Interpersonelle Prozesse während des Imagery Rescripting

Abstract

BackgroundImagery rescripting (IR), an emotion-focused technique for processing dysfunctional core beliefs, is an increasing topic of psychotherapy research; however, the underlying mechanisms of the technique remain unclear. The results of recent studies on physiological synchrony suggest that processes such as co-regulation could play a significant role. In particular, linear associations between physiological synchrony and various process variables during IR have been investigated. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether a linear association always provides the best result.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a linear or quadratic association between physiological synchrony in the therapeutic dyad and the emotional processing of clients during IR.Material and methodsThe results are based on 128 therapy sessions with 1926 segments each of 2 min from an imagination-based treatment for test anxiety with 50 clients over the course of 6 sessions. This is a student sample (88% female, mean age 24 years). The group of therapists consisted of psychotherapists in training and Masters students in psychology. The electrodermal activity of clients and therapists was continuously monitored and emotional processing was assessed by external raters using the experiencing scale.ResultsOrdinal regression modelling was used to demonstrate that moderate levels of physiological synchrony were associated with higher emotional processing (linear: b = 7.85, SE = 2.39, p < 0.01; quadratic: b = −16.80, SE = 4.92, p < 0.001).ConclusionThe results provide first evidence that during IR the physiological synchrony between clients and therapists could be an important indicator of the depth of emotional processing of clients.