An understanding of clinical wisdom is put forward, characterized by markers and principles for practice, to guide therapy processes within therapists' intentionality and direct research on common factors.

Disenfranchised grief is experienced when a mourner's grief response is socially invalidated, unacknowledged, or discouraged. When the circumstances of death or the emotional reactions of the griever violate social norms, empathic failures can occur within the bereaved individual's support systems. This study used conventional content analysis, an intensive and inductive qualitative research method, to analyze the experience of one African American woman who lost her only son to homicide, a particularly distressing and marginalized form of loss. Results elucidate both the empathic failings and resiliencies within the social systems of this griever and emerged from the perspectives offered by the bereaved mother and her primary supporter. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This article complements the narrative research that focuses on the process and content of what is said in psychotherapy by examining clients' and therapists' significant experiences beneath the in-session discourse. Toward this end, the authors recorded one midtherapy session from each of four dyads, and the therapist and client from each dyad were then interviewed using an interpersonal process recall method. Participants were asked what they experienced as significant during the session and to describe their rationale for that selection. Descriptions of these experiences were organized into categories using an inductive method. An analysis of therapist- and client-originated categories was conducted to elucidate the often unspoken concerns of participants. The range of internal experiences that underlie narration in psychotherapy is explicated.

Recommended principles for training are put forward for the development and evaluation of psychotherapy training programs that aim to foster clinical wisdom. These principles complement training models focused upon clinical competence by helping trainees to develop a foundation for clinical wisdom.

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