title: A pilot investigation of emotion-focused two-chair dialogue intervention for self-criticism.
abstract: Self-criticism plays a key role in many psychological disorders and predicts poor outcome in psychotherapy. Yet, psychotherapy research directly targeting self-critical processes is limited. In this pilot study, we examined the efficacy of an emotion-focused intervention, the two-chair dialogue task, on self-criticism, self-compassion and the ability to self-reassure in times of stress, as well as on depressive and anxiety symptoms among nine self-critical clients. Results showed that the intervention was associated with significant increases in self-compassion and self-reassuring, and significant reductions in self-criticism, depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Effect sizes were medium to large, with most clients exhibiting low and non-clinical levels of symptomatology at the end of therapy, and maintaining gains over a 6-month follow-up period. Although preliminary, these finding suggest that emotion-focused chair work might be a promising intervention addressing self-criticism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-criticism is an important process in a variety of clinical disorders and predicts poor outcome in brief therapy for depression. Yet, little is known about how self-criticism can be effectively addressed in psychological treatment. Practitioners can benefit from increasing their awareness of self-critical processes in their clinical work, and from directly working with emotions in addressing self-criticisim. Emotion-focused two-chair dialogue intervention can be effective in reducing self-criticism, increasing self-compassion, and decreasing depressive and anxiety symptoms, and these improvements are largely maintained six months after therapy.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel. bshahar@idc.ac.il
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shahar
authors.forename: Erica R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Carlin
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Engle
authors.forename: Jayanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hegde
authors.forename: Ohad
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Szepsenwol
authors.forename: Hal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arkowitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control; D003863:Depression / Q000517:prevention & control; D004644:Emotions; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013811:Psychotherapeutic Processes; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D012649:Self Concept; D012647:Self-Assessment