[CIPA (Comprehensive Individualized Process Analysis)--a method for combining quantitative and qualitative individual...

The main question of psychotherapy research nowadays is how psychotherapy works. Hence, interest focuses mainly on the process of psychotherapy. General change mechanisms as well as the therapeutic interaction are in the center of research interest. On the basis of process outcome findings (Orlinsky, Grawe, Parks 1994) and the schema theory of Grawe (1987) we developed a research instrument allowing the analysis of therapies from a theoretically and quantitative approaches. The research instrument (CIPA-Comprehensive Individualized Process Analysis) consist of three parts: The scales of the first part assess the general working mechanisms and the therapeutic relationship. The second part allows a rating of the patient's interactions inside and outside the therapy. In the third part the individual schemata are rated. The instrument and the research strategy are being illustrated by means of a selected therapy recorded completely on video tape. The results are interpreted on the basis of the individual schema structure as well as the therapy outcome. The possibility offered by the new instrument to combine quantitative and qualitative research strategies is discussed.