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Motivating people is no easy feat. This challenge is also evident in psychotherapy, where fostering genuine motivation can make all the difference in treatment outcomes. We humans are ambivalent creatures. On the one hand, we want to change harmful habits and patterns that endanger our health and prevents us from having satisfying relationships and professional success. And yet, at the same time, we do not want to change. Change is a jump to the unknown. Change is inherently destabilizing, and we want to feel safe.

There are two widespread misunderstanding of motivation in psychotherapy: first, motivation is an attribute of the client; second motivation is a quantity, the strength of which determines our actions towards change. These two beliefs are holding sway in the context of psychotherapy, despite research pointing towards motivation as a social process. From different contexts outside psychotherapy, there is evidence that motivation is not an attribute of individual people, but an attribute of the relationship between people. It is not the quantity of motivation that matters most for enduring change, but the type (quality), formed through the interaction between the person seeking change and the therapist providing support. To achieve autonomous motivation, which is crucial for sustained progress, certain elements must be present in the interaction between client and therapist.

The thesis elaborates this very interactive process, drawing on Self-Determination Theory. Self-Determination Theory posits that the fulfillment of basic psychological needs is fundamental to fostering autonomous motivation. Clients’ painful experiences tend to awake in the therapist various feelings. The extent to which the therapist can make therapeutic use of these feelings is decisive for her ability to support her clients’ basic needs. This in turn effects whether the client develops external or internal motivation for psychological change. Clients’ external motivation can appear very subtly and be left unnoticed by both parties, as when the client complies to the therapist. Through a thorough theoretical and microanalytic examination of four different therapeutic interactions, this work offers new insights into the mechanisms that therapists can use to nurture a more profound and lasting internal motivation in their clients.

By emphasizing the quality of motivation and the relational context that fosters it, this study opens new avenues for therapists enhancing the effectiveness of their therapeutic interventions and cultivating deeper and more autonomous motivation in their clients. This, in turn, can lead to more meaningful and enduring therapeutic outcomes.

M.Psych., M.Ed., M.Sc. Édua Holmström will defend her dissertation "Conceptualizing the therapist’s relational positioning: Basic need support to facilitate patient engagement and emotional change " on 21 September 2024 at 12 noon in the Agora building (Aud. 3), Mattilanniemi. Opponent is Associate Professor Carla Cunha (University of Maia) and Custos Associate Professor Virpi-Liisa Kykyri (Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥). The event is held in English.

The event will also be streamed live: 

The dissertation can be read at 

More information:

Édua Holmström, edua.holmstrom@gmail.com