How to Assess the Impacts of Interventions

Whenever individual psychodynamic techniques are applied, it is important to quickly assess their proximal clinical impacts. Therefore, this chapter focuses on helping clinicians identify the many, and sometimes subtle, signs that an intervention was either corroborated or disconfirmed. Common examples of both sets of patient signs are included. Some characteristic indicators of corroboration include the generation of new and emotionally rich clinical material. Signs of disconfirmation may include the patient verbally rejecting the intervention, stalled free association, or an alliance rupture. However, clinical context is important to consider, as indicators may vary greatly across patients and according to their relative location on the supportive–expressive continuum. Finally, the concept of a corrective emotional experience is discussed as another possible clinical impact. Clinical criteria for an in-session corrective emotional experience are proposed.