Within- and between-session changes of in-session reflective functioning of mothers in dyadic parent–infant psychotherapy

Psychotherapy Research, vol. 35, pp. 601–613

Abstract

This study investigated if in-session reflective functioning (RF) of mothers improved between and within sessions of brief dyadic focused parent-infant psychotherapy (fPIP) for the treatment of regulatory disorders in infants. = 11 mothers randomly selected from a RCT on the efficacy of fPIP as part of secondary analyses. A new rating system distinguished self-focused and child-focused in-session RF. Cumulative ordinal regression models were applied to analyze the dynamics of in-session RF within and across sessions, controlling for word count of each statement. While in-session RF improved significantly within sessions, between-session RF improved significantly only in the second session compared to the first with a significant decrease observed in the last session. Child-focused in-session RF was significantly lower than self-focused in-session RF at the beginning of the sessions but improved significantly stronger than self-focused in-session RF during sessions. In-session RF (particularly in child-focused statements) can be regarded as a dynamic change process relevant within each session of dyadic fPIP. Improvements made on a session-by-session basis may not be maintained until the next session. Implications for practitioners and in-session RF research are discussed.

Authors 5

1. Anna Katharina Georg corresponding

   Heidelberg University · University Hospital Heidelberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg

   Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

2. Lea Amelie Kasper

   Heidelberg University · University Hospital Heidelberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg

   University Heidelberg

   Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

   Department of Psychology, University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

3. Andreas B. Neubauer Aachen Institute of Psychology Developmental Psychology and Research Methods

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University

   Developmental Psychology and Research Methods, Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

4. Maximilian Selic

   Heidelberg University · University Hospital Heidelberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg

   Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

5. Svenja Taubner

   Heidelberg University · University Hospital Heidelberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg

   Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany