Date of Award

Summer 8-22-2026

Document Type

Doctoral Research Paper

Degree Name

Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

Shelly Smith-Acuña

Second Advisor

Louis Hoffman

Third Advisor

Trey Cole

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Keywords

Existential psychotherapy, Therapeutic relationship, Intersubjectivity, Awe, Therapeutic presence, Clinician experience, Reflexive thematic analysis, Therapeutic dyad

Abstract

This qualitative study examines clinicians’ lived experiences of awe within the therapeutic dyad and considers how such experiences shape clinical understanding, relational process, and epistemic stance. Although awe has been widely studied in relation to nature, spirituality, and collective contexts, its emergence within psychotherapy remains underexplored. Grounded in an existential-phenomenological framework, this research investigates how therapists encounter, interpret, and are affected by moments of awe in clinical practice. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with practicing clinicians and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings suggest that awe within the therapeutic dyad is a relationally co-constructed phenomenon that can meaningfully alter the therapeutic field. Four interrelated themes were identified: (1) awe is paradoxical, encompassing both wonder and fear as well as beauty and disorientation; (2) awe is a way of being that extends beyond just the therapy room; (3) awe emerges from a constellation of therapeutic conditions; (4) awe meaningfully impacts the dyad in a myriad of ways. These findings suggest that awe may operate as a transformative relational event that unsettles epistemic certainty while deepening therapeutic presence. Rather than disrupting clinical work, awe may enhance clinicians’ capacity to remain with uncertainty and to engage the inherent mystery of the therapeutic encounter. Implications for existential and relational psychotherapies are considered, with particular attention to the quality of therapeutic stance, and the boundaries of clinical knowing.

Copyright Date

6-24-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Jeffrey Singer

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

46 pgs

File Size

471 KB

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Available for download on Monday, July 16, 2029



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