Introduction: current developments in psychotherapy process research / Introducción: desarrollos actuales en la investigación del proceso psicoterapéutico

Abstract

The questions that guide psychotherapy process research are: what changes in psychotherapy? And, how does that change occur? These questions have been present in clinical settings and psychotherapy research for decades, generating a substantial amount of knowledge for the discipline. Based on a questioning of the limitations of traditional psychotherapy research, whose primary focus has been the study of final outcomes of treatment, this area of research has exposed important conceptual and methodological proposals for the study of the process. Despite its long and productive tradition, research into the psychotherapeutic process is currently gathering a new momentum from the growing conviction of the need to focus efforts on studies that can account for the elements, mechanisms and processes associated with change. In this introduction we organize the field of psychotherapy process research, according to its units of analysis — macro- or micro-processes — and the foci on which they are based: content, factors and mechanisms of change. The different ways in which these components are organized are exemplified with the articles included in this monograph. We then give an overview of the most used methods in this field of study, also referring to the studies that report on the application of these methods in this special issue of Studies in Psychology.

Momentos significativos asociados al cambio psíquico

“…Posteriormente, y luego de varios metanálisis sobre estudios de efectividad de diversas orientaciones, se demostró que la psicoterapia era beneficiosa, aunque no se evidenció la superioridad de una orientación teórica sobre las demás (Shedler, 2010). Luego de esta etapa, el interés de los investigadores se concentró en indagar sobre las posibles diferencias entre los enfoques terapéuticos en torno al cambio, es decir, sobre las ventajas de un tratamiento sobre otro, y profundizar sobre los factores del proceso responsables del cambio (Krause & Altimir, 2016).…”

El desafío de integrar teoría, investigación y práctica clínica en psicoterapia

“…De acuerdo con su "unidad de análisis" (Elliott, 1991), las investigaciones sobre el proceso terapéutico se pueden agrupar en estudios de micro-proceso, enfocados en sesiones, segmentos o eventos específicos (Krause & Altimir, 2016), y estudios de macro-proceso, que abordan la terapia completa.…”

Conflictual relational demands of anaclitic and introjective depressive women

“…There are different approaches for studying the relevant moments during psychotherapeutic sessions, which relate to the conceptualization of change, but also, to some problematic moments that hinder the psychotherapeutic change of the patient. Some of the ways used to conceptualize these positive relevant moments are the following: innovative moments, change moments, insight, empowerment events, among others (Elliott, 2010;Gonçalves et al, 2017;Gonçalves, Ribeiro, Silva, Mendes, & Sousa, 2016;Krause & Altimir, 2016;Timulak & Elliott, 2003). Krause et al (2007) propose that change moments are possible to observe from the transformation of the subjective perspectives of the patients about themselves, their symptoms, their problems, and its relationship with the entire context.…”