Fabian T Ramseyer - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Fabian T Ramseyer
European Psychiatry, 2014
Social interaction is a core aspect of human life that affects individuals’ physical and mental h... more Social interaction is a core aspect of human life that affects individuals’ physical and mental health. Social interaction usually leads to mutual engagement in diverse areas of mental, emotional, physiological and physical activity involving both interacting persons and subsequently impacting the outcome of interactions. A common approach to the analysis of social interaction is the study of the verbal content transmitted between sender and receiver. However, additional important processes and dynamics are occurring in other domains too, for example in the area of nonverbal behaviour: In a series of studies, we have looked at nonverbal synchrony – the coordination of two persons’ movement patterns – and it‘s association with relationship quality and with the outcome of interactions. Using a computer-based algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA: Ramseyer & Tschacher, 2011), which automatically quantifies a person‘s body-movement, we were able to objectively calculate nonverbal synchrony in a large number of dyads interacting in various settings. In a first step, we showed that the phenomenon of nonverbal synchrony exists at a level that is significantly higher than expected by chance. In a second step, we ascertained that across different settings – including patient-therapist dyads and healthy dyads – more synchronized movement was associated with better relationship quality and better interactional outcomes. The quality of a relationship is thus embodied by the synchronized movement patterns emerging between partners. Our studies suggest that embodied cognition is a valuable approach to research in social interaction, providing important clues for an improved understanding of interaction dynamics.
Sample data, instructional movies, and Manual for MEA.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, Aug 21, 2022
ObjectivesThis paper presents a randomized controlled trial on assimilative integration, which is... more ObjectivesThis paper presents a randomized controlled trial on assimilative integration, which is aimed at integrating elements from other orientations within one approach to enrich its conceptual and practical repertoire. Elements from Emotion‐Focused Therapy (EFT) were integrated into a form of cognitive behavior therapy: Psychological Therapy (PT). In one treatment condition, EFT was added to PT (+EFT) with the intent to enhance therapists' working with emotions. In the other condition, concepts and interventions based on the socialpsychological self‐regulation approach were added to PT (+SR). Our assumption was that the +EFT would lead to greater and deeper change, particularly in the follow‐up assessments.MethodPatients (n = 104) with anxiety, depression, or adjustment disorders were randomized to the two conditions and treated by 38 therapists who self‐selected between the conditions. Primary outcome was symptom severity at 12‐month follow‐up; secondary outcomes included several measures such as interpersonal problems and quality of life. Variables were assessed at baseline, after 8 and 16 sessions, at posttreatment, and at 6‐ and 12‐month follow‐up.ResultsContrary to our hypothesis, no significant between‐group effects were found.ConclusionThe findings first suggest the difficulty of topping an already very effective approach to psychotherapy. Alternative interpretations were that the EFT training, while corresponding to regular practice in AI, was not sufficient to make a difference in outcome, or that while profiting from the enhancement of abilities for working with emotions, this was outbalanced by negative effects of difficulties related to the implementation of the new elements.
Laryngo-rhino-otologie, May 1, 2023
Laryngo-rhino-otologie, May 1, 2023
Pharmacopsychiatry, Sep 13, 2013
Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, Sep 1, 2018
Video-based measurement methods are new to psychotherapy research and provide new opportunities t... more Video-based measurement methods are new to psychotherapy research and provide new opportunities to investigate mechanisms of psychotherapeutic change related to nonverbal synchrony (movement coordination between patient and therapist). In this study, we validated the applied video-based procedures and evaluated nonverbal synchrony in association with the therapeutic relationship, therapy outcome, and drop-out. The naturalistic analysis sample consisted of 143 patients (136 videotaped sessions), who were treated with integrative cognitive–behavioral therapy at an outpatient clinic in southwest Germany. The videos were analyzed using Motion Energy Analysis (MEA), which provided a value for nonverbal synchrony. Patients routinely completed questionnaires assessing the therapeutic relationship and treatment success. We tested various confounding variables using multilevel modeling and investigated nonverbal synchrony in relation to measures of the therapeutic relationship. Furthermore, we compared different types of outcomes with regard to nonverbal synchrony by means of multilevel modeling. The video-based procedures were shown to be highly valid. We found a link between the amount of nonverbal synchrony and therapeutic success; patients with nonimprovement and consensual termination showed the highest level, improved patients a medium level, and nonimproved patients with drop-out the lowest level of synchrony at the beginning of therapy, even when controlling for the therapeutic relationship. The study applied and evaluated a novel video-based approach in psychotherapy research and related it to common factors and the therapeutic process. Limitations of the automatic measurement methods and opportunities for the future routine prediction of drop-out are discussed. Sincronía no verbal: un nuevo enfoque para comprender mejor los procesos psicoterapéuticos y el abandono Los métodos de medición basados en video son nuevos en la investigación de la psicoterapia y brindan nuevas oportunidades para investigar los mecanismos de cambio psicoterapéutico relacionados con la sincronía no verbal (coordinación del movimiento entre el paciente y el terapeuta). En este estudio, validamos los procedimientos basados en video y evaluamos la sincronía no verbal en asociación con la relación terapéutica, el resultado de la terapia y el abandono. La muestra de análisis naturalista consistió en 143 pacientes (136 sesiones grabadas en video), que fueron tratados con terapia cognitivo-conductual integradora en una clínica ambulatoria en el suroeste de Alemania. Los videos fueron analizados usando Motion Energy Analysis (MEA), que proporcionó un valor para la sincronía no verbal. Los pacientes completaron rutinariamente cuestionarios que evaluaban la relación terapéutica y el éxito del tratamiento. Probamos varias variables de confusión usando modelado multinivel e investigamos la sincronía no verbal en relación con las medidas de la relación terapéutica. Además, comparamos diferentes tipos de resultados con respecto a la sincronía no verbal por medio de modelos multinivel. Los procedimientos basados en video mostraron ser altamente válidos. Encontramos un vínculo entre la cantidad de sincronía no verbal y el éxito terapéutico; los pacientes con terminación no consentida y consensual mostraron el nivel más alto, pacientes mejorados de nivel medio y pacientes no mejorados con abandono el nivel más bajo de sincronía al comienzo de la terapia, incluso cuando se controla la relación terapéutica. El estudio aplicó y evaluó un nuevo enfoque basado en video en la investigación de psicoterapia y lo relacionó con factores comunes y el proceso terapéutico. Se discuten las limitaciones de los métodos de medición automáticos y las oportunidades para la futura predicción rutinaria del abandono escolar.
[New research-results on the nonverbal fine-tuning between therapists and patients and the practi... more [New research-results on the nonverbal fine-tuning between therapists and patients and the practice of paying attention to the nonverbal channel]
Routledge eBooks, Jan 3, 2014
Systemic Research in Individual, Couple, and Family Therapy and Counseling, 2020
The present moment, or “nowness,” has been studied in the psychology of time. Here, we are intere... more The present moment, or “nowness,” has been studied in the psychology of time. Here, we are interested in the duration of shared nowness, an expansion of individual nowness: this social present is defined by the nonverbal synchrony of two individuals. Therapeutic presence means a therapist is fully attuned and “present” in the session, an important property of the therapeutic alliance. The embodied and systemic (interpersonal) concept of the social present can thus be applied to therapeutic interaction in the here-and-now. We report which findings have accumulated so far. The social present in nontherapeutic dyads was higher in competitive interactions and in people with openness to experience and low narcissism. It was associated with clients’ self-efficacy in the psychotherapy context and with reduced depression as psychotherapy outcome. Our conclusion is that the measure of the social present may provide a link between experiences in the here-and-now and the measurable embodiment in psychotherapy.
Objective: The authors quantified nonverbal synchrony—the coordination of patient's and thera... more Objective: The authors quantified nonverbal synchrony—the coordination of patient's and therapist's movement—in a random sample of same-sex psychotherapy dyads. The authors contrasted nonverbal synchrony in these dyads with a control condition and assessed its association with session-level and overall psychotherapy outcome. Method: Using an automated objective video analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis; MEA), the authors calculated nonverbal synchrony in (n = 104) videotaped psychotherapy sessions from 70 Caucasian patients (37 women, 33 men, mean age = 36.5 years, SD = 10.2) treated at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic. The sample was randomly drawn from an archive (N = 301) of routinely videotaped psychotherapies. Patients and their therapists assessed session impact with self-report postsession questionnaires. A battery of pre- and postsymptomatology questionnaires measured therapy effectiveness. Results: The authors found that nonverbal synchrony is higher in gen...
Objective: In schizophrenia, abnormalities in nonverbal behaviors have always been considered as ... more Objective: In schizophrenia, abnormalities in nonverbal behaviors have always been considered as highly relevant. However, due to methodological limitations, nonverbal behavior was rarely quantified objectively. Recent methodological advances now allow a quantification of body movement from ordinary video recordings. We showed that patients’ objectively measured amount of movement in social role-play interactions was closely associated with their symptom profiles (Kupper, Ramseyer, Hoffmann, & Tschacher, Schizophrenia Research 2010). In the present study, a replication of these results in the context of semi-standardized PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) interviews was intended. Methods: 17 patients with schizophrenia were analyzed during the initial 15-min sequence of a videotaped PANSS interview using Motion Energy Analysis (MEA). The amount of patients’ movement was then correlated with their PANSS symptom scores. Results: Sizeable and significant correlations between ...
Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2020
The examination of nonverbal synchrony has become a promising line of psychotherapy research. Alt... more The examination of nonverbal synchrony has become a promising line of psychotherapy research. Although several studies have found between‐dyad associations between nonverbal synchrony and multidimensional outcomes, the findings remain heterogeneous, and within‐dyad effects remain to be investigated. The present study examines within and between effects of nonverbal synchrony on mastery, resource activation, problem actuation, and motivational clarification (Grawe's general mechanisms of change). Four‐hundred and twenty‐three videotaped sessions of 175 patients were analysed using motion energy analysis (MEA), providing values to quantify nonverbal synchrony in the patient–therapist dyad. Grawe's general mechanisms of change in psychotherapy were rated using the Inventory of Therapeutic Interventions and Skills (ITIS). On average, patient–therapist nonverbal synchrony was greater than chance. Hierarchical linear modelling revealed that nonverbal synchrony was significantly as...
Resonanz - Rhythmus - Synchronisierung, 2017
European Psychiatry, 2014
Social interaction is a core aspect of human life that affects individuals’ physical and mental h... more Social interaction is a core aspect of human life that affects individuals’ physical and mental health. Social interaction usually leads to mutual engagement in diverse areas of mental, emotional, physiological and physical activity involving both interacting persons and subsequently impacting the outcome of interactions. A common approach to the analysis of social interaction is the study of the verbal content transmitted between sender and receiver. However, additional important processes and dynamics are occurring in other domains too, for example in the area of nonverbal behaviour: In a series of studies, we have looked at nonverbal synchrony – the coordination of two persons’ movement patterns – and it‘s association with relationship quality and with the outcome of interactions. Using a computer-based algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA: Ramseyer & Tschacher, 2011), which automatically quantifies a person‘s body-movement, we were able to objectively calculate nonverbal synchrony in a large number of dyads interacting in various settings. In a first step, we showed that the phenomenon of nonverbal synchrony exists at a level that is significantly higher than expected by chance. In a second step, we ascertained that across different settings – including patient-therapist dyads and healthy dyads – more synchronized movement was associated with better relationship quality and better interactional outcomes. The quality of a relationship is thus embodied by the synchronized movement patterns emerging between partners. Our studies suggest that embodied cognition is a valuable approach to research in social interaction, providing important clues for an improved understanding of interaction dynamics.
Sample data, instructional movies, and Manual for MEA.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, Aug 21, 2022
ObjectivesThis paper presents a randomized controlled trial on assimilative integration, which is... more ObjectivesThis paper presents a randomized controlled trial on assimilative integration, which is aimed at integrating elements from other orientations within one approach to enrich its conceptual and practical repertoire. Elements from Emotion‐Focused Therapy (EFT) were integrated into a form of cognitive behavior therapy: Psychological Therapy (PT). In one treatment condition, EFT was added to PT (+EFT) with the intent to enhance therapists' working with emotions. In the other condition, concepts and interventions based on the socialpsychological self‐regulation approach were added to PT (+SR). Our assumption was that the +EFT would lead to greater and deeper change, particularly in the follow‐up assessments.MethodPatients (n = 104) with anxiety, depression, or adjustment disorders were randomized to the two conditions and treated by 38 therapists who self‐selected between the conditions. Primary outcome was symptom severity at 12‐month follow‐up; secondary outcomes included several measures such as interpersonal problems and quality of life. Variables were assessed at baseline, after 8 and 16 sessions, at posttreatment, and at 6‐ and 12‐month follow‐up.ResultsContrary to our hypothesis, no significant between‐group effects were found.ConclusionThe findings first suggest the difficulty of topping an already very effective approach to psychotherapy. Alternative interpretations were that the EFT training, while corresponding to regular practice in AI, was not sufficient to make a difference in outcome, or that while profiting from the enhancement of abilities for working with emotions, this was outbalanced by negative effects of difficulties related to the implementation of the new elements.
Laryngo-rhino-otologie, May 1, 2023
Laryngo-rhino-otologie, May 1, 2023
Pharmacopsychiatry, Sep 13, 2013
Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, Sep 1, 2018
Video-based measurement methods are new to psychotherapy research and provide new opportunities t... more Video-based measurement methods are new to psychotherapy research and provide new opportunities to investigate mechanisms of psychotherapeutic change related to nonverbal synchrony (movement coordination between patient and therapist). In this study, we validated the applied video-based procedures and evaluated nonverbal synchrony in association with the therapeutic relationship, therapy outcome, and drop-out. The naturalistic analysis sample consisted of 143 patients (136 videotaped sessions), who were treated with integrative cognitive–behavioral therapy at an outpatient clinic in southwest Germany. The videos were analyzed using Motion Energy Analysis (MEA), which provided a value for nonverbal synchrony. Patients routinely completed questionnaires assessing the therapeutic relationship and treatment success. We tested various confounding variables using multilevel modeling and investigated nonverbal synchrony in relation to measures of the therapeutic relationship. Furthermore, we compared different types of outcomes with regard to nonverbal synchrony by means of multilevel modeling. The video-based procedures were shown to be highly valid. We found a link between the amount of nonverbal synchrony and therapeutic success; patients with nonimprovement and consensual termination showed the highest level, improved patients a medium level, and nonimproved patients with drop-out the lowest level of synchrony at the beginning of therapy, even when controlling for the therapeutic relationship. The study applied and evaluated a novel video-based approach in psychotherapy research and related it to common factors and the therapeutic process. Limitations of the automatic measurement methods and opportunities for the future routine prediction of drop-out are discussed. Sincronía no verbal: un nuevo enfoque para comprender mejor los procesos psicoterapéuticos y el abandono Los métodos de medición basados en video son nuevos en la investigación de la psicoterapia y brindan nuevas oportunidades para investigar los mecanismos de cambio psicoterapéutico relacionados con la sincronía no verbal (coordinación del movimiento entre el paciente y el terapeuta). En este estudio, validamos los procedimientos basados en video y evaluamos la sincronía no verbal en asociación con la relación terapéutica, el resultado de la terapia y el abandono. La muestra de análisis naturalista consistió en 143 pacientes (136 sesiones grabadas en video), que fueron tratados con terapia cognitivo-conductual integradora en una clínica ambulatoria en el suroeste de Alemania. Los videos fueron analizados usando Motion Energy Analysis (MEA), que proporcionó un valor para la sincronía no verbal. Los pacientes completaron rutinariamente cuestionarios que evaluaban la relación terapéutica y el éxito del tratamiento. Probamos varias variables de confusión usando modelado multinivel e investigamos la sincronía no verbal en relación con las medidas de la relación terapéutica. Además, comparamos diferentes tipos de resultados con respecto a la sincronía no verbal por medio de modelos multinivel. Los procedimientos basados en video mostraron ser altamente válidos. Encontramos un vínculo entre la cantidad de sincronía no verbal y el éxito terapéutico; los pacientes con terminación no consentida y consensual mostraron el nivel más alto, pacientes mejorados de nivel medio y pacientes no mejorados con abandono el nivel más bajo de sincronía al comienzo de la terapia, incluso cuando se controla la relación terapéutica. El estudio aplicó y evaluó un nuevo enfoque basado en video en la investigación de psicoterapia y lo relacionó con factores comunes y el proceso terapéutico. Se discuten las limitaciones de los métodos de medición automáticos y las oportunidades para la futura predicción rutinaria del abandono escolar.
[New research-results on the nonverbal fine-tuning between therapists and patients and the practi... more [New research-results on the nonverbal fine-tuning between therapists and patients and the practice of paying attention to the nonverbal channel]
Routledge eBooks, Jan 3, 2014
Systemic Research in Individual, Couple, and Family Therapy and Counseling, 2020
The present moment, or “nowness,” has been studied in the psychology of time. Here, we are intere... more The present moment, or “nowness,” has been studied in the psychology of time. Here, we are interested in the duration of shared nowness, an expansion of individual nowness: this social present is defined by the nonverbal synchrony of two individuals. Therapeutic presence means a therapist is fully attuned and “present” in the session, an important property of the therapeutic alliance. The embodied and systemic (interpersonal) concept of the social present can thus be applied to therapeutic interaction in the here-and-now. We report which findings have accumulated so far. The social present in nontherapeutic dyads was higher in competitive interactions and in people with openness to experience and low narcissism. It was associated with clients’ self-efficacy in the psychotherapy context and with reduced depression as psychotherapy outcome. Our conclusion is that the measure of the social present may provide a link between experiences in the here-and-now and the measurable embodiment in psychotherapy.
Objective: The authors quantified nonverbal synchrony—the coordination of patient's and thera... more Objective: The authors quantified nonverbal synchrony—the coordination of patient's and therapist's movement—in a random sample of same-sex psychotherapy dyads. The authors contrasted nonverbal synchrony in these dyads with a control condition and assessed its association with session-level and overall psychotherapy outcome. Method: Using an automated objective video analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis; MEA), the authors calculated nonverbal synchrony in (n = 104) videotaped psychotherapy sessions from 70 Caucasian patients (37 women, 33 men, mean age = 36.5 years, SD = 10.2) treated at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic. The sample was randomly drawn from an archive (N = 301) of routinely videotaped psychotherapies. Patients and their therapists assessed session impact with self-report postsession questionnaires. A battery of pre- and postsymptomatology questionnaires measured therapy effectiveness. Results: The authors found that nonverbal synchrony is higher in gen...
Objective: In schizophrenia, abnormalities in nonverbal behaviors have always been considered as ... more Objective: In schizophrenia, abnormalities in nonverbal behaviors have always been considered as highly relevant. However, due to methodological limitations, nonverbal behavior was rarely quantified objectively. Recent methodological advances now allow a quantification of body movement from ordinary video recordings. We showed that patients’ objectively measured amount of movement in social role-play interactions was closely associated with their symptom profiles (Kupper, Ramseyer, Hoffmann, & Tschacher, Schizophrenia Research 2010). In the present study, a replication of these results in the context of semi-standardized PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) interviews was intended. Methods: 17 patients with schizophrenia were analyzed during the initial 15-min sequence of a videotaped PANSS interview using Motion Energy Analysis (MEA). The amount of patients’ movement was then correlated with their PANSS symptom scores. Results: Sizeable and significant correlations between ...
Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2020
The examination of nonverbal synchrony has become a promising line of psychotherapy research. Alt... more The examination of nonverbal synchrony has become a promising line of psychotherapy research. Although several studies have found between‐dyad associations between nonverbal synchrony and multidimensional outcomes, the findings remain heterogeneous, and within‐dyad effects remain to be investigated. The present study examines within and between effects of nonverbal synchrony on mastery, resource activation, problem actuation, and motivational clarification (Grawe's general mechanisms of change). Four‐hundred and twenty‐three videotaped sessions of 175 patients were analysed using motion energy analysis (MEA), providing values to quantify nonverbal synchrony in the patient–therapist dyad. Grawe's general mechanisms of change in psychotherapy were rated using the Inventory of Therapeutic Interventions and Skills (ITIS). On average, patient–therapist nonverbal synchrony was greater than chance. Hierarchical linear modelling revealed that nonverbal synchrony was significantly as...
Resonanz - Rhythmus - Synchronisierung, 2017
Die psychiatrischen Versorgungssysteme befinden sich seit den letzten zwei bis drei Jahrzehnten i... more Die psychiatrischen Versorgungssysteme befinden sich seit den letzten zwei bis drei Jahrzehnten in einem Reformprozess, der sich stetig weiterentwickelt. Der vorliegende Tagungsband basiert auf Beiträgen, welche anlässlich der ›Berner Gespräche zur Sozialpsychiatrie‹ vorgestellt worden sind. Die Tagung im November 2002 war thematisch auf den internationalen Vergleich mit der Schweizer Psychiatrieversorgung fokussiert und hat verschiedene Facetten der Entwicklungstendenzen sowie Problemfelder von psychiatrischer Versorgung umrissen. Autorinnen und Autoren aus Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Österreich und der Schweiz haben sich damals im Rahmen von Referaten, Projektbeispielen und Workshops mit diesem Schwerpunkt auseinander gesetzt und in den jetzt vorliegenden Beiträgen zwischenzeitlich gemachte neue Erfahrungen oder eingetretene neue Entwicklungen eingearbeitet. Ihre Zusammenstellung soll wesentliche mit der Reform zusammenhängende Fragen genauer ausleuchten und mit Hilfe des Einbezugs verschiedener Interessengruppen einen breit abgestützten Beitrag zum länderübergreifenden Dialog leisten.