Psychotherapists' representations of their patients

Abstract

Using a new measure, the Patient Representation Inventory (PRI), this study investigated the nature of psychotherapists' working clinical models of their patients. The data provided by 73 therapists suggest that, regardless of experience level or theoretical orientation (cognitive-behavioral or psychodynamic), therapists tend to evoke such representations by accessing the words spoken during sessions and by recreating visual images of their patients' nonverbal contributions to the therapeutic dialogue. These representations tend to be in the service of more deeply understanding patients; their affective tone is suggestive of empathy, authenticity, and involvement. More-experienced therapists tend to evoke representations that rely largely on bodily sensations and the emotional atmosphere reflective of clinical interactions. Apparently, similarities and differences among therapists can be studied not only at the manifest level of clinical work, but at the representational level as well.

The structure of intersession experience in psychotherapy and its relation to the therapeutic alliance

“…Since the first presentation of this new aspect of process research (Orlinsky & Tarragona, 1986, 1989Tarragona & Orlinsky, 1987, a slow but steady accumulation of knowledge about IE of patients has occurred (e.g., Hartmann, Orlinsky, Geller, & Zeeck, 2003;Knox, 2003;Knox, Goldberg, Woodhouse, & Hill, 1999;, while studies on therapists-IE have been relatively rare (Orlinsky & Lundy, 1986;Geller, Lehman, & Farber, 2002;Schro¨der et al, 2009). Patient IE has been related to the amount of personality disturbance (Zeeck, Hartmann, & Orlinsky, 2006) and to outcome (Hartmann, Orlinsky, Weber, Sandholz, & Zeeck, 2010).…”

Holding the Tension of Opposites: Counselors’ Experiences of the Therapeutic Internalization Process

“…A small amount of empirical literature has broached the topic of therapists’ perspectives on the therapeutic internalization process. Across this limited area of empirical research, scholars have focused on how counselors use their internalizations of clients during the treatment process to assist them in problem solving, planning for future therapy sessions, and overcoming difficulties in treatment (Arnd‐Caddigan, ; Geller, Lehman, & Farber, ; Schröder, Wiseman, & Orlinsky, ).…”

A qualitative study of supervisees’ internal representations of supervisors

“…In an effort to measure some of the properties of supervisees' IRs of supervisors, Geller and colleagues developed the Supervisor Representation Inventory (SRI), a modified version of the earlier Therapist Representation Inventory; Geller et al, 1981), and found that supervisees experience and utilize IRs of their supervisors (Geller et al, 2010) in a markedly similar manner to the way therapists use representations of their clients (Geller et al, 2002): to review past sessions and to formulate future interventions. Supervisees tend to evoke the actual words and vocal qualities of their supervisors, as well as the settings in which they have met, especially when attempting to formulate clinical interventions they view as potentially challenging or painful for their clients.…”

“…These researchers initially investigated clients' IRs of their therapists Geller et al, 1981;Knox et al, 1999;Rosenzweig et al, 1996;Wzontek, Geller, & Farber, 1995), and have also examined therapists' representations of their clients (Beitel, Geller, Hutz, & Farber, 2004;Geller, Lehman, & Farber, 2002).…”