[Changes in emotional insight in the course of psychoanalysis. A single case study]

The initial phase and the termination phase (8 sessions each) of a psychoanalysis are compared according to changes of emotional insight. Aspects of emotional insight are investigated using contentanalytic rating scales which allow to determine the integration of emotional and cognitive aspects of experiencing. There are significant differences of insight between initial phase and termination phase. Regarding the mean scores of single sessions, we observed in the course of the initial phase a decrease of insight and of the emotional access to experiencing, that is in contrast to the changes described before. A systematic clinical description can explain the contentanalytic results. Obviously the psychoanalytic process is influenced by a complex interaction of different factors.