Abstract
The present study examined changes in the rigidity of interpersonal patterns and symptoms in adolescents (ages 15-18) in a year-long psychodynamic psychotherapy. Seventy-two adolescents (30 in treatment and 42 in a non-treatment "community group") underwent Relationship Anecdote Paradigm (RAP) interviews according to the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme method (CCRT; Luborsky & Crits-Christoph, 1998), and completed outcome measures at two time points. Results: Adolescents in the treatment group became less rigid in their interpersonal patterns and improved significantly in their symptoms, whereas no such changes were observed in the community group. Levels of rigidity were not related to initial symptom distress; however, changes in rigidity were related to improvement in symptoms within the treatment group.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 685-697 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Psychotherapy Research |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2011 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This study was supported by: the Sigmund Freud center for study and research in psychoanalysis, the Levin center for the normal and psychopathological development of the child and adolescent, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel, and the Warburg grant school of social work, Hebrew University and Israel JDC. The authors are grateful to Kevin S. McCarthy for insightful discussions.
Keywords
- adolescents
- outcome
- process
- psychodynamic psychotherapy
- rigidity