2021 Theses Doctoral

Clients’ Internal Representations of their Psychotherapists Across Different Treatment Modalities

Graber, Liat Segal

Research suggests that internalization of the therapeutic relationship promotes a continuation of psychological development in between psychotherapy sessions and after termination. This study explored whether clients being treated by therapists adhering to different therapeutic modalities internally represent their therapists in significantly different ways. The study consisted of an online survey of 212 individuals who had undergone therapy in the past two years, and included questionnaires regarding the nature of their internal representations of their therapists and working alliance with their therapists. The study provided evidence in support of the hypothesis that there are indeed some modality-informed differences in internal representations of therapists, particularly in the themes and affects associated with internalizations.