Therapist and client processes affecting assimilation and outcome in brief psychotherapy

Abstract

Therapist focus, client experiencing, and client negative self-statements were examined in relation to both assimilation and treatment outcome based on the analysis of session transcripts from eight clients, four of whom received cognitive–behavioral (CB) and four who received psychodynamic–interpersonal (PI) therapy for depression. Two clients of each therapy type reported significant improvement, whereas two of each remained unchanged. Results showed that PI therapists focused more on constructing meaning than did CB therapists, especially when outcome was good. Good outcome in CB was associated with less focus on creating meaning. Compared with CB clients, PI clients had higher levels of experiencing, which was also linked to increasing assimilation. Good outcome was associated with fewer negative self-statements in both therapies, although it was only linked with assimilation in CB.