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Emotion in an alliance rupture and resolution sequence: A theory‐building case study
Author(s) -
Kramer Ueli,
Pascual-Leone Antonio,
Despland Jean-Nicolas,
De Roten Yves
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
counselling and psychotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.38
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1746-1405
pISSN - 1473-3145
DOI - 10.1080/14733145.2013.819932
Subject(s) - alliance , session (web analytics) , psychodynamics , psychology , context (archaeology) , psychotherapist , conflict resolution , perspective (graphical) , interpersonal communication , negotiation , psychodynamic psychotherapy , social psychology , computer science , artificial intelligence , world wide web , political science , law , biology , paleontology
Aims : Alliance rupture and resolution processes are occasions for the client to have his or her core interpersonal patterns activated in the here and now of the therapy and to negotiate them with the therapist. So far, no studies have been conducted on emotional processing, from a sequential perspective using distinct emotion categories, in alliance rupture and resolution therapy sessions. This is the objective of this theory‐building case study. Method : This client underwent a 34‐session long, psychodynamic psychotherapy within the context of an open trial. An alliance rupture‐resolution sequence of two subsequent sessions, along with a third control session, was selected from this case and these sessions were rated using the Classification of Affective‐Meaning States (CAMS), an observer‐rated method to classify distinct emotions, according to current emotion‐focused models. Results : The results indicate that the rupture session was associated, above all, with core maladaptive fear, evoked in the actual here and now of the therapeutic relationship, whereas the resolution session was associated with the expression and experience of adaptive hurt as regards biographical issues of the client. Discussion : These results are discussed with regard to the alliance rupture and resolution model and the exploration of integrating client's emotional processing in the model.