Why insight in psychotherapy does not always lead to behaviour change?

Kuncewicz, Dariusz; Lachowicz‐Tabaczek, Kinga; Załuski, Jacek

doi:10.1515/pjap-2015-0011

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…That psychological insight is strongly related to decreases in depression and anxiety is perhaps not surprising given the history of insight-oriented therapies (Connolly Gibbons et al, 2007), but it has also been questioned whether gaining insight is sufficient in and of itself to produce lasting changes in behavior or mental health functioning (Kuncewicz, Lachowicz-Tabaczek, and Zaluski, 2014;Leichsenring et al, 2006). To this point, our models also showed that psychological insight was predictive of change when accounting for the correlation between insight and mystical experiences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety

Davis

Barrett

Griffiths

2020

Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science

238

200

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Prior research has shown that acute subjective psychedelic effects are associated with both spontaneous and intended changes in depression and anxiety. Psychedelics are also theorized to produce increases in psychological flexibility, which could explain decreases in depression and anxiety following a psychedelic experience. Therefore, the present cross-sectional survey study sought to examine whether psychological flexibility mediated the relationship between acute psychedelic experiences and spontaneous or intended changes in depression and anxiety among a large international sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic (n=985; male=71.6%; Caucasian/white=84.1%; M age =32.2, SD=12.6). A regression analysis showed that acute effects (i.e., mystical and insightful effects) were significantly associated with decreases in depression/anxiety following a psychedelic experience. A path analysis revealed that, while controlling for age and sex, increases in psychological flexibility fully mediated the effect of mystical and insightful experiences on decreases in depression and anxiety following a psychedelic experience. This suggests that psychological flexibility may be an important mediator of the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs. Future prospective experimental studies should examine the effect of psychedelic drug administration on psychological flexibility in order to gain a better understanding of the psychological processes that predict therapeutic effects of psychedelics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety

Davis

Barrett

Griffiths

2020

Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science

238

200

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Third, neuroscience suggests that conscious insight is not needed for change (Kuncewicz, Lachowicz, & Zaluski, 2014). Lyons-Ruth (1998) found that what clients recall about their therapeutic experience is the relationship with the therapist and not the specific techniques used.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroscience and Symbolic-Experiential Family Therapy: Roots of [Contemporary] Psychotherapy

Roberts

Chafin

2019

The Family Journal

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The purpose of this article is to review the symbolic-experiential family therapy model of Carl Whitaker and apply it specifically to recent neuroscience findings. The article concludes that symbolic-experiential family therapy reflects many of the recent findings in neuroscience including the role of implicit learning and memory formation, the importance of the relationship between the couple or family and the therapist, increasing stress and anxiety in order to facilitate change, which activates the right brain, and unstructured and spontaneous interaction, which promotes brain reorganization.

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“…A broader, transtheoretical definition of interpretation is “a statement that goes beyond what the patient has overtly stated or recognized and gives a new meaning, reason, or explanation for behaviors, thoughts, or feelings so that the patient can see problems in a new way” (Hill, 2020, p. 255). Awareness of such maladaptive patterns, when it is not only intellectual but also emotionally involved, is expected to raise insight, which in turn is expected to result in cognitive and behavioral change, symptom reduction, and an increase in well-being (Kuncewicz et al, 2014).…”

Section: Definitions and Clinical Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review of the association between interpretations and immediate, intermediate, and distal outcomes.

Zilcha‐Mano¹,

Fisher²,

Dolev‐Amit³

et al. 2023

Psychotherapy

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Interpretations are a hallmark of psychodynamic treatment and a method used in other theoretical orientations as well. Therapists use interpretations to increase patients' insight concerning unconscious and preconscious elements in their lives, with the ultimate aim to reduce mental pain and suffering and improve mental health. This systematic review focuses on the association between the therapists' use and accuracy of interpretation and immediate (within-session), intermediate (between-session), and distal (endof-treatment) outcomes. This synthesis of the research literature is based on 18 independent samples of 1,011 total patients in individual psychotherapy. The results suggest that the use and accuracy of interpretations were associated, in half the studies, with patient disclosure of emotions and increased insight at the immediate, moment-to-moment enfolding of the session. At the intermediate postsession outcome, the use of interpretations was associated with a stronger alliance and greater depth, in half the studies. At the end of treatment, however, while there is some evidence for a positive effect of the use of interpretations on treatment success, there are also neutral effects and even evidence that interpretations have the potential to be harmful in some particular situations. The article concludes with training implications and therapeutic practices based on the integration of clinical experience and research evidence. Clinical Impact StatementQuestion: Does a synthesis of the literature support the utility of providing interpretations for improving immediate, intermediate, and distal outcomes in adult psychotherapy? Findings: In many of the studies, the use and accuracy of interpretation were related to various positive outcomes. Meaning: The use of interpretations, especially those that accurately capture the origins of the patient's suffering, contributes to adaptive therapeutic in-session processes and to better treatment outcome, although potential adverse effects of interpretations have also been documented. Next Steps: More studies are needed to determine the type of interpretations that should be used and the optimal, responsive way of delivering them to individual patients, based on their strengths, characteristics, and needs.

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Why insight in psychotherapy does not always lead to behaviour change?

Cited by 7 publications

References 31 publications

Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety

Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety

Neuroscience and Symbolic-Experiential Family Therapy: Roots of [Contemporary] Psychotherapy

A systematic review of the association between interpretations and immediate, intermediate, and distal outcomes.

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