Therapist attributes and therapist interventions
Therapists who experienced good parental care used interpretations to a lesser degree. Therapists who had more negative introjection (self-image) used more interpretations.
Patients attributes before therapy had no influence on the therapists use of interpretation.
Better parental care and less negative self-image was associated with positive results for patients with regard to reducing their use of immature defence mechanisms.
See publication nr.7:
Hersoug, A. G. (2004). Assessment of therapists’ and patients’ personality: Relationship to therapeutic technique and outcome in brief dynamic psychotherapy. Journal of Personality Assessment, 83 (3), 191-200.
Therapist attributes and possible influences of process and outcome
From the cooperation project between NMSPOP and ISDP (the International Study of the Development of Psychotherapists) we have the following find:
1. There is a relatively great distance between therapists in relation to the degree they manage to establish a good working alliance with their patients. This therapists difference can by a long way be explained by the therapists own reports on their perception of their own capabilities, interpersonal style, and particular experience of different difficulties in therapy situations with patients.
2. Difficulties known as Professional Self-Doubt showed themselves to influence patient evaluated alliance positively, while another difficulty known as Negative Personal Reaction had a negative influence on the patients experience of the alliance. With other words the more therapists reveal that they have doubts on their own competence or that they have a positive influence on their patients, the higher alliance scores they achieve from their patients, while the more difficulties they have with to like, respect or emotionally tolerate the patients, the lower evaluation the patients give to their early alliance.
3. In addition preliminary analysis` show that some of these self-reported therapist scales have meaning for change in symptom level, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) level of interpersonal problems with the patients during and after the course of therapy.
See publication nr. 21.
Nissen Lie, H., Monsen, J.T. & Rønnestad, H. (2010) Therapist predictors of early patient rated working alliance: A multilevel approach. Psychotherapy Research, doi: 10.1080/10503307.2010.497633