Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Formation of Mental Health Professionals

The philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer proposes a reflective metapraxis as helpful for guiding any effort to interpret human experience. This practice of hermeneutic reflection can support the interpretive efforts of mental health professionals when interacting with clients. Gadamer outlines 4 features common to any act of interpretation that might be emphasized in the educational formation (Bildung) of mental health professionals: (a) interpretation seeks the goal of understanding any phenomenon to be interpreted, (b) interpretation involves an ongoing dialogue that requires openness and receptivity, (c) an interpreter must grow in self-awareness of presuppositions that affect the process of interpretation, and (d) the act of understanding can be described as the mutual integration of the interpreter and the phenomenon being interpreted. These educational emphases can support a mental health professional's exercise of particular clinical competencies such as (a) the ability to maintain a transcultural perspective when establishing therapeutic alliances with diverse clients, (b) the ability to monitor countertransference and practice self-reflection, (c) the ability to engage in collaborative case conceptualizations with clients, and (d) the ability to communicate empathic understanding to clients. Public Significance Statement Mental health professionals work with clients who are culturally, religiously, and morally diverse. In order to be effective in the provision of mental health services to these clients, professionals must regulate whether they are accurately interpreting and understanding client disclosures. The exercise of Gadamer's metapraxis of hermeneutic reflection can support mental health professionals in this task.