Physiological activation and co-activation in an imagery-based treatment for test anxiety.

Objective: The effectiveness of Imagery Rescripting (IR) has been demonstrated in the treatment of various psychological disorders, but the mechanisms underlying it remain unclear. While current investigations predominantly refer to memory processes, physiological processes have received less attention. The main aim of this study is to test whether client physiological activation (i.e., arousal) and client-therapist physiological activation (i.e., synchrony) during IR segments predicted improvement on next-session outcomes and overall treatment response, and to compare these to the role of physiological (co)-activation during traditional cognitive-behavioral (CB) segments. Methods: The results are based on 177 therapy sessions from an imagery-based treatment for test anxiety with 60 clients. Client and therapist electrodermal activity was continuously monitored, next-session outcome was assessed with the Outcome Rating Scale and treatment outcome was assessed using the Test Anxiety Inventory. Results: Hierarchical linear models demonstrated that average physiological synchrony during IR segments (but not during CB ones) was significantly associated with higher well-being at both the session and the overall treatment levels. Clients' physiological arousal in either IR or CB segments was not predictive of either outcome. Conclusion: These results provide initial evidence for the idea that physiological synchrony might be an important underlying mechanism in IR.

Clients' Emotional Experiences Tied to Therapist-Led (but Not Client-Led) Physiological Synchrony during Imagery Rescripting.

Imagery rescripting (IR), an effective intervention technique, may achieve its benefits through various change mechanisms. Previous work has indicated that client-therapist physiological synchrony during IR may serve as one such mechanism. The present work explores the possibility that therapist-led vs. client-led synchrony may be differentially tied to clients' emotional experiences in therapy. The analyses were conducted with data taken from an open trial of a brief protocol for treating test anxiety (86 IR sessions from 50 client-therapist dyads). Physiological synchrony in electrodermal activity was indexed using two cross-correlation functions per session: once for client leading and again for therapist leading (in both cases, with lags up to 10 s). The clients' and therapists' in-session emotions were assessed with the Profile of Mood States. Actor-partner interdependence models showed that certain client (but not therapist) in-session emotions, namely higher contentment and lower anxiety and depression, were tied to therapist-led (but not client-led) physiological synchrony. The results suggest that therapist-led synchrony (i.e., clients' arousal tracking therapists' earlier arousal) is tied to more positive and less negative emotional experiences for clients.

Within and between associations of nonverbal synchrony in relation to Grawe's general mechanisms of change.

The examination of nonverbal synchrony has become a promising line of psychotherapy research. Although several studies have found between-dyad associations between nonverbal synchrony and multidimensional outcomes, the findings remain heterogeneous, and within-dyad effects remain to be investigated. The present study examines within and between effects of nonverbal synchrony on mastery, resource activation, problem actuation, and motivational clarification (Grawe's general mechanisms of change). Four-hundred and twenty-three videotaped sessions of 175 patients were analysed using motion energy analysis (MEA), providing values to quantify nonverbal synchrony in the patient-therapist dyad. Grawe's general mechanisms of change in psychotherapy were rated using the Inventory of Therapeutic Interventions and Skills (ITIS). On average, patient-therapist nonverbal synchrony was greater than chance. Hierarchical linear modelling revealed that nonverbal synchrony was significantly associated with higher mastery and less resource activation on the within-dyad level. Nonverbal synchrony was not associated with problem actuation or motivational clarification, and in general, no associations were found on the between-dyad level. The results demonstrate the importance of disentangling within and between effects of nonverbal synchrony and provide initial evidence that nonverbal synchrony is tied to the specific therapeutic strategies observed in psychotherapy sessions.

Patterns of early change in interpersonal problems and their relationship to nonverbal synchrony and multidimensional outcome.

Early change is an increasing area of investigation in psychotherapy research. In this study, we analyzed patterns of early change in interpersonal problems and their relationship to nonverbal synchrony and multiple outcome measures for the first time. We used growth mixture modeling to identify different latent classes of early change in interpersonal problems with 212 patients who underwent cognitive-behavioral treatment including interpersonal and emotion-focused elements. Furthermore, videotaped sessions were analyzed using motion energy analysis, providing values for the calculation of nonverbal synchrony to predict early change in interpersonal problems. The relationship between early change patterns and symptoms as well as overall change in interpersonal problems was also investigated. Three latent subgroups were identified: 1 class with slow improvement (n = 145), 1 class with fast improvement (n = 12), and 1 early deterioration class (n = 55). Lower levels of early nonverbal synchrony were significantly related to fast improvement in interpersonal change patterns. Furthermore, such patterns predicted treatment outcome in symptoms and interpersonal problems. The results suggest that nonverbal synchrony is associated with early change patterns in interpersonal problems, which are also predictive of treatment outcome. Limitations of the applied methods as well as possible applications in routine care are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Predicting personalized process-outcome associations in psychotherapy using machine learning approaches-A demonstration.

Objective: Personalized treatment methods have shown great promise in efficacy studies across many fields of medicine and mental health. Little is known, however, about their utility in process-outcome research. This study is the first to apply personalized treatment methods in the field of process-outcome research, as demonstrated based on the alliance-outcome association. Method: Using a sample of 741 patients, individual regressions were fitted to estimate within-patient effects of the alliance-outcome association. The Boruta algorithm was used to identify patient intake characteristics that moderate the within-patient alliance-outcome association. The nearest neighbor approach was used to identify patients whose relevant pretreatment characteristics were similar to those of a target patient. The alliance-outcome associations of the most similar patients were subsequently used to predict the alliance-outcome association of the target patient. Results: Irrespective of the number of selected nearest neighbors, the correlation between the observed and predicted alliance-outcome associations was low and insignificant. According to the true error of the prediction, the demonstrated approach was unable to improve predictions made with a simple comparison model. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the application of personalized treatment methods in process-outcome research and opens many new paths for future research.

Maternal separation and contact to a stranger more than reunion affect the autonomic nervous system in the mother-child dyad: ANS measurements during Strange Situation Procedure in mother-child dyad.

BACKGROUND: The autonomic nervous system (ANS) processes underlying attachment-related mother-child interactions are not well understood. We aimed to describe and compare the responsivity of the ANS for mothers and their infants during the different phases of the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). METHODS: Continuous measurements of the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) branches of the ANS were obtained simultaneously in 91 mothers and their infants (range 10-15 months). Heart rate (HR), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), pre-ejection period (PEP) and left ventricular ejection time (LVET), were calculated for the baseline period (e1) and seven subsequent episodes (e2-e8) of the SSP. RESULTS: The largest difference between the mother and infant was during e7, when the stranger went into the room where the infant was while the mother waited outside the room. Mothers showed reduced SNS-activity or stress reduction while the child showed PNS withdrawal or increased stress response. Additionally, LVET was found to be a marker for SNS changes in the one-year-old infant during SSP. CONCLUSION: Mothers and infants showed different stress-related ANS responses during e7. Since this study showed that simultaneous measurement of ANS responses in mother-child dyads during the SSP is feasible, future studies can assess both mother and child stress responses in different contexts. The measure of LVET may be a valid SNS-reactivity measure in the one-year-olds. Since the separation episode e7 led to the strongest ANS responses, future studies might assess stress responses in more normative circumstances, such as child care programs.

Physiological synchrony and therapeutic alliance in an imagery-based treatment.

Client-therapist synchrony in various channels (e.g., self-reported affect or physical movement) has been shown as a key process in the construction and development of therapeutic alliance. However, psychophysiological synchrony between clients and therapists has been understudied, with the few extant studies typically relying on single-session data, and no studies examining it within the context of emotion-focused techniques. The main aim of the current paper is to examine the role of client-therapist physiological synchrony during segments of one emotion-focused technique-namely, imagery (IM) work-in predicting therapeutic alliance, and to compare it to the role of synchrony during segments of more traditional cognitive-behavioral (CB) techniques. We conducted an open-trial study in which 31 clients with test anxiety received a 6-session protocol-based treatment. Both clients' and therapists' electrodermal activity (EDA) were continuously assessed during sessions. The physiological measures for 5 sessions each (N = 128) were used to compute client-therapist synchrony in IM and CB segments. Therapeutic alliance was assessed using the Session Alliance Inventory. Client-therapist dyads' synchrony during IM and CB segments was, on average, greater than chance. Synchrony varied mostly at the session (vs. the dyad) level. Multilevel analyses revealed that the synchrony within IM segments (but not within CB segments) was significantly associated with the therapeutic bond aspect (but not the task/goal aspects) of alliance. Physiological synchrony during emotion-focused IM is tied to the bond component of the therapeutic alliance at the session level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Imagery-based treatment for test anxiety: A multiple-baseline open trial.

BACKGROUND: Many students are affected by test anxiety (TA), which involves considerable distress and can lead to reduced performance. Despite its prevalence, TA has been under-studied; specifically, few effective and brief interventions have been identified to date. In our work, we explore the adaptation of imagery, an emotion-focused treatment technique used widely in the treatment of other anxiety disorders, for addressing TA. METHODS: In a two-site concurrent multiple-baseline pilot study (n = 31), we examined the effectiveness of a targeted six-session protocol developed for the treatment of TA, which integrates traditional cognitive behavioral techniques with imagery work. RESULTS: The protocol was well-accepted by clients. We found that students' test anxiety levels did not drop between the recruitment and pre-intervention assessments, but did drop significantly from recruitment or baseline to the delayed follow-up (Cohen's d = 0.75 and 0.84, respectively). We also found evidence for session-level processes tying the quality of the imagery work with session efficacy. LIMITATIONS: The study involved a relatively small sample size, leading to weaker power to detect treatment effects. Moreover, some clients did not have any exams scheduled before the delayed follow-up assessment. Due to the scheduling intensity of the sessions, some clients had insufficient time to implement or practice skills and to complete tasks discussed in the sessions. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence for the utility of integrating imagery work with traditional cognitive-behavioral techniques for treating test anxiety.

[Imagery Rescripting and Psychophysical Relations Based on the ImRs-Therapy Concept Used for Test Anxiety: Review and First Experience]. / Imagery Rescripting und psychophysiologische Zusammenhänge anhand eines ImRs-Behandlungskonzepts für Prüfungsangst: Überblick und erste Erfahrungen.

Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) is an emotion-focused treatment technique, which was developed for persons suffering from traumatic experiences. ImRs includes imaginary exposure and rescripting alongside cognitive re-structuring. The principle of ImRs is based on the activation of emotions and the structuring of dysfunctional affective-cognitive schemata. ImRs is an effective treatment for PTSD and could be adapted to suit other psychological disorders. The current state of research focuses primarily on the wide range of uses. To date, physiological processes during the imagery rescripting have not been explored. Because of this, together with the cooperation of colleagues at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, we have conducted a pilot study to investigate psychophysiological patterns during ImRS sessions. Specifically, we examine the effectiveness of a targeted 6-session protocol developed for the treatment of test anxiety on a student sample, during which we monitor the sympathetic response of both clients and therapists. First feedback from the participants supports the power of imagery.