Depth of experiencing and therapeutic alliance: What predicts outcome for whom in emotion ‐focused therapy for trauma?

ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that focusing on the process that clients have trouble with early in therapy contributes to the best treatment outcome.Practitioner points Sometimes early treatment sessions reveal an abundance of one kind of processing but limitations to another, which poses a puzzle for treatment planning. Our findings suggest that within the first four sessions, therapists could develop tailored treatments based on the relative presence or absence of critical therapeutic changes processes. When it becomes evident that therapy is progressing with a weaker alliance between client and therapist, therapists should redouble their efforts in alliance ‐building. However, when therapy is developing in a fashion that lacks deep emotional experiencing on the part of the client, treatment efforts should aim to facilitate a richer exploration of moment‐by‐moment experience. As such, our findings suggest relying on the existing processing strengt hs within a dyad (e.g., emphasis on an already strong relationships, or augmenting an existing aptitude for deeper experiencing) while shortcomings exist in another kind of process is not optimal responding. Therapists should focus their work on the process that clients have trouble with early in th erapy to facilitate the best treatment outcome.
Source: Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Review Paper Source Type: research