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Sequential analyses of therapist-client interaction during change events: a task-focused approach
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
|April 1, 1989
Summary
This study reveals how therapist vocal quality and task-specific interventions influence client change events in therapy. Productive therapist voice and resolution-focused interventions facilitate positive client voice and emotional experiencing.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychotherapy Research
Background:
- Understanding microtheories of change events is crucial in psychotherapy.
- Client-centered therapy focuses on client process and therapist interventions.
- Sequential analyses offer a method to study therapist-client interactions dynamically.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and demonstrate a task-focused approach using sequential analyses for studying therapist-client interactions.
- To investigate the impact of specific therapist behaviors on client change events, specifically the resolution of problematic reactions.
Main Methods:
- Employed sequential analyses, including logit-loglinear analysis and binomial z scores.
- Assessed therapist behavior through vocal quality and task-relevant system engagement.
- Measured client process using vocal quality and the Experiencing Scale.
Main Results:
- Therapist productive voice correlated with improved client vocal quality and intermediate levels of client experiencing.
- Therapist task-specific interventions targeting resolution led to higher levels of client experiencing.
Conclusions:
- A task-focused sequential analysis approach can yield clinically and theoretically significant findings in psychotherapy research.
- Specific therapist actions, like vocal quality and targeted interventions, demonstrably impact client process and change events.