The synchronization of plan activations and emotion-abstraction patterns in the psychotherapeutic process: A single-case study

The question of whether the dynamic of interpersonal plans in the psychotherapeutic process is reflected in the emotion-abstraction (EA) patterns (relaxing, reflecting, experiencing, connecting) described by Mergenthaler (e.g., 2008) was examined in a single-case study. The activation of interpersonal plans was encoded in 10-s intervals by means of sequential plan analysis on the basis of video recordings. The EA patterns were identified in 2-min intervals on the basis of a transcript of the nine-session short-term therapy. The hypothesis that the dynamic complexity of plan activation time series of the patient increases during intensified phases of the EA pattern connecting was examined and confirmed. This can be considered an indicator for the occurrence of critical instabilities in the environment of order transitions in the direction of more strongly integrated states of processing.