How Therapists' Emotion Recognition Relates to Therapy Process and Outcome

In this study, we examined therapists' empathic abilities, using a novel task for recognizing emotions, and looked at how they related to the therapy process and outcomes. The study included 33 patient-therapist dyads. Therapist empathy was assessed with an emotion detection task, the JeFEE. Clients filled questionnaires after each session regarding therapy progress and their symptoms. We found that emotion recognition moderated the change in (a) client secure attachment to therapist, (b) client avoidant attachment to therapist (c) client working alliance (d) client rate of tense or upset they felt during the session, (e) client lake of emotional clarity of emotions (f) client non acceptance of emotional responses and (g) client overall emotion regulation (h) client main target complaint. Implication for therapy and therapists' selection and training are discussed.PMID:34719825 | DOI:10.1002/cpp.2680
Source: Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research