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Papers by Alessandro Gennaro
Psychiatry, 2019
Background: Defensive functioning is related to overall mental functioning and personality traits... more Background: Defensive functioning is related to overall mental functioning and personality traits in adults but only few studies investigated the role of defenses in adolescence. The present study analyzed the use of defense mechanisms in clinical adolescents to test how defensive functioning is related to age, gender, and personality traits. Design: 102 self-referred outpatients were interviewed using the Clinical Diagnostic Interview (CDI). Defense mechanisms and personality profile were assessed using the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale (DMRS) and the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 for Adolescence (SWAP-200-A) respectively. Findings: Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant age and gender differences in clinical adolescents; while younger teenagers used more immature defenses, older adolescents scored significantly higher in high-neurotic and mature defenses. Girls showed higher use of minor image distortion and neurotic defenses, whereas boys recurred more frequently to obsessional level defenses. Neither age nor gender differences were found for narcissistic defense level. Significant correlations between personality disorders and specific defenses were found for all personalities with sufficient base rate, with the exception of paranoid, schizotypal, and schizoid personalities. Conclusions: In line with previous studies we confirmed the hypothesis of an ontogenetic line of development of defense mechanisms. In addition, the present study found that age and gender differences in adolescence are related to the use of specific defenses that contribute to the development of the personality and various psychological capacities. Several clinical implications are linked to the systematic investigation of defense mechanisms in youth, although further studies are required to confirm these findings.
In the present work assuming a dialogical viewpoint about psychotherapy process, a model of psych... more In the present work assuming a dialogical viewpoint about psychotherapy process, a model of psychotherapy process - the Two Stage Semeiotic Model (TSSM) - is presented and empirically detected according to a low-inferential method of analysis called the Discourse Flow Analyzer (DFA). The TSSM claims that in good-outcome psychotherapy the patient's system of meanings initially decreases because of the constraints developed by the therapeutic dialogue which limits patient assumptions about day-life experience and then, according to how therapeutic process proceeds, it promotes the emergence of new meanings, thus depicting the whole process as a U shape. This theoretically driven model has been verified throughout the DFA, a method able to represent a session's dialogue as a "discourse network" made by the associations for temporal adjacency between contents; then it studies the network's dynamic properties. The DFA has been applied to the textual corpus obtained from the verbatim transcripts of two good outcome psychotherapy courses. Findings are consistent with the hypotheses driven by the TSSM
Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 2012
Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 2015
This work describes the three main research perspectives of the authors on psychotherapy process ... more This work describes the three main research perspectives of the authors on psychotherapy process research: (1) conceptual analysis of theoretical and methodological premises founding research on clinical exchange; (2) definition of a general model of clinical process; (3) development of strategies of analysis of clinical exchange coherent with such a general model. Each research perspective is presented and discussed with reference to its conceptual premises and to empirical evidence, as well as to future research directions.
Psychotherapy research : journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, Jan 4, 2015
The aim of the study is to validate the ability of ACASM (Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Se... more The aim of the study is to validate the ability of ACASM (Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Semantic Mapping) to provide a representation of the content of the therapeutic exchange that is useful for clinical analysis. We compared the clinical case analyses of a good outcome psychodynamic therapy performed by a group of clinicians (n = 5) based on the verbatim transcripts (transcript-based analysis) with the clinical case analyses performed by another group of clinicians (n = 5) based on the ACASM representation of the same sessions (ACASM-based analysis). Comparison concerned two levels: the descriptive level and the interpretative level of the clinical case analysis. Findings showed that, inconsistently with our hypothesis, ACASM-based descriptions of the case obtained worse evaluations than transcript-based descriptions of the case (on all 3 criteria adopted). On the contrary, consistently with our hypothesis, ACASM is undistinguishable from the verbatim transcripts as regards...
Psychotherapy Research, 2015
The aim of the study is to validate the ability of ACASM (Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Se... more The aim of the study is to validate the ability of ACASM (Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Semantic Mapping) to provide a representation of the content of the therapeutic exchange that is useful for clinical analysis. We compared the clinical case analyses of a good outcome psychodynamic therapy performed by a group of clinicians (n = 5) based on the verbatim transcripts (transcript-based analysis) with the clinical case analyses performed by another group of clinicians (n = 5) based on the ACASM representation of the same sessions (ACASM-based analysis). Comparison concerned two levels: the descriptive level and the interpretative level of the clinical case analysis. Findings showed that, inconsistently with our hypothesis, ACASM-based descriptions of the case obtained worse evaluations than transcript-based descriptions of the case (on all 3 criteria adopted). On the contrary, consistently with our hypothesis, ACASM is undistinguishable from the verbatim transcripts as regards the case interpretation (on 2 out of 3 criteria adopted). ACASM provides a description of the case that, though different from the one provided by the transcripts, enables clinicians to elaborate clinical interpretations of the case which approximate those produced by clinicians working directly on verbatim transcripts.
Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 2011
The present work highlights the necessity to re-think the paradigmatic, methodological and theore... more The present work highlights the necessity to re-think the paradigmatic, methodological and theoretical assumptions which for a long time have regulated the practices of research in the field of the study of therapeutic processes. Following this suggestion, and commenting on , I highlight the need to reframe the therapeutic change research in terms of a modelling approach. According to such perspective models arise through focusing on the general rule of the functioning of a change process within the local domain of a particular therapeutic encounter, making it possible both to manage it in line with the specific local aims, and to promote the deepening and the develop of scientific knowledge. This is a step towards a new research perspective able to promote the integration of empirical research and clinical practice.
Journal of …, Jan 1, 2010
This work presents a dialogic model of psychotherapy (the Two-Stage Semiotic Model, TSSM) with di... more This work presents a dialogic model of psychotherapy (the Two-Stage Semiotic Model, TSSM) with discourse flow analysis (DFA) and a low-inferential method of analysis based on it. TSSM claims that in good-outcome psychotherapy, the patient’s system of meanings follows a U-shaped trend: First, it decreases, and
then the dialog promotes new meanings. DFA represents a session’s dialog as a “discourse network” made by the associations for temporal adjacency between contents; then it studies the network’s dynamic properties. DFA has been applied
to the textual corpus obtained from the verbatim transcript of a 15-session psychotherapy course. Findings are consistent with the hypotheses.
Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, Dec 18, 2010
Il lavoro illustra le 3 linee di lavoro nell'ambito della process research su cui si concentra l'... more Il lavoro illustra le 3 linee di lavoro nell'ambito della process research su cui si concentra l'interesse degli autori: a) l'analisi concettuale delle premesse teoriche e metodologiche che fondano la ricerca sullo scambio clinico; b) la definizione di un modello generale del processo clinico; c) lo sviluppo di strategie di analisi dello scambio clinico coerenti con tale modello generale. Ciascuna linea di sviluppo viene presentata e discussa in ragione dei suoi presupposti concettuali, di alcuni dei risultati rilevanti che ha prodotto, così come delle prospettive future a essa associata.
Research in …, Jan 1, 2010
Il lavoro illustra le 3 linee di lavoro nell'ambito della process research su cui si concentra l'... more Il lavoro illustra le 3 linee di lavoro nell'ambito della process research su cui si concentra l'interesse degli autori: a) l'analisi concettuale delle premesse teoriche e metodologiche che fondano la ricerca sullo scambio clinico; b) la definizione di un modello generale del processo clinico; c) lo sviluppo di strategie di analisi dello scambio clinico coerenti con tale modello generale. Ciascuna linea di sviluppo viene presentata e discussa in ragione dei suoi presupposti concettuali, di alcuni dei risultati rilevanti che ha prodotto, così come delle prospettive future a essa associata.
Commentaries 11 The dialogical self as (atmospherically) mediated within a socio-cultural sphere:... more Commentaries 11 The dialogical self as (atmospherically) mediated within a socio-cultural sphere: a socio-cultural approach to the formation of the self 213
Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 2014
Changes to definitions and theories of psychopathology result less from scientific advances and m... more Changes to definitions and theories of psychopathology result less from scientific advances and more from changes in social and cultural values. Herein, the historical and contemporary diversity in definitions and theories of anorexia nervosa is used to illustrate this point. First, we offer a discussion of diachronic diversity (diversity over time) and synchronic diversity (diversity at a given point in time) in conceptions and theories of psychopathology in general. Second, we elaborate a social constructionist perspective on psychopathology in general. Third, to illustrate this perspective, we provide a diachronic and synchronic analysis of definitions and theories of anorexia nervosa. Fourth, we discuss the implications of this analysis for clinical practice. We conclude that whatever view eventually prevails will depend not on which one is better at rooting out some hidden truth about anorexia nervosa but, rather, on which one is viewed as more compatible with evolving social and cultural standards, views, and norms regarding health and illness in general and self-starvation in particular.
Psychiatry, 2019
Background: Defensive functioning is related to overall mental functioning and personality traits... more Background: Defensive functioning is related to overall mental functioning and personality traits in adults but only few studies investigated the role of defenses in adolescence. The present study analyzed the use of defense mechanisms in clinical adolescents to test how defensive functioning is related to age, gender, and personality traits. Design: 102 self-referred outpatients were interviewed using the Clinical Diagnostic Interview (CDI). Defense mechanisms and personality profile were assessed using the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale (DMRS) and the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 for Adolescence (SWAP-200-A) respectively. Findings: Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant age and gender differences in clinical adolescents; while younger teenagers used more immature defenses, older adolescents scored significantly higher in high-neurotic and mature defenses. Girls showed higher use of minor image distortion and neurotic defenses, whereas boys recurred more frequently to obsessional level defenses. Neither age nor gender differences were found for narcissistic defense level. Significant correlations between personality disorders and specific defenses were found for all personalities with sufficient base rate, with the exception of paranoid, schizotypal, and schizoid personalities. Conclusions: In line with previous studies we confirmed the hypothesis of an ontogenetic line of development of defense mechanisms. In addition, the present study found that age and gender differences in adolescence are related to the use of specific defenses that contribute to the development of the personality and various psychological capacities. Several clinical implications are linked to the systematic investigation of defense mechanisms in youth, although further studies are required to confirm these findings.
In the present work assuming a dialogical viewpoint about psychotherapy process, a model of psych... more In the present work assuming a dialogical viewpoint about psychotherapy process, a model of psychotherapy process - the Two Stage Semeiotic Model (TSSM) - is presented and empirically detected according to a low-inferential method of analysis called the Discourse Flow Analyzer (DFA). The TSSM claims that in good-outcome psychotherapy the patient's system of meanings initially decreases because of the constraints developed by the therapeutic dialogue which limits patient assumptions about day-life experience and then, according to how therapeutic process proceeds, it promotes the emergence of new meanings, thus depicting the whole process as a U shape. This theoretically driven model has been verified throughout the DFA, a method able to represent a session's dialogue as a "discourse network" made by the associations for temporal adjacency between contents; then it studies the network's dynamic properties. The DFA has been applied to the textual corpus obtained from the verbatim transcripts of two good outcome psychotherapy courses. Findings are consistent with the hypotheses driven by the TSSM
Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 2012
Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 2015
This work describes the three main research perspectives of the authors on psychotherapy process ... more This work describes the three main research perspectives of the authors on psychotherapy process research: (1) conceptual analysis of theoretical and methodological premises founding research on clinical exchange; (2) definition of a general model of clinical process; (3) development of strategies of analysis of clinical exchange coherent with such a general model. Each research perspective is presented and discussed with reference to its conceptual premises and to empirical evidence, as well as to future research directions.
Psychotherapy research : journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, Jan 4, 2015
The aim of the study is to validate the ability of ACASM (Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Se... more The aim of the study is to validate the ability of ACASM (Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Semantic Mapping) to provide a representation of the content of the therapeutic exchange that is useful for clinical analysis. We compared the clinical case analyses of a good outcome psychodynamic therapy performed by a group of clinicians (n = 5) based on the verbatim transcripts (transcript-based analysis) with the clinical case analyses performed by another group of clinicians (n = 5) based on the ACASM representation of the same sessions (ACASM-based analysis). Comparison concerned two levels: the descriptive level and the interpretative level of the clinical case analysis. Findings showed that, inconsistently with our hypothesis, ACASM-based descriptions of the case obtained worse evaluations than transcript-based descriptions of the case (on all 3 criteria adopted). On the contrary, consistently with our hypothesis, ACASM is undistinguishable from the verbatim transcripts as regards...
Psychotherapy Research, 2015
The aim of the study is to validate the ability of ACASM (Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Se... more The aim of the study is to validate the ability of ACASM (Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Semantic Mapping) to provide a representation of the content of the therapeutic exchange that is useful for clinical analysis. We compared the clinical case analyses of a good outcome psychodynamic therapy performed by a group of clinicians (n = 5) based on the verbatim transcripts (transcript-based analysis) with the clinical case analyses performed by another group of clinicians (n = 5) based on the ACASM representation of the same sessions (ACASM-based analysis). Comparison concerned two levels: the descriptive level and the interpretative level of the clinical case analysis. Findings showed that, inconsistently with our hypothesis, ACASM-based descriptions of the case obtained worse evaluations than transcript-based descriptions of the case (on all 3 criteria adopted). On the contrary, consistently with our hypothesis, ACASM is undistinguishable from the verbatim transcripts as regards the case interpretation (on 2 out of 3 criteria adopted). ACASM provides a description of the case that, though different from the one provided by the transcripts, enables clinicians to elaborate clinical interpretations of the case which approximate those produced by clinicians working directly on verbatim transcripts.
Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 2011
The present work highlights the necessity to re-think the paradigmatic, methodological and theore... more The present work highlights the necessity to re-think the paradigmatic, methodological and theoretical assumptions which for a long time have regulated the practices of research in the field of the study of therapeutic processes. Following this suggestion, and commenting on , I highlight the need to reframe the therapeutic change research in terms of a modelling approach. According to such perspective models arise through focusing on the general rule of the functioning of a change process within the local domain of a particular therapeutic encounter, making it possible both to manage it in line with the specific local aims, and to promote the deepening and the develop of scientific knowledge. This is a step towards a new research perspective able to promote the integration of empirical research and clinical practice.
Journal of …, Jan 1, 2010
This work presents a dialogic model of psychotherapy (the Two-Stage Semiotic Model, TSSM) with di... more This work presents a dialogic model of psychotherapy (the Two-Stage Semiotic Model, TSSM) with discourse flow analysis (DFA) and a low-inferential method of analysis based on it. TSSM claims that in good-outcome psychotherapy, the patient’s system of meanings follows a U-shaped trend: First, it decreases, and
then the dialog promotes new meanings. DFA represents a session’s dialog as a “discourse network” made by the associations for temporal adjacency between contents; then it studies the network’s dynamic properties. DFA has been applied
to the textual corpus obtained from the verbatim transcript of a 15-session psychotherapy course. Findings are consistent with the hypotheses.
Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, Dec 18, 2010
Il lavoro illustra le 3 linee di lavoro nell'ambito della process research su cui si concentra l'... more Il lavoro illustra le 3 linee di lavoro nell'ambito della process research su cui si concentra l'interesse degli autori: a) l'analisi concettuale delle premesse teoriche e metodologiche che fondano la ricerca sullo scambio clinico; b) la definizione di un modello generale del processo clinico; c) lo sviluppo di strategie di analisi dello scambio clinico coerenti con tale modello generale. Ciascuna linea di sviluppo viene presentata e discussa in ragione dei suoi presupposti concettuali, di alcuni dei risultati rilevanti che ha prodotto, così come delle prospettive future a essa associata.
Research in …, Jan 1, 2010
Il lavoro illustra le 3 linee di lavoro nell'ambito della process research su cui si concentra l'... more Il lavoro illustra le 3 linee di lavoro nell'ambito della process research su cui si concentra l'interesse degli autori: a) l'analisi concettuale delle premesse teoriche e metodologiche che fondano la ricerca sullo scambio clinico; b) la definizione di un modello generale del processo clinico; c) lo sviluppo di strategie di analisi dello scambio clinico coerenti con tale modello generale. Ciascuna linea di sviluppo viene presentata e discussa in ragione dei suoi presupposti concettuali, di alcuni dei risultati rilevanti che ha prodotto, così come delle prospettive future a essa associata.
Commentaries 11 The dialogical self as (atmospherically) mediated within a socio-cultural sphere:... more Commentaries 11 The dialogical self as (atmospherically) mediated within a socio-cultural sphere: a socio-cultural approach to the formation of the self 213
Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 2014
Changes to definitions and theories of psychopathology result less from scientific advances and m... more Changes to definitions and theories of psychopathology result less from scientific advances and more from changes in social and cultural values. Herein, the historical and contemporary diversity in definitions and theories of anorexia nervosa is used to illustrate this point. First, we offer a discussion of diachronic diversity (diversity over time) and synchronic diversity (diversity at a given point in time) in conceptions and theories of psychopathology in general. Second, we elaborate a social constructionist perspective on psychopathology in general. Third, to illustrate this perspective, we provide a diachronic and synchronic analysis of definitions and theories of anorexia nervosa. Fourth, we discuss the implications of this analysis for clinical practice. We conclude that whatever view eventually prevails will depend not on which one is better at rooting out some hidden truth about anorexia nervosa but, rather, on which one is viewed as more compatible with evolving social and cultural standards, views, and norms regarding health and illness in general and self-starvation in particular.