Knol-etal2020

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Knol-etal2020
BibType ARTICLE
Key Knol-etal2020
Author(s) A. S. L. Knol, Mike Huiskes, Tom Koole, Reitske Meganck, Tom Loeys, Mattias Desmet
Title Reformulating and Mirroring in Psychotherapy: A Conversation Analytic Perspective
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Reformulations, Mirroring, Cognitive behavioral therapy, Psychodynamic therapy, Psychotherapy, Mixed methods, Clinical practice
Publisher
Year 2020
Language English
City
Month
Journal Frontiers in Psychology
Volume 11
Number 318
Pages
URL Link
DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00318
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
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Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

The conversational actions of reformulating and mirroring constitute some of the core intervention techniques of psychotherapy. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the way in which therapists in cognitive-behavioral (CBT) and psychodynamic therapy (PDT) use reformulating and mirroring strategies to return patients’ prior talk and how their differential usage can be viewed in light of the respective manualized recommendations. A mixed methods approach was applied using qualitative data that derived from a RCT. The data collection consisted of 200 excerpts assembled from both treatment conditions. The method of Conversation Analysis was used to determine the practices that accomplished instances of reformulating and mirroring, and to examine their distinct implications for subsequent talk. The quantitative analysis revealed that cognitive-behavioral therapists are significantly more likely to use reformulations, which is in harmony with what is suggested in CBT’s treatment manuals. Psychodynamic therapists’ frequent use of transformative formulations is, by contrast, unexpected in regard to the suggestions of the treatment protocol, as these interventions steer toward topical closure. Compared to the CBT condition, psychodynamic therapists were still significantly more likely to rely on mirroring strategies, which are in line with PDT’s theoretical preference. Our findings raise the question whether alleged differences in treatment styles, as they are imposed by RCT methodology, are actually tangible in manual-guided clinical practice.

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