The relationship between vivid description, emotional arousal, and in-session resolution of problematic reactions

The relationships among clients' descriptions of external events, emotional arousal, and resolution of problematic reactions was examined. Clients (n = 12) explored problematic reactions with their therapists on 2 separate occasions. It was found that (a) resolution sessions, in contrast to nonresolution sessions, were characterized by high levels of referential activity (W. Bucci, 1985) when clients described problematic situations followed immediately by the differentiation of an emotional reaction by clients and (b) clients reported a change in mood immediately after the vivid descriptions of problematic situations. The findings highlight the role that vivid description can play in promoting clients' emotional arousal during the session and provide preliminary evidence for the validity of the performance model (L. N. Rice & E. P. Saperia, 1984).