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Psychotherapists' representations of their patients
Author(s) -
Geller Jesse D.,
Lehman Adam K.,
Farber Barry A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.2001
Subject(s) - psychology , cognitive psychology , psychotherapist , psychoanalysis , clinical psychology
Using a new measure, the Patient Representation Inventory (PRI), this study investigated the nature of psychotherapists' working clinical models of their patients. The data provided by 73 therapists suggest that, regardless of experience level or theoretical orientation (cognitive‐behavioral or psychodynamic), therapists tend to evoke such representations by accessing the words spoken during sessions and by recreating visual images of their patients' nonverbal contributions to the therapeutic dialogue. These representations tend to be in the service of more deeply understanding patients; their affective tone is suggestive of empathy, authenticity, and involvement. More‐experienced therapists tend to evoke representations that rely largely on bodily sensations and the emotional atmosphere reflective of clinical interactions. Apparently, similarities and differences among therapists can be studied not only at the manifest level of clinical work, but at the representational level as well. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 58: 733‐745, 2002.