Group psychotherapy is a useful clinical practice for adolescents with mental health issues. Groups typically consist of young people of similar ages but with different personalities, and this results in a complex communication network. The goal of group psychoanalytic psychotherapy is to improve participants' mentalization abilities, facilitating interactions between peers and their therapist in a safe, containing environment. The main aim of this study was to analyze conversation turn-taking between a lead therapist, a co-therapist, and six adolescents over the course of 24 treatment sessions divided into four blocks over 8 months. We employed a mixed-methods design based on systematic observation, which we consider to be a mixed method itself, as the qualitative data collected in the initial observation phase is transformed into quantitative data and subsequently interpreted qualitatively with the aid of clinical vignettes. The observational methodology design was nomothetic, follow-up, and multidimensional. The choice of methodology is justified as we used an ad-hoc observation instrument combining a field format and a category system. Interobserver agreement was analyzed quantitatively by Cohen's kappa using the free QSEQ5 software program. Once we had confirmed the reliability of the data, these were analyzed by polar coordinate analysis, which is a powerful data reduction technique that provides a vector representation of relationships between categories. The results show significant relationships between the therapist and (1) the activation of turn-taking by the participants and the co-therapist and silence and (2) conversation-facilitating interventions and interventions designed to improve mentalization abilities. Detailed analysis of questions demonstrating interest in others showed how the communication changed from radial interactions stemming from the therapist at the beginning of therapy to circular interactions half way through. Repetition was found to be a powerful conversation facilitator. The results also illustrate the role of the therapist, who (1) did not facilitate interventions by all participants equally, (2) encouraged turn-taking from more inhibited members of the group, (3) stimulated conversation from the early stages of therapy, and (4) favored mentalization toward the end. Despite its complexity, polar coordinate analysis produces easy-to-interpret results in the form of vector maps.

Conducted within a mixed methods framework, this study focuses on the conversationfacilitation role of a lead therapist during group psychotherapy with adolescents. Conversation is an essential component of psychoanalytic psychotherapies and there is growing interest in describing and studying the impact of conversational techniques. One way to do this is to report on specific approaches, such as questioning, paraphrasing, and mentalization in intervention turns and to analyze their impact on the therapist-patient relationship. The main aim of this study was to investigate differences in communication strategies used by a lead therapist in the early and late stages of therapy with six adolescents aged 13-15 years. We employed a mixed methods design based on systematic direct observation supplemented by indirect observation. The observational methodology design was nomothetic, follow-up, and multidimensional. The choice of methodology is justified by our use of an ad hoc observation instrument for communication strategies combining a field format and a category system. We analyzed interobserver agreement quantitatively by Cohen's kappa using GSEQ5 software. Following confirmation of the reliability of the data, we analyzed the lead therapist's conversation-facilitation techniques in sessions 5 and 29 of a 30session program by quantitatively analyzing what were initially qualitative data using T-pattern detection (THEME v.6 Edu software), lag sequential analysis (GSEQ5 software), and polar coordinate analysis (HOISAN v. 1.6.3.3.6. software and R software). The results show changes in the techniques used from the start to the end of therapy. Of the 28 communication strategies analyzed, three were particularly common: questioning and paraphrasing in session 5 and questioning and mentalization in session 29. This mixed methods study shows that combined use of T-pattern detection, lag sequential analysis, and polar coordinate analysis can offer meaningful and objective insights into group psychotherapy through the lens of the therapist.

Over the last 20 years, researchers have been mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches, but mixed methods research represents a new movement that arose in response to the currents of qualitative and quantitative research, considered separately. Little has been published on the use of polar coordinate analysis in psychotherapy. This type of analysis can provide detailed information and integrate the qualitative-quantitative analysis. Even less has been published on the analysis of ASD children’s behavior. The main aim of this study was to implement this mixed methods methodology to analyze patterns of social behaviors in a group of adolescents with ASD during a group social competence intervention program. Moreover, we wanted to see whether an observational scale could be combined fruitfully with polar coordinate analysis and to investigate whether typical ASD behaviors show similar interrelations (prospective and retrospective sequentialities) as behaviors observed in psychotherapy. We used an adaptation from the Social Skills Training Program (UC Davis, California). We observed that each participant took a unique course, increasing or decreasing the number and quality of their social behaviors. In accordance with previous literature, results suggest some increment in the amount of appropriate social conduct. We did not detect a generalized progress pattern but agreed that there were changes between the beginning and end of the intervention. Therefore, we consider that observational methodology is useful in the field of psychotherapy and ASD, offering detailed information about changes and development that cannot be obtained with other traditional measures, such as questionnaires.

A child diagnosed with autism may have a negative psychological and behavioral impact on their siblings, whose participation in a group with children in the same situation is a preventive measure. Our group study was conducted by two therapists (T1 and T2) assigned to co-therapy (CT) work. Both therapists shared the theoretical bases and understanding of the group and the needs of the individual subjects, and complemented each other in terms of the direction of their interventions, given that shared impressions and continuous exchanges that integrate countertransference aspects are essential to successful co-therapy. The objectives of this study were as follows: (a) to detect patterns of clarification, confrontation, and interpretation interventions by T1 and T2 in the group; and (b) to detect patterns of clarification, confrontation and interpretation interventions considering T1 and T2 as the only focal subject of the CT. Design was mixed-methods based on systematic observation, for which we developed a qualitative ad hoc instrument that combined a field format and a categorizing system. Interobserver agreement was analyzed quantitatively using Cohen’s kappa and Krippendorf’s canonical concordance. Once data reliability was confirmed, lag sequential analysis using GSEQ5 software was performed to search for behavior patterns. The results show (a) different behavior patterns in the clarification, confrontation, and interpretation interventions by T1 and T2; and (b) different behavior patterns when T1 and T2 are considered as the focal subject (CT). Our study offers a new perspective on the impact of therapist interventions on participants in this kind of group.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of anxiety-depressive symptomatology and associated risk factors in a population of pregnant women in the low-income neighborhood of Roquetes (Barcelona, Spain).