Depth of emotional experiencing and outcome in therapy with young people

Abstract

AbstractObjectivesTo analyse the relationship between depth of emotional experiencing and outcomes in young people. We also wanted to understand whether ‘early’ or ‘working’ depth of emotional experiencing was most predictive of outcomes, and how these compared against alliance effects.DesignHierarchical linear regression analysis of data from a study of school‐based humanistic counselling (SBHC).MethodsData from 60 young people were used for the study across 15 schools: mean age 13.7 years old (range: 13–16); 67% female; 52% from Black, mixed or non‐white ethnicities. Depth of emotional experiencing was rated using the Client Experiencing Scale at session 1 (early EXP) and session 6 (working EXP). The dependent variable was changes in psychological distress from baseline to 12‐week follow‐up, as assessed by the Young Person's CORE.ResultsIn our final model, working EXP accounted for 11.6% of the variance in YP‐CORE change scores after baseline YP‐CORE scores were taken into account. Early EXP and working alliance were not predictive of benefit. Sensitivity analyses indicated that working EXP was associated with benefits across a range of indicators.ConclusionsOur findings show, for the first time, that depth of emotional experiencing has a significant and sizeable association with outcomes in therapy for young people. This is consistent with emerging evidence from the adult field. It suggests that practitioners working with young people should monitor the depth of emotional experiencing and foster methods for supporting its development.