From control to vulnerability: Resolution of illusory mental health within a significant change event during pluralistic psychotherapy

Intensive studies of single cases represent a valuable means for developing and refining practice-relevant theory in the field of counselling and psychotherapy. A significant discrepancy between different sources of information about symptom severity was observed in a case of a client recovering from the experience of growing up with an abusive alcoholic parent. The process of change within this case, arising from an art-based pluralistic intervention, was analysed using a version of a mixed method Hermeneutic Single Case Efficacy Design (HSCED). A conceptual framework for understanding the resolution of illusory mental health is proposed, and implications for practice are discussed.