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Discovering Theory in Clinical Practice pp 197–215Cite as

Experiential Therapy: The Case of Sam

Abstract

Theoretical frameworks emerge in response to the ever-changing needs of direct service professionals to best remediate consumer’s struggles with the intersectional complexity of the human condition. And as such, these emerging theories share certain philosophical underpinnings, and evidence-based applications. Thus, integrating theory into therapy is a fluid and responsive process. This holds especially true for social work professionals that wish to merge theory into therapy with the use of experiential work in their clinical practice. This writing will explore the nature of theory, the interconnected nature of experiential therapy as theory, and the therapeutic process. A case centering on a young, single, multi-cultural, transgendered person’s conflicted emotional experience connected to his desire to transition will highlight the synergistic application of theory into therapy through experiential work. This writing explains the therapeutic factors at play in the use of experiential therapy that leads a consumer to identify unresolved emotional experiences and work toward resolution.

Keywords

  • Theory
  • Frameworks
  • Experiential therapy
  • Intersectional identity

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. George Williams College at Aurora University, Williams Bay, WI, USA

    Wendy Seerup

  2. University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, Whitewater, WI, USA

    Jennifer Anderson

  3. Social Work Program, George Williams College at Aurora University, Williams Bay, WI, USA

    Joan Fedota

Authors
  1. Wendy Seerup
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  2. Jennifer Anderson
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  3. Joan Fedota
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wendy Seerup .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, Washburn University, Topeka, KS, USA

    Rhonda Peterson Dealey

  2. School of Social Work, Aurora University, Aurora, IL, USA

    Michelle R. Evans

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Seerup, W., Anderson, J., Fedota, J. (2021). Experiential Therapy: The Case of Sam. In: Dealey, R.P., Evans, M.R. (eds) Discovering Theory in Clinical Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57310-2_14

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