A test of the feasibility of a visualization method to show the depth and duration of awareness during Method of Levels therapy

Abstract

AbstractMany psychological therapies help clients to direct and sustain their awareness onto specific aspects of their problems to promote change. Yet, no theory-driven measure exists that can code moment-by-moment changes in awareness during a therapy session. It is known that awareness plays a crucial role in the process of change, but little is known about the underlying core processes. Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) offers a scientific explanation of psychological distress as loss of control and describes the role of awareness in processes responsible for restoring control by resolving any internal conflict. The Depth and Duration of Awareness Coding Scheme (D-DACS) was previously developed to capture the person’s current focus of awareness and its duration on the areas that from a PCT point of view are desirable in order to facilitate effective psychological change. The current research applies D-DACS to code three publicly available Method of Levels (MOL) therapy sessions delivered by an expert therapist and presents a visual representation of the client’s presumed attention in these sessions. The results showed that an average of 61.65% of the client’s attention was focused on the D-DACS areas, which is higher than the previous studies involving novel therapists. The produced visual representation of the clients’ presumed attention helps to examine the utility of this new coding scheme and further examine the validity of the underlying theory. Such work might help in examining effectiveness of therapy in meeting the underlying theoretical foundations of change. However, limitations and areas for improvement are also evident.Key learning aims (1)To provide a rationale for the use of observer-rated measures of within-session processes involved in therapeutic change.(2)To describe the desired focus of the client’s awareness in order to facilitate effective psychological change as described by Perceptual Control Theory.(3)To use an earlier validated scheme to code the depth and duration of awareness of three clients in best practice videos of Method of Levels psychotherapy.(4)To present and test the feasibility of a visual representation of moment-to-moment changes in a client’s awareness in a therapy session.