Interpretations: a qualitative study of patients' immediate reactions

Classical psychoanalytic interpretations have faced increasing criticism in recent years: according to some authors they harm the therapeutic relationship, block the patients' communicativeness, and are associated with a problematic therapeutic stance. Using a grounded theory approach, 35 audio recordings of psychoanalytic therapy sessions were analyzed, which were originally recorded as part of the Munich psychotherapy study. We identified 23 classical interpretations that occurred in 16 psychotherapeutic sessions. The patients' reactions to them were attributed to seven categories, of which two were negative (confrontations and withdrawal). The majority of patients' reactions to classical interpretations fell into categories, which were considered to be positive (e.g. cognitive insight or emotional resonance). Thus, the results of our study do not support the criticism of classical interpretations.     «

Classical psychoanalytic interpretations have faced increasing criticism in recent years: according to some authors they harm the therapeutic relationship, block the patients' communicativeness, and are associated with a problematic therapeutic stance. Using a grounded theory approach, 35 audio recordings of psychoanalytic therapy sessions were analyzed, which were originally recorded as part of the Munich psychotherapy study. We identified 23 classical interpretations that occurred in 16 psycho...     »