Experience of affects predicting sense of self and others in short-term dynamic and cognitive therapy

The present study examined whether levels of activating affects (AA) and inhibitory affects (IA) were related to change toward more compassionate and realistic levels of sense of self (SoS) and sense of others (SoO). The sample included 47 patients diagnosed with cluster C personality disorders, who received 40 sessions of either cognitive therapy or short-term dynamic therapy (see the randomized controlled trial study, Svartberg, Stiles, & Seltzer, 2004). A total of 927 videotaped sessions were rated with the use of the observational instrument, Achievement of Therapeutic Objectives Scale. Longitudinal multilevel modeling enabled the examination of both between-person effects and within-person changes in level of AA and IA. Patients with better ability to experience AA at the start of therapy displayed significantly higher SoS and SoO across sessions compared with other patients. Patients who experienced higher levels of IA at the start of therapy displayed lower levels of SoS across sessions. A patient experiencing more AA than usual for him/her self within a session predicted an increased level of SoS and SoO at the next measuring point. There were no different change patterns in the 2 treatment groups. Results suggest that focus within therapy sessions on increasing patients' AA can help facilitate change in SoS and SoO toward more compassionate and realistic quality.