Autopoiesis and nonlinear modeling methods: an empirical approach to psychotherapy process research.
Psychotherapy process research needs a paradigm capable of integrating activity across biological, affective, linguistic and social domains into one causal model. It also needs a methodology capable of measuring complex deterministic activity spontaneously generated by the therapy participants. Here we articulate a model based on Autopoietic theory and nonlinear quantitative analysis that stands to provide a method and a metric to explore how psychotherapy processes lead to a measurable outcome. Perturbations are the unit of study within the autopoietic framework. Lyapunov exponents are the quantitative tools for the analysis of phase portraits generated by cardiac activity. We propose that these phase portraits can be used to measure the perturbational activity of psychotherapy participants. We buttress this argument with results from a preliminary application of this method in a psychotherapy analogue situation.
Amunátegui
L Felipe
LF
Case Western Reserve University, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Hanna Pavilion, 11100 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
Dowd
E Thomas
ET
D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001143:Arousal; D001288:Attention; D003196:Computer Graphics; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D013811:Psychotherapeutic Processes; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012931:Social Environment; D013561:Symbolism; D014705:Verbal Behavior