title: Nonverbal synchrony in psychotherapy: coordinated body movement reflects relationship quality and outcome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The authors quantified nonverbal synchrony--the coordination of patient's and therapist's movement--in a random sample of same-sex psychotherapy dyads. The authors contrasted nonverbal synchrony in these dyads with a control condition and assessed its association with session-level and overall psychotherapy outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using an automated objective video analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis; MEA), the authors calculated nonverbal synchrony in (n = 104) videotaped psychotherapy sessions from 70 Caucasian patients (37 women, 33 men, mean age = 36.5 years, SD = 10.2) treated at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic. The sample was randomly drawn from an archive (N = 301) of routinely videotaped psychotherapies. Patients and their therapists assessed session impact with self-report post-session questionnaires. A battery of pre- and postsymptomatology questionnaires measured therapy effectiveness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The authors found that nonverbal synchrony is higher in genuine interactions contrasted with pseudointeractions (a control condition generated by a specifically designed shuffling procedure). Furthermore, nonverbal synchrony is associated with session-level process as well as therapy outcome: It is increased in sessions rated by patients as manifesting high relationship quality and in patients experiencing high self-efficacy. Higher nonverbal synchrony characterized psychotherapies with higher symptom reduction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that nonverbal synchrony embodies the patients' self-reported quality of the relationship and further variables of therapy process. This hitherto overlooked facet of therapeutic relationships might prove useful as an indicator of therapy progress and outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Laupenstrasse 49, Bern, Switzerland. ramseyer@spk.unibe.ch
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ramseyer
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tschacher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D009068:Movement; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy; D020377:Self Efficacy; D016896:Treatment Outcome