interneuron to map channel expression onto the axon and axon terminals of an identified interneuron. Shaker, Shaw, and Shal but not Shab channels localize to the non-myelinated GF axonal membrane and axon terminals. This study constitutes a first step toward systematically analyzing sub-neuronal potassium channel localization in Drosophila. Functional implications as well as similarities and differences to Kv1-4 channel localization in mammalian neurons are discussed.

"It's both a strength and a drawback." How therapists' personal qualities are experienced in their professional work.

Objective: The aim of this study was to gain knowledge about how the integration of personal and professional experiences affects therapeutic work. Method: Therapists (N = 14) who had been recommended by their leaders at their individual workplaces were interviewed twice with semi-structured qualitative interviews, which were then subjected to thematic and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results: All the therapists in the sample described their personal qualities as an experienced tension between their personal strengths and vulnerabilities in the therapeutic setting. This tension came to expression through four subordinate themes: (a) The tension between perceiving oneself as a helper while dealing with one's own needs for attention and care; (b) The tension between the ability for embodied listening to the patient while tuning into oneself; (c) The tension between staying present while handling aggression and rejection from clients; and (d) The tension in striving for a constructive balance between closeness and distance. Conclusion: The results point to ways in which the personal selves of the therapists may affect their professional role performance. Drawing upon previous research and literature on the topic, the paper discusses how therapists' personal qualities are experienced as affecting their work and suggests several implications for psychotherapy training and practice.