Schiepek Günter K, Viol Kathrin, Aichhorn Wolfgang, Hütt Marc-Thorsten, Sungler Katharina, Pincus David, Schöller Helmut J
Institute of Synergetics and Psychotherapy Research, Paracelsus Medical UniversitySalzburg, Austria.
Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilians UniversityMunich, Germany.
Front Psychol. 2017 Apr 24;8:379. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00379. eCollection 2017.
The aim of this article is to outline the role of chaotic dynamics in psychotherapy. Besides some empirical findings of chaos at different time scales, the focus is on theoretical modeling of change processes explaining and simulating chaotic dynamics. It will be illustrated how some common factors of psychotherapeutic change and psychological hypotheses on motivation, emotion regulation, and information processing of the client's functioning can be integrated into a comprehensive nonlinear model of human change processes. The model combines 5 variables (intensity of emotions, problem intensity, motivation to change, insight and new perspectives, therapeutic success) and 4 parameters into a set of 5 coupled nonlinear difference equations. The results of these simulations are presented as time series, as phase space embedding of these time series (i.e., attractors), and as bifurcation diagrams. The model creates chaotic dynamics, phase transition-like phenomena, bi- or multi-stability, and sensibility of the dynamic patterns on parameter drift. These features are predicted by chaos theory and by Synergetics and correspond to empirical findings. The spectrum of these behaviors illustrates the complexity of psychotherapeutic processes. The model contributes to the development of an integrative conceptualization of psychotherapy. It is consistent with the state of scientific knowledge of common factors, as well as other psychological topics, such as: motivation, emotion regulation, and cognitive processing. The role of chaos theory is underpinned, not only in the world of computer simulations, but also in practice. In practice, chaos demands technologies capable of real-time monitoring and reporting on the nonlinear features of the ongoing process (e.g., its stability or instability). Based on this monitoring, a client-centered, continuous, and cooperative process of feedback and control becomes possible. By contrast, restricted predictability and spontaneous changes challenge the usefulness of prescriptive treatment manuals or other predefined programs of psychotherapy.
本文旨在概述混沌动力学在心理治疗中的作用。除了在不同时间尺度上关于混沌的一些实证研究结果外，重点是对变化过程的理论建模，以解释和模拟混沌动力学。将说明心理治疗变化的一些常见因素以及关于来访者功能的动机、情绪调节和信息处理的心理学假设如何能够整合到一个全面的人类变化过程非线性模型中。该模型将5个变量（情绪强度、问题强度、改变动机、洞察力和新观点、治疗成功）和4个参数组合成一组5个耦合的非线性差分方程。这些模拟的结果以时间序列、这些时间序列的相空间嵌入（即吸引子）以及分岔图的形式呈现。该模型产生混沌动力学、类似相变的现象、双稳态或多稳态以及动态模式对参数漂移的敏感性。这些特征由混沌理论和协同学预测，并与实证研究结果相符。这些行为的范围说明了心理治疗过程的复杂性。该模型有助于心理治疗综合概念化的发展。它与关于常见因素的科学知识状态以及其他心理学主题（如动机、情绪调节和认知加工）相一致。混沌理论的作用不仅在计算机模拟领域得到了支持，在实践中也是如此。在实践中，混沌需要能够对正在进行的过程的非线性特征进行实时监测和报告的技术（例如其稳定性或不稳定性）。基于这种监测，以来访者为中心的、持续的和合作的反馈与控制过程成为可能。相比之下，有限的可预测性和自发变化对规定性治疗手册或其他预定义的心理治疗程序的实用性提出了挑战。
