a Department of Psychology , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan , Israel.
b Department of Psychology , Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , Beer-Sheva , Israel.
Psychother Res. 2019 May;29(4):463-478. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2017.1411627. Epub 2017 Dec 6.
Emotional experience during psychotherapy is considered a core mechanism of change. Yet the sheer experience itself may not necessarily be beneficial; instead, the trajectories of emotional experience need to be explored as possible predictors of treatment outcomes. This study investigated whether clients' pre-treatment levels of emotion regulation and symptoms predicted patterns of session-to-session change in emotional experience. We also explored which patterns better predict clients' improvement in emotion regulation and symptoms from pre- to post treatment.
One-hundred and seven clients undergoing psychodynamic psychotherapy completed questionnaires on their symptoms and emotion regulation at pre- and post- treatment. They also reported their level of emotional experience at the end of each session.
Pre-treatment symptoms and difficulties in emotion regulation predicted greater instability in emotional experience. Higher mean levels of emotional experience during treatment were associated with an improvement in emotion regulation, and greater stability during treatment was associated with improvement in emotion regulation and symptoms.
These findings lend weight to the idea that experiencing emotion in the therapeutic environment has significant implications for clients' ability to manage their emotions outside the session. However, emotions experienced in an unstable manner within therapy are associated with poorer outcomes. Clinical and methodological significance of this article: Therapists can benefit from observing the patterns and not only the level of their clients' emotional experiences. The identification of clients' difficulties early in treatment may help therapists guide clients through the delicate process of carefully attending to their emotions.
心理治疗中的情绪体验被认为是改变的核心机制。然而，纯粹的体验本身不一定是有益的；相反，需要探索情绪体验的轨迹，将其作为治疗结果的可能预测指标。本研究调查了患者在治疗前的情绪调节和症状水平是否可以预测情绪体验随时间变化的模式。我们还探讨了哪些模式可以更好地预测患者在治疗前到治疗后的情绪调节和症状改善。
107 名接受心理动力学心理治疗的患者在治疗前和治疗后完成了症状和情绪调节问卷。他们还报告了每个治疗结束时的情绪体验水平。
治疗前的症状和情绪调节困难预测了情绪体验的更大不稳定性。治疗期间更高的平均情绪体验水平与情绪调节的改善相关，而治疗期间的更大稳定性与情绪调节和症状的改善相关。
这些发现支持了这样一种观点，即在治疗环境中体验情绪对患者在治疗之外管理情绪的能力有重要影响。然而，在治疗中以不稳定的方式体验到的情绪与较差的结果相关。本文的临床和方法学意义：治疗师可以从观察患者情绪体验的模式中受益，而不仅仅是水平。在治疗早期识别患者的困难可能有助于治疗师指导患者完成仔细关注自己情绪的微妙过程。
