In this master thesis, the author focused on the topic of the perceived importance of creativity in the therapeutic process of marriage and family therapists. He was interested in how marriage and family therapists perceive creativity in their therapeutic practices and to develop a theory about it. In doing so, the research also aimed to link the existing relevant literature on the understanding of creativity in other therapeutic approaches with the understanding of marriage and family therapists' use of creativity in the therapeutic process.
The theoretical part includes a presentation of the literature on the definition of creativity itself throughout history and in contemporary times and a presentation of the literature on creativity in the professions, interpersonal relationships and society. In the last part, the author presents literature related to creativity in the therapeutic process and creativity in marriage and family therapy.
In the empirical part, the author obtained data through in-depth interviews with marriage and family therapists who have at least one year of experience. The data were analysed using grounded theory and six main categories were developed to describe the basic characteristics of marriage and family therapists' perceptions of the importance of creativity in the therapeutic process. According to the research carried out, the following areas emerge: the therapist's role, the structure of the use of creativity in the therapeutic process, the conditions for the use of creativity, the use of different creative techniques and approaches, the positive effects of the use of creativity and the difficulties of using creativity. Each category is further explained and linked to the existing literature using of sub-categories.
There is no literature on creativity in relational family therapy in Slovenia or abroad. This master's thesis thus makes a significant contribution to the field by showing how creativity is also an important factor in the relational family therapy process.
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