DIRECTION OF AFFECTIVE INFLUENCE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY

Administered a structured response questionnaire to 45 patient-therapist pairs after each of a series of individual psychotherapy sessions in which feelings experienced by each during the session were reported. Causal analyses of nonexperimental data suggested that for relatively inexperienced therapists, the patients' positive feelings were a sufficient condition for the therapists' positive feelings. The reverse was the case for more experienced therapists. For negative feelings, however, therapists' feelings of uncertainty and apprehension were generally a sufficient condition for the patient to experience dysphoric affect. Extremely positive or negative affective experiences of either participant tended to preclude and be precluded by opposite experiences in the other. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.