NEWS

MAY, 2011

On Tuesday May 24 at the enlarged meeting of FONDECYT (1080136) we have Prof. Wolfgang Tschacher as special Guest. Professor Tschacheris director of the Department of Psychotherapy at the University of Bern and president of the European Chapter of the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR). This time, Carolina Altimir presented a synthesis of the researches developed by the Chilean Research Program in Change and Psychotherapy and, subsequently, Professor Wolfgang Tschacher presented a methodology for analyzing time series that he has developed for the study of the psychotherapeutic process.



Some members of the research team will participate in the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, Bern, Switzerland, June 29 - July 2, 2011.
For more information about the international annual meeting:(see more)

December 2010

CAROLINA ALTIMIR, PAULA DAGNINO Y NELSON VALDES PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST SYMPOSIUM OF DOCTORAL RESEARCH.

Psychotherapy Doctoral Program, Psychology Department, Campus San Joaquín, Santiago-Chile.





June 2010

Members of the Psychotherapy and Change Research Program participated in the recent 41 st Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, June 23 to 27, at Asilomar, California.

Focus in psychotherapy: Characteristics and trajectories through therapeutic process. Paula Dagnino , Guillermo de la Parra, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, & Manfred Cierpka

The "Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis" (OPD) (OPD Task-Force, 2001) arises allowing for an initial dynamic formulation and to focalize in the dysfunctional relational pattern, internal conflicts and structural vulnerabilities. From empirical studies, psychotherapeutic processes seem to have an irregular trajectory, with advances and backward movements. This has been demonstrated especially in studies that use the assimilation model of Stiles (Stiles, et al, 1990). Aim: Determine the level of presence of the different focus in the therapeutic process, and its level of assimilation (HSCS, Rudolph, et al. establishing relations with therapeutic results (measured through the Generic Change Indicators, GChI, Krause et al., 2007) in two psychotherapeutic processes. Method: A descriptive design will be used. Results: The different foci and the way they appear during the process will be shown, although the level of integration of them by the patient showing an irregular pattern but with a progressive increase. Some relationships between characteristics of this dimensions and the hierarchical level of Change Indicators are expected. Discussion: Observing the process results to be a contribution for the training of therapists and the better understanding of how psychotherapies develop.

The therapeutic relationship from the perspective of the teenage patient Olga Fernández , Pablo Herrera & Josefina Escobar. Universidad Santo Tomás, Talca, Chile,

Aim: The general objective of this study was to describe the therapeutic relationship from the perspective of teenagers who were in psychotherapy. Specifically, the way teenagers are represented cognitively and affectively their therapeutic relationship; to determine the aspects that facilitate or hinder its development, and to reconstruct the evolution of that representation during the therapy process. Method: The design of this research was descriptive, qualitative and cross-sectional. The method for recollecting information was a semi-structured in depth interview. The sample is purposeful, with 8 teenagers of both sexes, aged between 14 and 17, who were in a process of psychotherapy at the moment of the interview. The analysis of the information gathered is according to the Grounded Theory (Glasser and Strauss, 1967). Results: The results of this study show how the teenagers represent affectively and cognitively the therapeutic relationship, identifying facilitating and hindering factors, and illustrating the evolution of this relationship. Furthermore, this study gives a representation of the teenager's psychological problems and how the teenagers conceptualize the psychological changes, the difficulties discovered during the psychotherapeutic process as well as the way of working. Discussion: Implications of the findings are discussed regarding clinical implications, adherence to treatment and outcome.

"The sound of stuck": Comparison between stuck and change episodes vocal quality patterns Claudio Martínez, Alemka Tomicic, Diego Chacón & Alejandro Reinoso. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago.

Aim: In the context of an ongoing research which general purpose is to generate knowledge about non verbal regulatory processes, by mean therapist-patient vocal coordination, the aim of this presentation is to determine specific characteristics of Vocal Quality Patterns (VQP) of patient and therapist within stuck and change episodes. Methods: Ten stuck episodes and ten change episodes were taken from a short-term psychoa-nalytic therapy. The total of 20 episodes was analyzed using the Vocal Quality Pattern Coding System (VQP 1.0). Chi square and logistical regressions were performed to compare the pres-ence of different VQP in the patient and therapist speech within stuck and change episodes. Results: Results do not show differences in the presence of VQP within stuck and change episodes. Nevertheless, the patient and the therapist use different VQP in both types of episodes, specifically with regard to Report VQP, Connected VQP, Affirmative VQP and the use of Fill Pauses. Discussion: The scopes of these findings are discussed regarding methodological issues, as well as the formulation of future research questions that the present study may encounter.

Stuck and change episodes: Communicative actions and evolution during therapy process Pablo Herrera Salinas, Oriana Vilches Álvarez, Olga Fernandez , Ana Cristina Amézaga, Yolanda Dávila & Mariane Krause. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago,

Aim: To describe the evolution of change and "stuck" episodes along the therapy process, and to compare patients' and therapists'communicative actions in stuck and change episodes. Methods: The methodology utilizes qualitative design to identify change and stuck episodes in five therapeutic processes. These processes are video recorded and analyzed by a group of trained judges. After that, a random sample of episodes is selected in order to identify communicative actions in each of them. This codification is also made by a group of trained judges, using the Therapeutic Action Codification Manual. Recollected data is then analyzed using quantitative methods (Chi2, Logistic Regression). Results: Results are in process. First, the evolution of change and stuck episodes along the therapy process will be described. Then, communicative actions will be compared (basic forms, communicative intentions, techniques and content). Discussion: Discussion will involve implications for clinical practice and therapist-patient communication.

Therapists' and clients' communicative actions related to change Mariane Krause , Carola Pérez, Alemka Tomicic, Nelson Valdés, Paula Dagnino & Carolina Altimir. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago,

Aim: The Chilean Psychotherapy & Change research group developed a coding system for the analysis of the therapeutic communication (TACS) that can by applied to the verbalizations of both therapists and clients. The TACS distinguishes different dimensionsof communication: Basic Linguistic Forms, Techniques and Communicative Intentions. The Techniques dimension includes those already identified by other rating systems (Elliott, et al., 1987; Hill, 1978; Stiles, 1992). The aim of the present study is to examine clients' and therapists' communicative actions along these three dimensions and their relation to the evolution of change. Methods: Change episodes belonging to 14 therapeutic processes were analyzed with TACS, relating communicative actions to developing changes within Change Episodes, through logistic regression analyses. A comparative analysis of communicative actions in different phases of change in the whole therapeutic process was also carried out. Results: An evolution within the Change Episode was observed along all three dimensions of communication. Thus, for example, the Basic Form "asking" is more frequent in the initial than in the final phases of the episode, whereas the Technique "interpretation" is more frequent in the final phase, and the Communicative Intention "exploring" is more frequent in initial than in final phases. Discussion: The three dimensions of communicative actions show an evolution within the Change Episode, as well as differences according to the phases of change within the therapeutic process. These results are consistent with the notion of change as a process that develops throughout the whole therapeutic process.

Linguistic indicators within change episodes: Reference and temporality of verbal emotional expressions during the psychotherapeutic dialogue. Nelson Valdés, Mariane Krause &Alemka Tomicic. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago.

Aim: The growing interest in knowing what happens during the psychotherapeutic process has made researchers focus on the study of verbal patient-therapist interaction. More specifically, it has encouraged scholars to study the role played by emotions in said interaction, which has given them the place they deserve in the research of the therapeutic process. The main objective of this research is to determine the characteristics of patients' verbal emotional expression during the therapeutic dialogue in Change Episodes, and how those characteristics evolve. Method: A mixed design was used to perform both analyses (transversal and longitudinal): a discovery-oriented qualitative methodology, along with a quantitative methodology in order to identify changes in the frequency of the variables throughout the therapy. Results: Results indicated that in Changes Episodes it is possible to identify different characteristics of patients' and therapists' verbal emotional expression, specifically those related to the Reference and Temporality. In early session patients use more frequently verbal emotional expressions in past tense, referred to themselves and to others not present at the session; while toward the end of therapy patients tend to use more frequently verbal emotional expression in present tense and referred to themselves. Discussion: These results shed additional light on the importance of the micro processes research in psychotherapy.

OPEN DISCUSSION

Hallmarks of psychotherapy research, take 2: A renewed dialogue between two generations of researchers
Discussants: Irene Elkin - University of Chicago, USA and Horst Kächele - University of Ulm, Germany, David Orlinsky, James Boswell, Paula Dagnino, Kim de Jong, Christopher Muran, Lynne Angus, Jeffrey Hayes, Nicholas Ladany & Tim Anderson

Three of the most influential leaders of SPR (Irene Elkin, Horst Kächele, David Orlinsky), and three early career researchers (James Boswell, Paula Dagnino, Kim de Jong) will present and contrast what they perceive as some of the most influential studies and research programs in psychotherapy, in terms of their conceptual elegance, methodological sophistication and/or clinical impact. This discussion is a renewed dialogue between two generations of researchers, with the first "episode" having taken place at the 2009 SPR meeting in Chili. Along with a new book on SPR leaders, these dialogues are aimed at celebrating many of the distinctive contributions that have marked SPR's history. They are also aimed at fostering the engagement of scholars early in their research career in keeping past traditions alive, as well as shaping current and future developments in psychotherapy research.

POSTERS

Working alliance and key moments in the therapeutic process Guillermo de la Parra , Andrea Noriega, Carola Pérez, Paula Dagnino, Carlos Vöhringer & Mariane Krause. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago,

Aim: The Therapeutic Cycles Model (TCM) (Mergenthaler, 1996) defines four Emotion-Abstraction Patterns (EAP) in the narratives of patient and/or therapist, which consist of the following: relaxing (low frequency of abstract and emotional words), experiencing (high frequency of emotional words), connecting (high frequency of abstract and emotional words), reflecting (high frequency of abstract words). The "connecting" pattern represents a key moment during a session. The Working Alliance, according to Bordin (1979), includes goals and task agreement, and the bond between the therapist and client. The aim of the present study is to explore the relationship between the process markers of the TCM and the Working Alliance as observed by external raters. Method: EAP are identified in the text of the transcribed therapies by means of quantitative computer assisted text analysis using the CM software. Two pairs of raters applied the Working Alliance Inventory- Observer (WAI-O) every 3 sessions of three psychodynamic therapies (N= 20 sessions). A correlational analysis was done between the two measures. Results: The frequency of the MCT pattern "connecting" in the patient's narrative, showed a positive significant correlation with the subscales "Bond", "Tasks" and Total score of the WAI-O. The other patterns (relaxing, experiencing, reflecting) showed nor or negative correlations with the WAI-O Subscales Discussion: according to the WAI-O raters, higher levels of Working Alliance were associated with a higher frequency of key moments during the therapeutic process. Some negative correlations between the MCT Patterns and the WAIO subscales deserve a further analysis.

A revision of the relationship between therapeutic alliance and outcome: Patients', therapists' and observers' perspectives J. Carola Pérez, Paula Dagnino, Carlos Vöhringer, Carolina Altimir, & Claudio Martínez. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago,

Aim: The aim of this study was to review the previously demonstrated fact that patient-reported working alliance is the strongest predictor of therapeutic outcome, compared to therapists and external observers (Horvath, 2005). For that purpose, this research intends to establish the relationship between the quality of the therapeutic alliance according to patients, therapists, and observers, with therapy outcome based on patient self-report and observer-perspective measures. Methods: 20 sessions belonging to 4 psychotherapeutic processes were analyzed. The working alliance of each session was measured by the Chilean validated version of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI), in its patient and therapist form (Santibánez 2001), as well as by its observational form (Vöhringer, et al., 2009). Meanwhile, session outcome was measured by the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45.2) (Von Bergen, & de la Parra, 2002), and the Generic Change Indicators associated to change episodes (Krause, 2006). Results: Preliminary results indicate that -in agreement with what has been reported by other studies- there is a stronger relationship between the quality of the therapeutic alliance reported by patients and therapists, than between these and that reported by external observers. Contrary to what was expected, the therapeutic alliance reported by all three perspectives was predictive of outcome in the Interpersonal Relationships Scale of the OQ-45.2. Discussion: Results will be discussed regarding the source of evaluation of the different variables studied and the specific diagnosis of the patients studied.

October 2009

NEW GENERAL VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY RESEARCH

It is our pleasure to inform that our colleague and member of our research group Guillermo de la Parra, Ph.D., has been elected General Vice-president of the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR).

The current president of the SPR, Louis Castonguay officially informed us of this election result and sent his congratulations to Guillermo de la Parra through the online newsletter of the SPR

Congratulations GUILLERMO!
PSYCHOTERAPY AND CHANGE RESEARCH GROUP



SOCIETY FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY RESEARCH
an international, multidisciplinary, scientific organization SPR
Newsletter, 2009:2

Louis Castonguay, President

I want to begin this column by congratulating Guillermo de la Parra for having been elected as the General Vice President (GVP) of SPR. There is no doubt in my mind that our organization will be in good hands under Guillermo's leadership. On behalf of SPR, I also want to thank Leigh McCullough and Christopher Perry for their willingness to be candidates in our last election. This election provided our members with a unique opportunity to choose between three outstanding candidates, and all of us are grateful for Chris'and Leigh's continued dedication to psychotherapy research and the growth of our organization.