Affective scripts: A systematic case study of change in psychotherapy

Abstract

This article presents a systematic case study of maladaptive interpersonal schemas. These schemas are conceived of as affective scripts, or sequences of behaviors that regulate emotion in interpersonal relationships. Part I presents a test of the method for identifying affective scripts. Independent raters applied FRAMES (Fundamental Repetitive and Maladaptive Emotion Structures; Hoelzer & Dahl, 1996) to a representative sample of transcripts of a long-term psychotherapy. Empirical checks of each assessment procedure verified the identification of five maladaptive scripts in hundreds of narratives and enactments with the therapist. In Part II, these scripts were tracked across treatment to identify adaptive changes. Statistical analyses indicated a reduction in maladaptive scripts and an increase in adaptive changes. The evolution of the most pervasive script is described in detail. Strengths and weaknesses of the method are discussed.

Autobiographical Memory Narratives in Psychotherapy: A Coding System Applied to the Case of Cynthia

“…Step 7. Affective Scripts (see Figure 1) Redemption and Contamination sequences can be considered a subset of the larger construct of Affective Scripts, first defined by Tomkins (1979Tomkins ( , 1987 and examined empirically by Carlson (1981Carlson ( , 1982Carlson & Carlson, 1984) and Demorest (Demorest (1995Demorest & Alexander, 1992;Siegel & Demorest, 2010). Tomkins argued that individuals organize and respond to experiences in their lives by finding similarities in their affective responses across events.…”

“…Although there is no established coding system for extracting affective scripts from a set of narrative memories (however, see the recent work on extracting scripts from any form of narrative recently published by Siegel & Demorest, 2010), we use a grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2006) in that we begin with the raw memory narratives and attempt to identify any affective sequences that are repeated across the set of narratives. Once a particular affective script seems to emerge, we look to see if this script fits with and informs the other biographical and personality data that have been collected in the biopsychosocial interview.…”

“…(Clinical examples from these studies are presented in Appendix 1.) In addition, these case studies have demonstrated how "affective scripts" (Demorest, 1995(Demorest, , 2007Demorest & Alexander, 1992;Siegel & Demorest, 2010;Tomkins, 1979), identifiable across a series of memories, subsequently emerge in the transference relationship of client and therapist. Interpretations moving between narrative memories and the ongoing transference dynamic were shown to benefit the client's self-understanding and increased control over self-defeating patterns.…”

“…If these autobiographical memory narratives can indeed serve a diagnostic and therapeutic function, both researchers and clinicians would benefit from developing a more systematic method for identifying, categorizing, and interpreting them in the course of assessment and treatment. Although previous coding systems have been employed for early memory assessment in the Adlerian tradition (Bruhn, 1990a(Bruhn, , 1990b(Bruhn, , 1992a(Bruhn, , 1992bLangs, 1965aLangs, , 1965bMayman, 1968) and for coding more general narratives or story-telling for relational themes and defensive structures (Angus & McLeod, 2004;Book, 2004;Luborsky & Crits-Cristoph, 1998;Siegel & Demorest, 2010), there are no standardized methods for coding segments of clinical evaluations or psychotherapy sessions that zero in on the unit of a briefly recounted autobiographical memory narrative. Yet it is precisely these units across the course of a diagnostic interview or series of therapy sessions that can be extracted and assembled in order to determine an affective script that in turn often typifies the object relations and personality dynamics of the client in treatment.…”

Developing a Systematic Procedure for the Assessment of Self-Defining Memories in Psychodynamic Therapy: Promise and Pitfalls

“…As cited by Singer and Bonalume, some fundamental work in this area has been published by Demorest (1995Demorest ( , 2007. Just recently Siegel and Demorest (2010) have published a new analysis on affective scripts using the FRAMES 4 (Fundamental Repetitive and Maladaptive Emotion Structures by Hoelzer & Dahl, 1996). In this work, they present a systematic case study using their highly standardized instrument to track affective scripts.…”