Checking-in within the opening interactional sequences of therapy

![CDATA[How mental health practitioners open sessions of psychotherapy is important to the establishment of a therapeutic alliance and ultimately influential on therapeutic outcomes. Openings in conversation analytic terms are dynamic interactional sequences. One suggestion by Schegloff (1968) is that in openings, participants orient to achieve one or several of three tasks: gatekeeping, (re)constructing their relationship, and/or establishing topic(s) of their talk. Within therapeutic interactions, openings serve the purpose of beginning the work of therapy. Those early sequences also orient participants to the reconstruction of their relationships where they have previously engaged in interactions or the establishment of their relationship where it is their first encounter (Schegloff, 1968). A common feature of the opening sequences of therapeutic interactions is known as ‘checking-in’. Checking-in is broadly refers to the therapist’s enquiry about the client’s subjective experiences of therapy, and may include their expectations, progress or emotional, physical, or cognitive state (Egan & Reese, 2018). Despite the recognition that checking-in is an important feature of opening therapeutic interactions (Furrow et al., 2011; Yalom, 2002), most advice provided to therapists regarding its formulation and use is theoretical and not based on empirical evidence. Drawing on a corpus of recorded therapeutic interactions, this study uses conversation analysis to examine session openings at various stages of therapy, with a particular focus on checking-in sequences of talk. By focusing on checking-in sequences, the study provides the opportunity to examine observable interactional evidence for common recommendations. Analysis of therapeutic interactions from a range of settings and various therapists and clients will also provide the opportunity to identify the prevalence of checking-in, common interactional practices and its utility within the therapeutic interaction. The study also investigates how checking-in achieves any or all the three tasks of openings identified by Schegloff (1968). This presentation will outline an overview and preliminary findings of the study which will contribute to the understanding of the interactional practices and challenges of opening therapeutic interactions, also known as ‘session-initiating sequences’ (Clark & Rendle-Short, 2016). By using interactional evidence to appraise existing recommendations for mental health practitioners, this presentation will provide preliminary insights into ways conversation analysis can practically inform training and development of mental health practitioners.]]