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Therapist Initial Attachment Style, Changes in Attachment Style During Training, and Client Outcome in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.
- Source :
-
Journal of Counseling Psychology . Nov2022, Vol. 69 Issue 6, p794-802. 9p. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- This study extended the cross-sectional therapist attachment literature by examining longitudinal changes of therapist attachment avoidance and anxiety in relation to client treatment outcome. Data consisted of 942 Outcome Questionnaire-45 assessments (Lambert et al., 1996, 2004) of 213 clients working with 30 therapists from a university clinic that provided psychodynamically/interpersonally oriented individual therapy, and yearly therapist self-report of attachment styles using the Experience in Close Relationships Scale (Brennan et al., 1998) over 2-4 years of training at a university clinic. Using multilevel growth modeling, we found that initial attachment anxiety or avoidance alone were not associated with treatment outcomes. Instead, therapists with small increases in attachment avoidance, from a low avoidance baseline, were more effective in helping clients reduce psychological distress than their peers. Findings suggest that small increases in attachment avoidance may be a beneficial development for trainees, as it may reflect a process of learning emotional boundary regulation (Skovholt & Rønnestad, 2003) and taking on the observer aspect of the participant-observer role (Sullivan, 1953). Current findings challenged the assumption that higher therapist attachment avoidance and anxiety is always associated with worse client outcome and suggested the importance of continuous self-reflection to understand how one's own attachment change impacts their clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *GRIEF
*CONFIDENCE intervals
*PSYCHOTHERAPISTS
*CLIENT relations
*CROSS-sectional method
*SELF-evaluation
*PSYCHODYNAMIC psychotherapy
*COMMUNITY support
*ATTACHMENT behavior
*AVOIDANCE (Psychology)
*TREATMENT effectiveness
*LIFE
*CRONBACH'S alpha
*PSYCHOSOCIAL factors
*QUESTIONNAIRES
*MENTAL depression
*SYMPTOMS
*INTERPERSONAL relations
*CHI-squared test
*ANXIETY
*STATISTICAL models
*EMOTION regulation
*BEHAVIOR modification
*PSYCHOLOGICAL distress
RESEARCH evaluation
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00220167
- Volume :
- 69
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Counseling Psychology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 161703534
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000557