If You Give a Therapist a Network: A Qualitative Analysis of Therapists' Reactions to Their Patients' EMA-Based Network Models

Objective

Network models hold much promise for use in the form of personalized feedback, which the TheraNet Project aims to investigate. In the present study, we share therapists' first reactions to patient network models based on ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data.

Method

Therapists (N = 24) were taught to interpret the network models based on their patient's data. They were provided with concrete use suggestions at the end of the workshop. The workshops were analysed using descriptive qualitative content analysis. The resulting codes were then grouped thematically.

Results

Therapists spoke about using the networks for “case conceptualization”, “therapy planning”, and “psychoeducation”, but also commented on the “study design”. Before the concrete suggestions, therapists most frequently voiced thoughts on its uses for “case conceptualization”. After the suggestions, “psychoeducation” was mentioned most frequently.

Conclusions

Therapists intuitively connected network models to case conceptualizations. Once concrete suggestions were provided, therapists more frequently discussed networks as psychoeducative tools.