Formation of the Therapist Through Dialogical Engagement: A Qualitative Study

Education of a therapist should prepare a graduate to engage with a client not only through therapeutic alliance and techniques, but in real relationships, person to person, in ways that support the client's goals. This article presents a view of education as dialogical engagement-the action of turning, facing, and being present to both self and other. It is rooted in Martin Buber's I and Thou in the existential Contextual Therapy paradigm, and engaged in a way that becomes formative for the trainee, with positive carryover to the therapy room. Findings from a pilot focus-group study of a marriage and family therapy class conducted as dialogical engagement resulted in core themes of external structure, process of engagement, internal formation, and outcomes.