Relationships Between Categories: The Context of the Symptom in Practice

AbstractThe current paper introduces a clinical method for experience-near interpretation of transference patterns taking place in the symptom context. This research is a qualitative metasynthetic study. The method of Luborsky ’s Core Conflictual Relationship Themes was conducted here on 33 transference case studies published in peer-reviewed journals and sourced from an appropriate database. Case components were categorized and relationships between them were analyzed using the method of Relationship Between Categories . We found that transferential components observed in the context of the symptom were a powerful source of distress. These components were found to be interlinked in patterns of two, three or four core categories. Based on these findings we suggest a therapeutic method that enhances self-understandi ng and maps out milestones for change. The suggested method is sensitive to a set of the patients’ covert associations, which thus becomes a key to undermining the unconscious balance between healthy and pathologic urges.
Source: Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research