Self-Compassion and Self-Protection in Two-Chair Technique: Consensual Qualitative Analysis of Transcribed Video-Recordings

Abstract

Even though self-compassion and self-protection are associated with well-being and mental and physical health, qualitative research in this area is very rare. As no study has compared self-compassionate and self-protective responses during the two-chair technique, the aim was to analyze participants’ subjective responses in reacting to self-criticism during the technique and compare self-compassionate and self-protective statements. The research sample comprised 80 participants; 60 women and 20 men (M = 23.86; SD = 5.98). The investigation underwent consensual qualitative analysis. The results showed four main domains for self-compassion and self-protection: cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and interpersonal aspects. In several cases, the participants utilized self-compassion and self-protection simultaneously or subsequently, and both types of responses to some degree supplemented each other or were intertwined. Self-protection and self-compassion are complimentary. Only by combining these two constructs can individuals assertively protect themselves while being kind to themselves and others. In the case of self-compassion, the results confirm several findings from previous studies, but in the case of self-protection, this is the first more detailed exploration of this construct because it has not been studied sufficiently to date.

Qualitative Analysis of Chair Tasks in Emotion-Focused Therapy Video Sessions

“…Our clients were arguing to the critic that they have the right to be themselves. This is in accordance with Vráblová et al [24]. In their qualitative study, the categories 'You have the right to say no', 'You have the right to set your limits', and 'You have the right to decide' situationally emerged.…”

“…In our cases, clients felt empowered to stand up for themselves by letting the critic know that they do not have the right to judge and that they have the right to be themselves. Similarly, Vráblová et al [24] investigated in their consensual qualitative research a behavioural domain in which their participants expressed limits, argued for their rights and stood up for themselves in an assertive manner. Thereupon, our results confirm previous research on the importance of expressing needs towards maltreatment in order to feel stronger and more resilient [5,11].…”

“…Furthermore, they were approving that it is ok to be angry and frustrated. Likewise, Vráblová et al [24] discovered in their qualitative study the categories 'Universality of failure' and 'Understanding a situation'. Halamova et al ([23] determined in their study of free associations of compassion and self-compassion a similar subdomain called understanding of the self.…”

“…Participants linked self-compassion to the positive emotions of love and calmness and the negative emotions to unhappiness, sadness, and remorse. In addition to this, there is a recent study [24] analysing the utterances of people articulating self-protection and self-compassion in two-chair work. The authors compared self-protective and self-compassionate statements of participants responding to their inner critical voice.…”

“…In regards to self-protection, there has been a growing interest in the construct of self-protection as an important element to alleviate self-criticism [11,27,28]. As previously mentioned, there has only been one study on the verbal expression of self-protection in two-chair work [24]. The outcome of the study indicates that peoples' self-protective responses towards their inner critic emphasise the right to behave and stand up for one's self (behavioural aspect), the right to decide on their own (cognitive aspect), and the right to feel (emotional).…”