Mental states as part of countertransference responses in psychotherapists facing reports of traumatic events of mourning and sexual violence.
The study aims to compare the mental states and countertransference responses of 92 psychodynamically oriented psychotherapists, male and female, experienced and inexperienced, facing written reports of real patients who experienced traumatic events. Two vignettes were presented: one of a sexual violence, the other the sudden death of a significant person. The Mental States Rating System (MSRS; Bouchard, Picard, Audet, Brisson, & Carrier, 1998), the MSRS Self-Report (Goldfeld & Bouchard, 2004), and the Inventory of Countertransference Behavior (ICB; Friedman & Gelso, 2000) were used. Results showed that the mourning vignette led to more reflective responses (MSRS) and the rape case was associated with more negative countertransference reactions (ICB). Female participants were more reflective (MSRS); male therapists used less mentalized states (MSRS Self-Report) and expressed more negative reactions (ICB) for both scenarios. Experienced therapists showed more positive reactions on the ICB. The construct validity of the instruments is discussed in relation to the findings.
Goldfeld
Patricia
P
Federal University of the Rio Grande Do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. rivoire@via-rs.net
Terra
Luciana
L
Abuchaim
Claudio
C
Sordi
Anne
A
Wiethaeuper
Daniela
D
Bouchard
Marc-Andrè
MA
Mardini
Victor
V
Baumgardt
Rosana
R
Lauerman
Marta
M
Ceitlin
Lúcia Helena
LH
D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D003379:Countertransference; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*