Therapeutic attitudes, emotional responses and role of supervision according to therapists in training

Journal title RICERCA PSICOANALITICA
Author/s Laura Bonalume
Publishing Year 2019 Issue 2019/1 Language Italian
Pages 22 P. 91-112 File size 308 KB
DOI 10.3280/RPR2019-001007
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Research presented to the meeting of the schools of psychoanalytical psychotherapy (GSPP) held on May 13, 2017, Becoming a psychotherapist between research and training. Abstract. Despite the fact that various international studies have proved the importance of the training experience for psychotherapists, in Italy there have not been research papers examining the representations of candidates on the importance of technical, relational and emotional aspects in their therapeutic practice. In 2016 GSPP promoted a research aimed at studying the therapeutic attitudes of candidates, their emotional reactions in the session, and their opinions on supervision. This research project has been performed on a sample of 368 candidates who completed an online format made up of a brief summary of personal data, the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set (PQS), the Therapist Response Questionnaire (TRQ), a questionnaire on the central aspects of supervision and the Short Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (S-SRQ). The results show that the candidates knew well, at least at theoretical level, the main tenets of psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, although it is not clear how these representations are translated into in clinical practice. Among emotional and countertransference reactions, the most frequent is a sense of protection towards the patient and experiences of overload and anxiety concerning one’s role as therapist. As far as supervision is concerned, candidates presented divergent answers. These results have been discussed by candidates and teachers in a meeting held on May 17, 2017 in Milan.

Keywords: Research, training, psychoanalysis, counter transference, therapeutic attitudes, supervision

  1. Ablon J.S. & Jones E.E. (1998). How expert clinicians’ prototypes of an ideal treatment correlate with outcome in psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural therapy. Psychotherapy Research, 8(1): 71-83.
  2. Ablon J.S. & Jones E.E. (2005). On analytic process. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 53: 541-568.
  3. Arthur A. R. (2000). The personality and cognitive-epistemological traits of cognitive-behavioural and psychoanalytic psychotherapists. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 73: 243-257.
  4. Castonguay L.G., Youn S.J., Xiao H., Muran J.C. & Barber J.P. (2015). Building clinicians−researchers partnerships: Lessons from diverse natural settings and practice−oriented initiatives. Psychotherapy Research, 25(1): 166-184.
  5. Cliffe T., Beinart H. & Cooper M. (2014). Development and validation of a short version of the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire. Clinical psychology&psychotherapy. 23(11): 77-86.
  6. Dazzi N., Lingiardi V., Colli A., a cura di (2006). La ricerca in psicoterapia. Modelli e Strumenti. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  7. Goodman G., Anderson K. & Diener M. J. (2014). Processes of therapeutic change in psychodynamic therapy of two inpatients with borderline personality disorder. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 24(1): 30-45.
  8. Hill C.E., Sullivan C., Knox S., Schlosser L. Z. (2007). Becoming psychotherapists: Experiences of novice trainees in a beginning graduate class. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 44(4): 434-449.
  9. Jones E.E. (1985). Therapeutic Action: A Guide to Psychoanalytic Therapy. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 2000.
  10. Jones E.E., Pulos S.M. (1993). Comparing the process in psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61(2): 306-316.
  11. Kächele H. Levy R.A., Ablon J.S. (2015). La psicoterapia psicodinamica basata sulla ricerca. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  12. Kernberg O. (2014). Innovation in psychoanalytic education. New Associations, 16, 10. Kernberg O. (2018). Psicoanalisi e formazione. Cambiamenti e prospettive del training psicoanalitico. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  13. Lambert M.J. (1989). The individual therapist’s contribution to psychotherapy process and outcome. Clinical Psychology Review, 9: 469-485.
  14. Leichsenring F., Ablon S., Barber J.P., Beutel M., Connolly Gibbons M.B., Crits-Christoph P., Klein S., Leweke F., Steinert C., Wiltink J., Salzer S. (2015). Developing a prototype for short−term psychodynamic (supportive-expressive) therapy: An empirical study with the psychotherapy process Q-set. Psychotherapy Research, 26(4): 500-510.
  15. Mahoney (1980). Toward The Understanding Of Translation In Psychoanalysis. Journal of American Psychoanalytic Association, 28(2): 461-475.
  16. McWilliams N. (2013). Psychoanalysis And Research: some reflections and opinions. The Psychoanalytic Review, 100(6): 919-945.
  17. Norcross J.C (2011). Psychotherapy Relationships That Work. Evidence-Based Responsiveness. Oxford: University Press.
  18. Orlinsky D.E., Rønnestad M. H. (2005). How psychotherapists develop: A study of therapeutic work and professional growth. American Psychological Association.
  19. Orlinsky D., Elkin I. (2015). Forty years of research and relationships: A personal perspective on the past, present, and future of SPR. Visions of psychotherapy research, 1-11.
  20. PDM Task Force (2006). Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual. Silver Springs MD: Alliance of Psychoanalytic Organizations.
  21. Pole N., Ablon J.S., O´Connor L., Weiss J. (2002). Ideal Control mastery technique correlates with change in a single case. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 39(1): 88-96.
  22. Poznanski J.J. & McLennan J. (2003). Becoming a psychologist with a particular theoretical orientation to counseling practice. Australian Psychologist, 38: 223-226.

  23. Safran J.D., Abreu I., Ogilvie J., DeMaria A. (2011). Does psychotherapy research influence the clinical practice of researcher-clinicians?. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 18(4): 357-371.
  24. Shedler J. (2012). The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Research, 9-25.
  25. Stevens H.B., Dinoff B.L. & Donnenworth E.E. (1998). Psychotherapy training and theoretical orientation in clinical psychology programs: A national survey. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54: 91-96.
  26. Stoltenberg C. & Delworth U. (1987). Supervising counsellors and psychotherapists. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  27. Tasca G., Sylvestre J., Balfour L., Chyurlia L., Evans J., Fortin-Langelier B., Francis K., Gandhi J., Huehn L., Hunsley J., Joyce AS., Kinley J., Koszycki D., Leszcz M., Lybanon-Daigle V., Mercer D., Ogrodniczuk J.S., Presniak M., Ravitz P., Ritchie K., Talbot J., Wilson B. (2015). What Clinicians Want: Findings from a Psychotherapy Practice Research Network Survey. Psychotherapy, 52(1): 1-11.
  28. Zittel C., Westen D. (2003). The Therapist Response Questionnaire. Atlanta, GA: Emory University, Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

  • Developing a prototype for Psychoanalysis of Relationship therapy. An empirical study with the Psychotherapy Process Q-set Laura Bonalume, Laura Corbelli, Mattia Ferro, Anna Lisa Mazzoleni, Maria Pia Roggero , in Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome /2023
    DOI: 10.4081/ripppo.2023.674

Laura Bonalume, Atteggiamenti terapeutici, risposte emotive e ruolo della supervisione negli psicoterapeuti in formazione Ricerca presentata alla Giornata di confronto del Gruppo Scuole Psicoterapia Psicoanalitica (GSPP) Diventare psicoterapeuta tra ricerca e formazione (13 Maggio 2017) in "RICERCA PSICOANALITICA" 1/2019, pp 91-112, DOI: 10.3280/RPR2019-001007