To understand processes associated with better or poorer psychotherapy outcomes is vital. This study examined and contrasted interaction patterns between one therapist and two depressed 17-year-old girls, Johanna (good outcome) and Sonja (poor outcome), in short-term psychoanalytic therapies selected from an RCT. Outcome data were collected regarding level of inter- and intra-personal functioning and symptoms of depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
September 2022
Unlabelled: A significant proportion of adolescents suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) are likely to have a co-morbid personality disorder (PD). Short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy (STPP) was found to be one treatment of choice for adolescents suffering from MDD.
Background: The first experimental study of transference work-in teenagers (FEST-IT) demonstrated the efficaciousness of transference work in STPP with adolescents suffering from MDD.
Countertransference (CT) responses during therapy sessions can be understood as the therapist's emotional reactions towards the patient. Within adolescents' psychotherapy, little is known about the effects of the therapists' feelings on treatment outcome. The Feeling-Word Checklist-28 (FWC-28) is a self-report questionnaire designed to evaluate the therapist's in-session feelings during therapy with younger patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly prevalent and associated with lifelong adversity. Evidence-based treatments exist, but accessible treatment alternatives are needed. We aimed to compare internet-based psychodynamic therapy (IPDT) with an established evidence-based treatment (internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy [ICBT]) for the treatment of adolescents with depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
May 2022
According to attachment theory, the quality of the early child-parent bond determines the child's interpersonal relationships later in life. Utilising data from The First Experimental Study of Transference Work-In Teenagers (FEST-IT), the current paper investigated the connection between the self-reported quality of bonding with mother and father and the self-reported importance of relationships with friends and siblings in adolescents with depression. The scales employed were the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Adolescent Relationship scale (ARS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
February 2022
Sleep disturbance is often a prominent symptom in adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). Recent evidence indicates that short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy (STPP) for depression may have an effect in reducing co-occurring sleep disturbance in youth. It is unknown if transference work (exploration of the patient-therapist relationship) has an additional effect in reducing sleep disturbance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResearch suggests that short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) is an effective treatment for depression in adolescence, yet treatment dropout is a major concern and what leads to dropout is poorly understood. Whilst studies have begun to explore the role of patient and therapist variables, there is a dearth of research on the actual therapy process and investigation of the interaction between patient and therapist. This study aims to address this paucity through the utilisation of the Adolescent Psychotherapy Q-set (APQ) to examine the early treatment period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Little is known about the influence on outcome of exploration of the patient-therapist relationship (that is, transference work) in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. We hypothesized that depressed adolescents would have better long-term effects from psychoanalytic psychotherapy with than without transference work.
Methods: Depressed adolescent (16 to 18 years) were recruited in health authority funded out-patient clinics in Oslo and Vestfold County, Norway.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
July 2020
The authors wish to make the following correction to their paper [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adolescent depression is a common mental health problem and there is an urgent need for effective and accessible treatments. Internet-based interventions solve many obstacles for seeking and receiving treatment, thus increasing access to effective treatments. Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) for adolescent depression has demonstrated efficacy in previous trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is uncertainty concerning what the active ingredients in psychotherapy are. The First Experimental Study of Transference interpretations (FEST) was a randomized controlled trial of the effects of transference work (TW) in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Women with low quality of object relations (QOR) showed a large positive effect of transference work, while men with high QOR showed a slight negative effect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently, studies have reported systematic relationships between the therapists' emotional response/countertransference (CT) during therapy and a variety of patient characteristics, speaking to the communicative potential of CT. Within an RCT assessing the role of transference work (TW) in psychodynamic therapy, we investigated whether therapist CT was related to patients' pre-treatment interpersonal problems, degree of personality pathology and motivation for psychodynamic therapy. Secondly, we explored if these relationships depended on whether the therapists used TW or not in sessions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adolescent depression is one of the largest health issues in the world and there is a pressing need for effective and accessible treatments.
Objective: This trial examines whether affect-focused internet-based psychodynamic therapy (IPDT) with therapist support is more effective than an internet-based supportive control condition on reducing depression in adolescents.
Methods: The trial included 76 adolescents (61/76, 80% female; mean age 16.
Background: To bridge the gap between symptoms and treatment, constructing case formulations is essential for clinicians. Limited scientific value has been attributed to case formulations because of problems with quality, reliability, and validity. For understanding, communication, and treatment planning beyond each specific clinician-patient dyad, a case formulation must convey valid information concerning the patient, as well as being a reliable source of information regardless of the clinician's theoretical orientation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChild Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health
July 2018
Background: Diagnostic interviews and questionnaires are commonly used in the assessment of adolescents referred to child and adolescent mental health services. Many of these rating scales are constructed for adults and focus on symptoms related to diagnosis. Psychodynamic Functioning Scales (PFS) focus on relational aspects and how the patients handle affects and solve problems, rather than manifest symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Exploration of the patient-therapist relationship (transference work) is considered a core active ingredient in dynamic psychotherapy. However, there are contradictory findings as for whom and under what circumstances these interventions are beneficial. This study investigates long-term effects of transference work in the context of patients' quality of object relations (QOR) and therapists' self-reported disengaged feelings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Analysis of the patient-therapist relationship (relationship work) is considered a core active ingredient in dynamic psychotherapy. However, there are contradictory findings as for whom and under what circumstances these interventions are beneficial. This study investigates long-term effects of relationship work in the context of patients' level of personality pathology and therapists' self-reported parental feelings.
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