R B Øvstebø, G Pedersen, T Wilberg, J I Røssberg, H S J Dahl, E H Kvarstein
{"title":"Countertransference in the treatment of patients with personality disorders: A longitudinal study.","authors":"R B Øvstebø, G Pedersen, T Wilberg, J I Røssberg, H S J Dahl, E H Kvarstein","doi":"10.1080/10503307.2023.2279645","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study examines how therapist emotional response/countertransference (CT) develops during treatment for patients with personality disorders (PDs) and how pre-treatment patient factors (severity of personality pathology, PD category, level of symptom distress) predict CT responses. Secondly, we explored associations between patient clinical outcome and CT.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A longitudinal, observational study including 1956 patients with personality pathology treated at psychotherapy units within specialist mental health services. Therapists' emotional response was repeatedly assessed by the Feeling Word Checklist-Brief Version (FWC-BV) with three subscales-<i>Inadequate</i>, <i>Confident,</i> and <i>Idealized</i>.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Levels of <i>Inadequate</i> CT were lowest and stable over time while <i>Confident</i> and <i>Idealized</i> increased over time. Greater severity of personality pathology and borderline PD predicted higher initial <i>Inadequate</i>, lower initial <i>Confident</i> and decreasing <i>Inadequate</i> over time. Antisocial PD predicted decreasing <i>Confident</i>. Number of PD criteria had higher impact on therapist CT than level of symptom distress. Clinical improvement was associated with decreasing <i>Inadequate</i>.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Therapists reported predominantly <i>Confident</i> CT when working with PD patients. More severe personality pathology, and borderline PD, specifically, predicted more negative CT initially, but the negative CT decreased over time. Patients who did not improve were associated with increasing <i>Inadequate</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":48159,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapy Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychotherapy Research","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2023.2279645","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/11/14 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: This study examines how therapist emotional response/countertransference (CT) develops during treatment for patients with personality disorders (PDs) and how pre-treatment patient factors (severity of personality pathology, PD category, level of symptom distress) predict CT responses. Secondly, we explored associations between patient clinical outcome and CT.
Method: A longitudinal, observational study including 1956 patients with personality pathology treated at psychotherapy units within specialist mental health services. Therapists' emotional response was repeatedly assessed by the Feeling Word Checklist-Brief Version (FWC-BV) with three subscales-Inadequate, Confident, and Idealized.
Results: Levels of Inadequate CT were lowest and stable over time while Confident and Idealized increased over time. Greater severity of personality pathology and borderline PD predicted higher initial Inadequate, lower initial Confident and decreasing Inadequate over time. Antisocial PD predicted decreasing Confident. Number of PD criteria had higher impact on therapist CT than level of symptom distress. Clinical improvement was associated with decreasing Inadequate.
Conclusion: Therapists reported predominantly Confident CT when working with PD patients. More severe personality pathology, and borderline PD, specifically, predicted more negative CT initially, but the negative CT decreased over time. Patients who did not improve were associated with increasing Inadequate.
期刊介绍:
Psychotherapy Research seeks to enhance the development, scientific quality, and social relevance of psychotherapy research and to foster the use of research findings in practice, education, and policy formulation. The Journal publishes reports of original research on all aspects of psychotherapy, including its outcomes, its processes, education of practitioners, and delivery of services. It also publishes methodological, theoretical, and review articles of direct relevance to psychotherapy research. The Journal is addressed to an international, interdisciplinary audience and welcomes submissions dealing with diverse theoretical orientations, treatment modalities.