Exploring In-Session Process with Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Psychotherapy with an Adolescent

Abstract

This thesis is dedicated to my sister-in-law Eva who passed away. I miss you. I am grateful to my parents Gerd and Arne, and my siblings Gro and Hans Jørgen. You were in different ways all supporting although it is likely you never grasped what I was actually doing in the field of research. A special thanks to my husband Jon who has supported me along the way. I am grateful to University of Oslo (UiO) and Vestfold Hospital Trust (Sykehuset i Vestfold) for funding and support. A special thanks to Research Unit, Division of Mental Health (KPR) and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (BUPA) in Vestfold. Thanks to everyone I met at Vinderen (Adult Psychiatry Unit) and especially those who attended the interrater reliability-sessions. You were a group of open-minded, humorous, professional and welcoming researchers and collaborators eager to discuss clinical material. I am also most grateful to my supervisors; Randi Ulberg, Hanne-Sofie Johnsen Dahl and Per Høglend. Randi, I still cannot understand how you can literally be available 24/7 for support, assistance and guidance-always with a smile. Thanks again to everyone involved in FEST and FEST-IT, including the almost 200 patients. Last, but by no means least, to my children Fredrik, Erik and Mari. You keep teaching me the importance of relationships and illustrate the everyday ups and downs that make everyone's life unique in experience, process-and change.

Therapists’ Experiences of Psychodynamic Therapy with and without Transference Interventions for Adolescents with Depression

“…The young people they had in therapy were most concerned about the events and situations that were going on in their everyday lives. Adolescents need to undertake several developmental tasks to make a successful transition into adulthood, including sexual maturity, emotional development, thinking capacity, forming mutually close and supportive friendships, and renegotiating relationships with adults in parenting roles [ 80 , 81 ]. The therapists experienced that it was important for the adolescents to have a therapeutic space to address life situations, and that RI could be useful to look at and simultaneously analyze the patient’s conflicts between different desires.…”

“…This can be particularly relevant with adolescents when considering that negative changes in interpersonal adjustment (e.g., deterioration in family relationships or withdrawal from peer relationships) are among the most common clinical features of adolescent depression [ 1 , 82 ]. This withdrawal might prevent a young person from working on important developmental tasks in close relationships with family and peers [ 80 ].…”

Examining Psychotherapeutic Processes with Depressed Adolescents: A Comparative Study of Two Psychodynamic Therapies

“…The final APQ-study was a single-case study of the psychotherapeutic process of a 16-year-old girl whose symptoms became worse at mid-treatment, with self-harming and a suicide attempt [ 21 ]. She was treated with STPP in the FEST-IT [ 18 ].…”

Process and outcome of child psychotherapies offered in Kenya: a mixed methods study protocol on improving child mental health

“…Another important aspect of treatment is the therapeutic process, described as what takes place between, and within, the patient and therapist during their interaction [30,31]. Process in psychotherapy research refers to how psychotherapy produces its effects and is often linked to outcome [32,33]. The process is crucial as it helps researchers understand both the internal and external factors that mediate between the social environment and the child's emotional experience and behavior, influencing the outcomes of the intervention.…”