Patient Personality and Therapist
Response: An Empirical Investigation
Objective: The aim of this study was to
examine the relationship between therapists’
emotional responses and patients’
personality disorders and level of psychological
functioning.
Method: A random national sample of
psychiatrists and clinical psychologists
(N=203) completed the Therapist Response
Questionnaire to identify patterns
of therapists’ emotional response, and the
Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure2
200 to assess personality disorders and
level of psychological functioning in a randomly
selected patient currently in their
care and with whom they had worked for
a minimum of eight sessions and a maximum
of 6 months (one session per week).
Results: There were several significant
relationships between therapists’ responses
and patients’ personality pathology. Paranoid
and antisocial personality disorders
were associated with criticized/mistreated
countertransference, and borderline personality
disorder was related to helpless/
inadequate, overwhelmed/disorganized, and
special/overinvolved countertransference.
Disengaged countertransference was associated
with schizotypal and narcissistic
personality disorders and negatively associated
with dependent and histrionic
personality disorders. Schizoid personality
disorder was associated with helpless/
inadequate responses. Positive countertransference
was associated with avoidant
personality disorder, which was also related
to both parental/protective and
special/overinvolved therapist responses.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
was negatively associated with special/
overinvolved therapist responses. In general,
therapists’ responses were characterized
by stronger negative feelings when
working with lower-functioning patients.
Conclusions: Patients’ specific personality
pathologies are associated with consistent
emotional responses, which suggests that
clinicians can make diagnostic and therapeutic
use of their responses to patients.
Am J Psychiatry Colli et al.; AiA:1–7
Atherapist’s emotional response to a patient can
inform both diagnostic and therapeutic interventions (in
this context, we use the term “emotional response”
interchangeably with “emotional reaction” and “countertransference”)
(1–5). Concepts such as complementary
and concordant countertransference, role responsiveness,
projective identification, cognitive interpersonal cycle,
and interpersonal complementarity suggest that a patient
may engage with a clinician in a manner that leads the
therapist to experience emotions and thoughts that may in
turn provide greater awareness of the patients’ feelings
and perspectives (6–10). Personality disorders are by
definition dysfunctional schemas of the self, others, and
relational interactions. These patterns of relating often
appear in the therapeutic relationship, drawing the clinician
into interactions that reflect the patient’s enduring and
maladaptive relationships (3, 5, 8, 11–18). As a consequence,
therapists’ recognition of their emotional responses and
experience is an important vehicle for assessing and understanding
patients’ relationship patterns.
Although clinical descriptions of therapists’ emotional
responses to patients are often rich, systematic empirical
research to date has been limited. Only a few studies have
examined the associations between specific personality
disorders and therapists’ emotional responses (19, 20).
Betan et al. (19) asked 181 clinicians of various theoretical
orientations to evaluate their emotional responses to
a nonpsychotic patient with the Therapist Response
Questionnaire (21). The therapists also rated their
patient’s personality on the presence or absence of each
DSM-IV axis II criterion. Factor analysis yielded eight
countertransference dimensions (for a detailed description,
see the data supplement that accompanies the online edition
of this article): 1) overwhelmed/disorganized indicates
a desire to avoid or flee the patient and strong negative
feelings, including dread, repulsion, and resentment; 2)
helpless/inadequate describes feelings of inadequacy,
incompetence, hopelessness, and anxiety; 3) positive indicates
the experience of a positive working alliance and
close connection with the patient; 4) special/overinvolved
describes a sense of the patient as special relative to other
patients and includes “soft signs” of problems in maintaining
boundaries, including self-disclosure, ending sessions on
time, and feeling guilty, responsible, or overly concerned
about the patient; 5) sexualized describes sexual feelings
toward the patient or experiences of sexual tension; 6)
AJP in Advance ajp.psychiatryonline.org 1
disengaged is marked by feeling distracted, withdrawn,
annoyed, or bored in sessions; 7) parental/protective is
marked by a wish to protect and nurture the patient in
a parental way, above and beyond normal positive feelings
toward the patient 8); criticized/mistreated describes
feelings of being unappreciated, dismissed, or devalued by
the patient. These patterns were associated with the three
DSM-IV axis II clusters: cluster A correlated with the
criticized/mistreated pattern; cluster B was associated
with overwhelmed feelings, helplessness, hostility, disengagement,
and sexual attraction; and cluster C correlated
with therapists’ protective and warm feelings. In general,
cluster B was associated with a broader range of therapist
emotional responses than the other two clusters. Clinicians
working with patients with narcissistic personality
disorder reported feelings of inadequacy, devaluation,
and ambivalence.
These results were consistent with the findings of other
studies that have found that patients with cluster A and B
disorders evoke more negative therapist reactions than
cluster C patients, and that cluster B patients evoke more
mixed feelings in therapists (20). Some research has also
demonstrated that cluster B patients, especially those
with borderline pathology, elicited higher levels of anger
and irritation and lower levels of liking, empathy, and
nurturance (22, 23) and tend to be perceived as more dominant,
hostile, and punitive than patients with depressive
disorders (23).
These studies have generally focused on comparing
therapist reactions in relation to DSM diagnosis at cluster
level (19, 20) or on single disorders, mostly borderline
personality disorder (22, 23). They have not examined the
differential responses of clinicians to the broadest possible
scope of personality disorders. In addition, some of this
work has been constrained by the use of artificial stimuli,
such as responses to case vignettes or recordings rather
than ongoing interaction with actual patients (22, 23).
There have been other limitations, such as the use of the
same therapist to evaluate several patients and thus
allowing for potential interdependencies among the
ratings (i.e., therapist effects) (20).
We attempted to address these limitations in this study,
which is both a replication and an extension of work by
Betan et al. (19). We explored the following hypotheses: 1)
specific personality disorders evoke distinct countertransference
responses in therapists; 2) these countertransference
responses cannot be accounted for by therapist
theoretical orientation; and 3) globally lower-functioning
patients evoke the most intense negative emotional responses
in therapists.
Method
Sampling
From the rosters of the two largest Italian associations of
psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy and
from centers specializing exclusively in the treatment of personality
disorders, we recruited by e-mail a random sample of
clinicians with at least 3 years’ postpsychotherapy licensure
experience who performed at least 10 hours per week of direct
patient care. We requested that they select a patient who was at
least 18 years old; who had no psychotic disorder or syndrome
with psychotic symptoms or any pathology that could complicate
differentiation between psychological states and personality
traits (for example, severe depressive or bipolar disorders); who
was not on drug therapy for psychotic symptoms; and whom
the therapist had seen for a minimum of eight sessions and
a maximum of 6 months (one session per week). To minimize
selection biases, we directed clinicians to consult their calendar
to select the last patient they saw during the previous week who
met the study criteria. To minimize rater-dependent biases, each
clinician was allowed to describe only one patient. Clinicians did
not receive any remuneration, and we had a response rate of
approximately 81% (203 therapists). All participants provided
written informed consent.
Therapists. The therapist sample consisted of 203 Caucasians,
111 of whom were women; 65% were psychologists and 35% were
psychiatrists. Their mean age was 43 years (SD=9, range=34–52).
Two main clinical-theoretical approaches were represented:
psychodynamic (N=103) and cognitive-behavioral (N=100). A
portion of cognitive-behavioral clinicians (N=30) had a metacognitive
interpersonal orientation (13, 14). The average length of
clinical experience as a psychotherapist was 10 years (SD=3,
range=3–17), and the average time spent per week practicing
psychotherapy was 16 hours (SD=3.9, range=13–25). Seventy
percent of the patients described were from private practice and
the remaining 30% from public mental health institutions.
Patients. The patient sample consisted of 203 Caucasians, 118 of
whom were women; their mean age was 34 years (SD=4.5,
range=29.5–38.5). Fifty-nine patients had only a DSM-IV axis I
diagnosis, 71 had only an axis II diagnosis, 46 had comorbid axis I
and axis II diagnoses, and 27 had a double axis II diagnosis.
Among patients with axis I diagnoses (alone and comorbid
with axis II disorders), 28 had a generalized anxiety disorder, 25
had a panic disorder,
Patient Personality and Therapist
Response: An Empirical Investigation
Objective: The aim of this study was to
examine the relationship between therapists’
emotional responses and patients’
personality disorders and level of psychological
functioning.
Method: A random national sample of
psychiatrists and clinical psychologists
(N=203) completed the Therapist Response
Questionnaire to identify patterns
of therapists’ emotional response, and the
Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure2
200 to assess personality disorders and
level of psychological functioning in a randomly
selected patient currently in their
care and with whom they had worked for
a minimum of eight sessions and a maximum
of 6 months (one session per week).
Results: There were several significant
relationships between therapists’ responses
and patients’ personality pathology. Paranoid
and antisocial personality disorders
were associated with criticized/mistreated
countertransference, and borderline personality
disorder was related to helpless/
inadequate, overwhelmed/disorganized, and
special/overinvolved countertransference.
Disengaged countertransference was associated
with schizotypal and narcissistic
personality disorders and negatively associated
with dependent and histrionic
personality disorders. Schizoid personality
disorder was associated with helpless/
inadequate responses. Positive countertransference
was associated with avoidant
personality disorder, which was also related
to both parental/protective and
special/overinvolved therapist responses.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
was negatively associated with special/
overinvolved therapist responses. In general,
therapists’ responses were characterized
by stronger negative feelings when
working with lower-functioning patients.
Conclusions: Patients’ specific personality
pathologies are associated with consistent
emotional responses, which suggests that
clinicians can make diagnostic and therapeutic
use of their responses to patients.
Am J Psychiatry Colli et al.; AiA:1–7
Atherapist’s emotional response to a patient can
inform both diagnostic and therapeutic interventions (in
this context, we use the term “emotional response”
interchangeably with “emotional reaction” and “countertransference”)
(1–5). Concepts such as complementary
and concordant countertransference, role responsiveness,
projective identification, cognitive interpersonal cycle,
and interpersonal complementarity suggest that a patient
may engage with a clinician in a manner that leads the
therapist to experience emotions and thoughts that may in
turn provide greater awareness of the patients’ feelings
and perspectives (6–10). Personality disorders are by
definition dysfunctional schemas of the self, others, and
relational interactions. These patterns of relating often
appear in the therapeutic relationship, drawing the clinician
into interactions that reflect the patient’s enduring and
maladaptive relationships (3, 5, 8, 11–18). As a consequence,
therapists’ recognition of their emotional responses and
experience is an important vehicle for assessing and understanding
patients’ relationship patterns.
Although clinical descriptions of therapists’ emotional
responses to patients are often rich, systematic empirical
research to date has been limited. Only a few studies have
examined the associations between specific personality
disorders and therapists’ emotional responses (19, 20).
Betan et al. (19) asked 181 clinicians of various theoretical
orientations to evaluate their emotional responses to
a nonpsychotic patient with the Therapist Response
Questionnaire (21). The therapists also rated their
patient’s personality on the presence or absence of each
DSM-IV axis II criterion. Factor analysis yielded eight
countertransference dimensions (for a detailed description,
see the data supplement that accompanies the online edition
of this article): 1) overwhelmed/disorganized indicates
a desire to avoid or flee the patient and strong negative
feelings, including dread, repulsion, and resentment; 2)
helpless/inadequate describes feelings of inadequacy,
incompetence, hopelessness, and anxiety; 3) positive indicates
the experience of a positive working alliance and
close connection with the patient; 4) special/overinvolved
describes a sense of the patient as special relative to other
patients and includes “soft signs” of problems in maintaining
boundaries, including self-disclosure, ending sessions on
time, and feeling guilty, responsible, or overly concerned
about the patient; 5) sexualized describes sexual feelings
toward the patient or experiences of sexual tension; 6)
AJP in Advance ajp.psychiatryonline.org 1
disengaged is marked by feeling distracted, withdrawn,
annoyed, or bored in sessions; 7) parental/protective is
marked by a wish to protect and nurture the patient in
a parental way, above and beyond normal positive feelings
toward the patient 8); criticized/mistreated describes
feelings of being unappreciated, dismissed, or devalued by
the patient. These patterns were associated with the three
DSM-IV axis II clusters: cluster A correlated with the
criticized/mistreated pattern; cluster B was associated
with overwhelmed feelings, helplessness, hostility, disengagement,
and sexual attraction; and cluster C correlated
with therapists’ protective and warm feelings. In general,
cluster B was associated with a broader range of therapist
emotional responses than the other two clusters. Clinicians
working with patients with narcissistic personality
disorder reported feelings of inadequacy, devaluation,
and ambivalence.
These results were consistent with the findings of other
studies that have found that patients with cluster A and B
disorders evoke more negative therapist reactions than
cluster C patients, and that cluster B patients evoke more
mixed feelings in therapists (20). Some research has also
demonstrated that cluster B patients, especially those
with borderline pathology, elicited higher levels of anger
and irritation and lower levels of liking, empathy, and
nurturance (22, 23) and tend to be perceived as more dominant,
hostile, and punitive than patients with depressive
disorders (23).
These studies have generally focused on comparing
therapist reactions in relation to DSM diagnosis at cluster
level (19, 20) or on single disorders, mostly borderline
personality disorder (22, 23). They have not examined the
differential responses of clinicians to the broadest possible
scope of personality disorders. In addition, some of this
work has been constrained by the use of artificial stimuli,
such as responses to case vignettes or recordings rather
than ongoing interaction with actual patients (22, 23).
There have been other limitations, such as the use of the
same therapist to evaluate several patients and thus
allowing for potential interdependencies among the
ratings (i.e., therapist effects) (20).
We attempted to address these limitations in this study,
which is both a replication and an extension of work by
Betan et al. (19). We explored the following hypotheses: 1)
specific personality disorders evoke distinct countertransference
responses in therapists; 2) these countertransference
responses cannot be accounted for by therapist
theoretical orientation; and 3) globally lower-functioning
patients evoke the most intense negative emotional responses
in therapists.
Method
Sampling
From the rosters of the two largest Italian associations of
psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy and
from centers specializing exclusively in the treatment of personality
disorders, we recruited by e-mail a random sample of
clinicians with at least 3 years’ postpsychotherapy licensure
experience who performed at least 10 hours per week of direct
patient care. We requested that they select a patient who was at
least 18 years old; who had no psychotic disorder or syndrome
with psychotic symptoms or any pathology that could complicate
differentiation between psychological states and personality
traits (for example, severe depressive or bipolar disorders); who
was not on drug therapy for psychotic symptoms; and whom
the therapist had seen for a minimum of eight sessions and
a maximum of 6 months (one session per week). To minimize
selection biases, we directed clinicians to consult their calendar
to select the last patient they saw during the previous week who
met the study criteria. To minimize rater-dependent biases, each
clinician was allowed to describe only one patient. Clinicians did
not receive any remuneration, and we had a response rate of
approximately 81% (203 therapists). All participants provided
written informed consent.
Therapists. The therapist sample consisted of 203 Caucasians,
111 of whom were women; 65% were psychologists and 35% were
psychiatrists. Their mean age was 43 years (SD=9, range=34–52).
Two main clinical-theoretical approaches were represented:
psychodynamic (N=103) and cognitive-behavioral (N=100). A
portion of cognitive-behavioral clinicians (N=30) had a metacognitive
interpersonal orientation (13, 14). The average length of
clinical experience as a psychotherapist was 10 years (SD=3,
range=3–17), and the average time spent per week practicing
psychotherapy was 16 hours (SD=3.9, range=13–25). Seventy
percent of the patients described were from private practice and
the remaining 30% from public mental health institutions.
Patients. The patient sample consisted of 203 Caucasians, 118 of
whom were women; their mean age was 34 years (SD=4.5,
range=29.5–38.5). Fifty-nine patients had only a DSM-IV axis I
diagnosis, 71 had only an axis II diagnosis, 46 had comorbid axis I
and axis II diagnoses, and 27 had a double axis II diagnosis.
Among patients with axis I diagnoses (alone and comorbid
with axis II disorders), 28 had a generalized anxiety disorder, 25
had a panic disorder,
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