Project data

Project name:	Relational Mind in Events of Change in Multiactor Therapeutic Dialogues - Relational Self and Moments of Therapeutic Change in Systemic Couple Therapy
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Project management:	Prof Dr Petra J. Brzank
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Running time:	09/2017 - 12/2023
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Third-party donors:	Research Promotion Fund Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences Systemic society German Pension Insurance German Society for Systemic Therapy, Counselling and Family Therapy

Summary of the project

Participants in the naturalistic research project are clients who make use of couples therapy as well as therapists who are responsible for these couples therapies.

Couples therapy takes place with a team of co-therapists. This involves

1. all therapy sessions recorded on video    
2. Measurements of the reactions of the autonomic nervous system (heart rate) are taken during two sessions. The measurements are carried out on both the therapist and the client. 

After these measurements, an individual interview (Interpersonal Process Recall/Stimulated Recall Interview) is conducted with each of the interviewees within 24 hours. During the interview, several excerpts from the recorded real therapy session are viewed and discussed with the project team member.

The programme developed by members of the European Family Therapy Research Group The joint research project was launched in 2013 at the Psychotherapy Training and Research Centre at the University of Jyväskylä (Principal Investigator: Jaakko Seikkula). The data collection was then extended to four universities/colleges in Europe.

This research is being monitored by the Friedrich Schiller University's Ethics Committee.