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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Technical advance

Relational interventions in psychotherapy: development of a therapy process rating scale

Authors: Randi Ulberg, Elisabeth Ness, Hanne-Sofie Johnsen Dahl, Per Andreas Høglend, Kenneth Critchfield, Phelix Blayvas, Svein Amlo

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

In psychodynamic psychotherapy, one of the therapists’ techniques is to intervene on and encourage exploration of the patients’ relationships with other people. The impact of these interventions and the response from the patient are probably dependent on certain characteristics of the context in which the interventions are given and the interventions themselves. To identify and analyze in-session effects of therapists’ techniques, process scales are used. The aim of the present study was to develop a simple, not resource consuming rating tool for in-session process to be used when therapists’ interventions focus on the patients’ relationships outside therapy.

Methods

The present study describes the development and use of a therapy process rating scale, the Relational Work Scale (RWS). The scale was constructed to identify, categorize and explore therapist interventions that focus on the patient’s relationships to family, friends, and colleges Relational Interventions and explore the impact on the in-session process. RWS was developed with sub scales rating timing, content, and valence of the relational interventions, as well as response from the patient. For the inter-rater reliability analyzes, transcribed segments (10 min) from 20 different patients were scored with RWS by two independent raters. Two clinical vignettes of relational work are included in the paper as examples of how to rate transcripts from therapy sessions with RWS.

Results

The inter-rater agreement on the RWS items was good to excellent.

Conclusion

Relational Work Scale might be a potentially useful tool to identify relational interventions as well as explore the interaction of timing, category, and valence of relational work in psychotherapies. The therapist’s interventions on the patient’s relationships with people outside therapy and the following patient-therapist interaction might be explored.

Trial registration

First Experimental Study of Transference-interpretations (FEST307/95)
Registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00423462.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Relational interventions in psychotherapy: development of a therapy process rating scale
Authors
Randi Ulberg
Elisabeth Ness
Hanne-Sofie Johnsen Dahl
Per Andreas Høglend
Kenneth Critchfield
Phelix Blayvas
Svein Amlo
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-1021-4

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