Saying the Right Thing at the Right Time: a View through the Lens of the Analytic Process Scales (Aps)

Abstract

Skillful psychoanalytic technique presumably involves knowing what to say, and when and how to say it. Does skillful technique have a positive impact upon the patient? The study described in this article relied on ratings by experienced psychoanalysts using the Analytic Process Scales (APS), a research instrument for assessing recorded psychoanalyses, in order to examine analytic interventions and patient productivity (greater understanding, affective engagement in the analytic process, and so on). In three analytic cases, the authors found significant correlations between core analytic activities (e.g., interpretation of defenses, transference, and conflicts) and patient productivity immediately following the intervention, but only if it had been skillfully carried out. Findings were independently replicated by psychology interns.

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“…Waldron et al (2004Waldron et al ( , p. 1106 state that "we do not dispute the major importance of interpretation, but [--] we did conclude that the other core analytic activities seem equally important, and that none is very effective unless of high quality." Quality here refers to the aptness of the type of intervention, the usefulness of its content and the skill of Therap y presentation, including tact, timing and language appeal.…”

“…Using the Analytic Process Scales, Waldron et al (2004) demonstrated that the impact of analytic activities was strongly dependent on the quality of the interventions and the ability of "saying the right thing at the right time." Waldron et al (2004Waldron et al ( , p. 1106 state that "we do not dispute the major importance of interpretation, but [--] we did conclude that the other core analytic activities seem equally important, and that none is very effective unless of high quality."…”

“…In their recent summary of their work, the Boston Group (2010) go as far as to state that the "qualitative nature of the whole therapeutic relationship appears to be the most important, specific element in the cure, more than any particular technical activity." The nature of the relationship must be understood in therapy contexts from "the vantage point of the moment-to-moment interaction" (Waldron et al, 2004(Waldron et al, , p. 1111 where "at every moment, there is the potential to organize expectations of mutuality, intimacy, trust, repair of disruptions, and hope" (Beebe & Lachmann, 2005, p. 207).…”

Abstracts of the Annual Poster Session of the American Psychoanalytic Association

“…A regression analysis provided a confirmation of the findings of Waldron et al (2004b) that the quality of the therapist's communication has a pivotal role in facilitating the patient's subsequent communication. The assessment of quality includes the aptness of the type of intervention, the usefulness of its content, and the skill of presentation, including tact, timing, and language appeal.…”

“…Substantial correlations were found between core analytic activities (clarification, interpretation, and analysis of resistance, transference, and conflict) and the productivity of the patient in the immediately following segment, as judged reliably by experienced psychoanalysts (median "alpha" coefficient averaged .71; see Waldron et al 2004b, pp. A multiple regression analysis showed that the impact of these analytic activities was dependent on the quality of the analyst's intervention (with a " " value of .644, a substantial ef fect; Waldron et al 2004aWaldron et al , p. 1114. A multiple regression analysis showed that the impact of these analytic activities was dependent on the quality of the analyst's intervention (with a " " value of .644, a substantial ef fect; Waldron et al 2004aWaldron et al , p. 1114.…”