Being With That: The Relevance of Embodied Understanding for Practice

Abstract

In this keynote presentation, I consider one way of articulating a more intimate relationship between the findings of qualitative research and the practice of care in health-related contexts. Drawing on the writings of Gadamer and Gendlin, I consider the kind of understanding that might be particularly relevant to everyday practice. I call this "embodied relational understanding." I further pursue the question of how the findings of qualitative research can become a rich resource for sensitizing practitioners to engage with the complexities of practice. I argue that providing such a resource requires us to pay more attention to the evocative power of our findings and their potentially transformational power for personal and professional development.