Empirical Studies of the Therapeutic Hour (Hardcover, 1st ed)

Studies of psychoanalytic treatment processes and outcomes are critical to the long-term health of psychoanalysis for two reasons: first, they can demonstrate that psychodynamic therapies have measurable positive effects, despite the assertions of the critics to the contrary. Second, and even more significant, they can lead to improvements in psychotherapeutic techniques, leading to the refinement - even discarding - of ineffective interventions. The contributors to this volume, who are in the arena of psychotherapy process and outcome research, approach the topic from diverse perspectives. Chapters focus on the patient (hidden relationship patterns and "repetitive action structures"), on the therapist (the psychodynamics of empathy and shared patient-therapist understanding), and on the process itself (empirical techniques to quantify patient-therapist exchanges). This collection demonstrates that psychoanalytic theory is a vibrant contributor to the scientific canon.