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/