Grounded Therapy

From the beginning of my experience with therapy, I saw many areas in which it was evident to me that the therapeutic process and the therapeutic relationship could be improved. As I learned more about grounded theory, it also became evident to me that grounded theory might be very useful in this a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Odis Simmons
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociology Press 2025-06-01
Series:Grounded Theory Review: An International Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://groundedtheoryreview.org/index.php/gtr/article/view/324
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849415319029809152
author Odis Simmons
author_facet Odis Simmons
author_sort Odis Simmons
collection DOAJ
description From the beginning of my experience with therapy, I saw many areas in which it was evident to me that the therapeutic process and the therapeutic relationship could be improved. As I learned more about grounded theory, it also became evident to me that grounded theory might be very useful in this application. Some years later when I became a practicing therapist, I was able to empirically test this supposition. My original hunch has proven to be solidly correct. One of the original promises of grounded theory, "to be usable in practical applications" (Glaser and Strauss, 1967: p.3), has certainly been fulfilled, in this instance.  In fact, this promise has been fulfilled in a way which was evidently not originally perceived. The original thought appears to have been that with grounded theories, "prediction and explanation should be able to give the practitioner some understanding and control of situations" (Glaser and Strauss, 1967: p.3). What I have discovered is that the grounded theory process itself (not just grounded theories) is very useful as a model for guiding a grounded therapeutic process albeit in a modified form to fit the situation. Because of the inherent nature of this relationship, I refer to this approach as "grounded therapy." Grounded therapy is a methodology by which to achieve therapy. 
format Article
id doaj-art-729b5bb569234c348463e510249f4e78
institution Kabale University
issn 1556-1542
1556-1550
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Sociology Press
record_format Article
series Grounded Theory Review: An International Journal
spelling doaj-art-729b5bb569234c348463e510249f4e782025-08-20T03:33:34ZengSociology PressGrounded Theory Review: An International Journal1556-15421556-15502025-06-01241Grounded Therapy Odis Simmons0Glaser Center for Grounded Theory, Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies From the beginning of my experience with therapy, I saw many areas in which it was evident to me that the therapeutic process and the therapeutic relationship could be improved. As I learned more about grounded theory, it also became evident to me that grounded theory might be very useful in this application. Some years later when I became a practicing therapist, I was able to empirically test this supposition. My original hunch has proven to be solidly correct. One of the original promises of grounded theory, "to be usable in practical applications" (Glaser and Strauss, 1967: p.3), has certainly been fulfilled, in this instance.  In fact, this promise has been fulfilled in a way which was evidently not originally perceived. The original thought appears to have been that with grounded theories, "prediction and explanation should be able to give the practitioner some understanding and control of situations" (Glaser and Strauss, 1967: p.3). What I have discovered is that the grounded theory process itself (not just grounded theories) is very useful as a model for guiding a grounded therapeutic process albeit in a modified form to fit the situation. Because of the inherent nature of this relationship, I refer to this approach as "grounded therapy." Grounded therapy is a methodology by which to achieve therapy.  https://groundedtheoryreview.org/index.php/gtr/article/view/324grounded theorytherapyapplying grounded theorypreconceptiontherapeutic culturetherapeutic relationship
spellingShingle Odis Simmons
Grounded Therapy
Grounded Theory Review: An International Journal
grounded theory
therapy
applying grounded theory
preconception
therapeutic culture
therapeutic relationship
title Grounded Therapy
title_full Grounded Therapy
title_fullStr Grounded Therapy
title_full_unstemmed Grounded Therapy
title_short Grounded Therapy
title_sort grounded therapy
topic grounded theory
therapy
applying grounded theory
preconception
therapeutic culture
therapeutic relationship
url https://groundedtheoryreview.org/index.php/gtr/article/view/324
work_keys_str_mv AT odissimmons groundedtherapy