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The communication of empathic understanding was examined in relation to three qualities of therapist interventions (attunement, tentativeness, and meaning exploration) and tested for its relationship to client in-session processing. High and low client-process segments, from sessions of 20 mild-moderately depressed clients treated in brief experiential therapy, were rated for therapist empathy and manner of responding. Client responses were evaluated for depth of experiencing and manner of perceptual processing. Empathy was significantly greater in high than in low client-process segments. Analyses revealed that together the three qualities of therapist interventions predicted level of empathy, but attunement emerged as the sole significant individual predictor.

Early-, middle-, and late-phase client emotional arousal, perceptual processing strategies, and working alliance were examined in relation to treatment outcome on 4 measures in 32 clients who previously underwent experiential therapy for depression. Hierarchical regression analyses relating these variables to outcome indicated that results varied depending on the therapeutic process, phase of treatment, and outcome measure involved in the analyses. Mid-therapy arousal predicted improvements in self-esteem, whereas mid- and late treatment perceptual processing predicted reductions in client interpersonal dysfunction. Emotional arousal in conjunction with perceptual processing during mid-therapy predicted reductions in depressive and psychopathological symptomatology better than either of these variables alone. The implications of these findings for psychotherapy research and practice are discussed.

Early-, middle-, and late-phase client emotional arousal, perceptual processing strategies, and working alliance were examined in relation to treatment outcome on 4 measures in 32 clients who previously underwent experiential therapy for depression. Hierarchical regression analyses relating these variables to outcome indicated that results varied depending on the therapeutic process, phase of treatment, and outcome measure involved in the analyses. Mid-therapy arousal predicted improvements in self-esteem, whereas mid- and late treatment perceptual processing predicted reductions in client interpersonal dysfunction. Emotional arousal in conjunction with perceptual processing during mid-therapy predicted reductions in depressive and psychopathological symptomatology better than either of these variables alone. The implications of these findings for psychotherapy research and practice are discussed. Keywords: psychotherapeutic process and outcome, major depression treatment, emotions, perception, working alliance

Evaluates the extent and severity of depressive symptoms among adults in Armenia one year after the 1988 earthquake. Level of depression among earthquake survivors; Important mediators of severity of post-disaster depression; Relationship of the discrepancies with the cultural differences in value orientation.