Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Clin Psychol Psychother. 2024 Jul-Aug;31(4):e3035. doi: 10.1002/cpp.3035.
Accumulating research emphasizes the role of interpersonal coordination in arousal levels, which may manifest as cortisol synchrony, in interpersonal interactions. While the role of cortisol has been investigated in psychotherapy, cortisol synchrony and its characteristics and effect on treatment progress remain a relatively unexplored area. This study aims to explore the existence of distinct patterns of cortisol coordination throughout psychotherapy and test the associations of different coordination patterns with patients' pre-treatment characteristics and treatment progress measures.
Fifty patient-therapist dyads participated in 16 weeks of psychodynamic treatment for major depressive disorder. Salivary cortisol samples were collected before and after each session at four time points. Self-report questionnaires and treatment session video-coding were used to characterize and differentiate between patterns of cortisol coordination.
Three patterns of cortisol coordination were identified: synchronized, unsynchronized and stable-therapist. These patterns differed in patient characteristics and treatment progress measures in that patients exhibiting a synchronized pattern tended to be more anxious and dominant in their relationships and were more prone to withdrawal ruptures.
Results provide novel evidence regarding variability in patient-therapist cortisol patterns and its putative associations with treatment progress.
越来越多的研究强调人际协调在唤醒水平中的作用，这种协调可能表现为皮质醇同步，在人际互动中。虽然皮质醇在心理治疗中的作用已经得到了研究，但皮质醇同步及其特征以及对治疗进展的影响仍然是一个相对未被探索的领域。本研究旨在探讨心理治疗过程中皮质醇协调的不同模式是否存在，并测试不同协调模式与患者治疗前特征和治疗进展测量指标的相关性。
50 名患者-治疗师对参加了为期 16 周的针对重度抑郁症的心理动力学治疗。在四个时间点，分别在每次治疗前后采集唾液皮质醇样本。使用自我报告问卷和治疗会话视频编码来描述和区分皮质醇协调模式。
确定了三种皮质醇协调模式：同步、不同步和稳定的治疗师。这些模式在患者特征和治疗进展测量指标上存在差异，表现出同步模式的患者在人际关系中往往更焦虑、更具支配性，并且更容易出现退出破裂。
研究结果提供了关于患者-治疗师皮质醇模式变异性及其与治疗进展相关性的新证据。
