Letters about letters: clients' written reflections on therapeutic letters

Abstract

Therapeutic letter writing as an adjunct to counselling has seen an increase in use by counsellors in the last decade yet limited research attention has been devoted to how clients receive such documents. This study, through a qualitative design, investigated the experiences of 7 clients who had received a letter from their counsellor during therapy. The data collected and analyzed was in the form of letters written by clients to the researcher. Four themes emerged from the analysis of the clients' letters: Curiosity and Connection; Consolidation: Relationships and Session Content; Facilitating and Hindering; and In Perpetuity: The Tangible and Lasting Presence of Letters. -- The participants' written words to the researcher reflect that the therapeutic letter they received played an active role in their counselling experience. The participants' letters offer guidance and thought for counsellors considering and engaging in therapeutic letter writing. These are reviewed along with a discussion of the influences of the internet and email and future research possibilities.