Patients’ Perceptions of Corrective Experiences in Naturalistically Delivered Psychotherapy

Abstract

Corrective experiences (CEs), which suggest transformative experience(s) for the psychotherapy patient, have a rich theoretical history; yet there is little empirical information on patients' own perceptions of what gets "corrected" from therapy, and what is "corrective" (i.e., the mechanisms driving the CE). To address this gap, we investigated 14 patients' posttreatment accounts of both CE elements in the context of naturalistically delivered individual psychotherapy, using a consensual qualitative research methodology. Extending prior research focused on patients' accounts of CEs while still engaged in treatment (Heatherington et al., 2012), the present results revealed that patients retrospectively identified an array of categories that were deemed corrected, such as positive changes in cognitions, interpersonal problems, self-concepts, symptoms, and behaviors. Patients also identified CEs that may have led to those shifts/transformations, including their therapist's actions (especially giving feedback), their own agentic actions (especially engaging in the therapeutic process), and the patient-therapist collaborative and engaged relationship. Clinical practice implications are discussed.

Client Retrospective Accounts of Corrective Experiences in Motivational Interviewing Integrated With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder

“…Clients were interviewed using the Patients Perceptions of Corrective Experiences in Individual Therapy (PPCEIT; Constantino, Angus, Friedlander, Messer, & Moertl, ) interview protocol. It assesses clients’ perceptions of shifts experienced in therapy and explanations for how those shifts came about.…”

“For Me It Was a Key Moment of Therapy”: Corrective Experience From the Client's Perspective

“…Patient Perceptions of Corrective Experiences in Individual Therapy (PPCEIT; Constantino, Angus, Friedlander, Messer, & Moertl, 2011). All clients completed this semistructured interview protocol that was designed to explore client CEs and changes throughout the psychotherapy process.…”

Client Accounts of Corrective Experiences in Psychotherapy: Implications for Clinical Practice

“…The Patient Perceptions of Corrective Experiences in Individual Therapy (PPCEIT; Constantino, Angus, Friedlander, Messer, & Moertl, 2011) posttreatment interview guide was developed to provide clinical researchers with an effective mode of inquiry to identify and further explore clients' firsthand accounts of corrective and transformative therapy experiences and their determinants. Not only do findings from the analysis of client corrective experience (CE) accounts help identify what and how CEs happen in or as a result of psychotherapy, but the measure itself may also provide therapists with an effective tool to further enhance clients' awareness, understanding, and integration of transformative change experiences.…”

“…Psychol. : In Session 73:192-195, 2017 Keywords: corrective experiences; posttherapy accounts; implications for clinical practice; self-narrative change As Constantino and Angus (this issue) note, and as demonstrated in the four research articles that comprise this special issue, the Patient Perceptions of Corrective Experiences in Individual Therapy (PPCEIT; Constantino, Angus, Friedlander, Messer, & Moertl, 2011) posttreatment interview protocol provides clinical researchers with an effective mode of inquiry to both identify and explore the meaning of clients' posttherapy accounts of corrective and transformative therapy experiences and events. In this article, we discuss the implications for clinical practice arising from the intensive analyses of client corrective experience (CE) accounts as well as the clinical effect of participating in the PPCEIT inquiry itself.…”