Therapists’ emotional responses and their relation to patients’ experience of attunement and responsiveness

Objective: Therapists’ emotional responses play a significant role in the therapeutic relationship and in the therapy process. The current study examined the associations between therapists’ emotional responses before and after therapy sessions, and patients’ experience of them as attuned and responsive. Method: Forty patient-therapist dyads participated in 16 weekly sessions of Supportive Expressive Psychotherapy. Therapists’ emotions were assessed on the Feeling Word Checklist-58. We examined one positive feeling (Parental) and one negative feeling (Inadequate) Following each session, patients and therapists rated responsiveness on the Patient’s Experience of Attunement and Responsiveness. Results: Feeling Parental before sessions was associated with patients’ post-session ratings of therapist empathy, but not with session helpfulness or sensed achievement. Therapists’ feelings of inadequacy before sessions were negatively associated with patients’ ratings of helpfulness and achievement, but not with empathy. Therapists’ Parental feelings after the session were positively associated with patients’ ratings and their own ratings on all 3 PEAR subscales. Feeling Inadequate after the session was negatively associated with patients’ ratings of helpfulness, achievement and empathy. Therapists’ ratings were only negatively associated only with helpfulness. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that therapists’ emotional reactions play a role in their patients’ experience of their responsiveness.