In dem Gesetz zur Reform der Psychotherapeutenausbildung vom 15. November 2019 wird eine verstärkte Qualitätssicherung in der ambulanten Psychotherapie festgelegt 1. Dass dies ebenfalls ein Anliegen der Patient/innen ist, zeigen unter anderem ein Interview mit Jürgen Matzat, Patientenvertreter im Unterausschuss Psychotherapie des Gemeinsame Bundesausschusses 2, sowie die Ergebnisse der Techniker Krankenkassen Studie zum Qualitätsmonitoring in der ambulanten Psychotherapie, bei der 90% der befragten Patient/innen eine Überprüfung der psychotherapeutischen Behandlungsergebnisse für wichtig hielten 3. Trotzdem scheinen einige Psychotherapeut/innen der Qualitätssicherung durch routinemäßige Verlaufserhebungen noch zurückhaltend gegenüber zu stehen.

Imagery rescripting (IR), an effective intervention technique, may achieve its benefits through various change mechanisms. Previous work has indicated that client–therapist physiological synchrony during IR may serve as one such mechanism. The present work explores the possibility that therapist-led vs. client-led synchrony may be differentially tied to clients’ emotional experiences in therapy. The analyses were conducted with data taken from an open trial of a brief protocol for treating test anxiety (86 IR sessions from 50 client–therapist dyads). Physiological synchrony in electrodermal activity was indexed using two cross-correlation functions per session: once for client leading and again for therapist leading (in both cases, with lags up to 10 s). The clients’ and therapists’ in-session emotions were assessed with the Profile of Mood States. Actor–partner interdependence models showed that certain client (but not therapist) in-session emotions, namely higher contentment and lower anxiety and depression, were tied to therapist-led (but not client-led) physiological synchrony. The results suggest that therapist-led synchrony (i.e., clients’ arousal tracking therapists’ earlier arousal) is tied to more positive and less negative emotional experiences for clients.