Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome
Objective: The coordination of patient’s and therapist’s bodily movement – nonverbal synchrony – has been empirically shown to be associated with psychotherapy outcome. This finding was based on dynamic movement patterns of the whole body. The present paper is a new analysis of an existing dataset (...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00979/full |
| _version_ | 1811337495677239296 |
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| author | Fabian eRamseyer Wolfgang eTschacher |
| author_facet | Fabian eRamseyer Wolfgang eTschacher |
| author_sort | Fabian eRamseyer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: The coordination of patient’s and therapist’s bodily movement – nonverbal synchrony – has been empirically shown to be associated with psychotherapy outcome. This finding was based on dynamic movement patterns of the whole body. The present paper is a new analysis of an existing dataset (Ramseyer & Tschacher, 2011), which extends previous findings by differentiating movements pertaining to head and upper-body regions. Method: In a sample of 70 patients (37 female, 33 male) treated at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic, we quantified nonverbal synchrony with an automated objective video-analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA). Head- and body-synchrony was quantified during the initial 15 minutes of video-recorded therapy sessions. Micro-outcome was assessed with self-report post-session questionnaires provided by patients and their therapists. Macro-outcome was measured with questionnaires that quantified attainment of treatment goals and changes in experiencing and behavior at the end of therapy. Results: The differentiation of head- and body-synchrony showed that these two facets of motor coordination were differentially associated with outcome. Head-synchrony predicted global outcome of therapy, while body-synchrony did not, and body-synchrony predicted session outcome, while head-synchrony did not. Conclusions: The results pose an important amendment to previous findings, which showed that nonverbal synchrony embodied both outcome and interpersonal variables of psychotherapy dyads. The separation of head- and body-synchrony suggested that distinct mechanisms may operate in these two regions: Head-synchrony embodied phenomena with a long temporal extension (overall therapy success), while body-synchrony embodied phenomena of a more immediate nature (session-level success). More explorations with fine-grained analyses of synchronized phenomena in nonverbal behavior may shed additional light on the embodiment of psychotherapy process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:55:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-00d6d6e795c7479baeecaefd32686f7e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:55:44Z |
| publishDate | 2014-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-00d6d6e795c7479baeecaefd32686f7e2022-12-22T02:36:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782014-09-01510.3389/fpsyg.2014.00979101957Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcomeFabian eRamseyer0Wolfgang eTschacher1University of BernUniversity of BernObjective: The coordination of patient’s and therapist’s bodily movement – nonverbal synchrony – has been empirically shown to be associated with psychotherapy outcome. This finding was based on dynamic movement patterns of the whole body. The present paper is a new analysis of an existing dataset (Ramseyer & Tschacher, 2011), which extends previous findings by differentiating movements pertaining to head and upper-body regions. Method: In a sample of 70 patients (37 female, 33 male) treated at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic, we quantified nonverbal synchrony with an automated objective video-analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA). Head- and body-synchrony was quantified during the initial 15 minutes of video-recorded therapy sessions. Micro-outcome was assessed with self-report post-session questionnaires provided by patients and their therapists. Macro-outcome was measured with questionnaires that quantified attainment of treatment goals and changes in experiencing and behavior at the end of therapy. Results: The differentiation of head- and body-synchrony showed that these two facets of motor coordination were differentially associated with outcome. Head-synchrony predicted global outcome of therapy, while body-synchrony did not, and body-synchrony predicted session outcome, while head-synchrony did not. Conclusions: The results pose an important amendment to previous findings, which showed that nonverbal synchrony embodied both outcome and interpersonal variables of psychotherapy dyads. The separation of head- and body-synchrony suggested that distinct mechanisms may operate in these two regions: Head-synchrony embodied phenomena with a long temporal extension (overall therapy success), while body-synchrony embodied phenomena of a more immediate nature (session-level success). More explorations with fine-grained analyses of synchronized phenomena in nonverbal behavior may shed additional light on the embodiment of psychotherapy process.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00979/fullPsychotherapyembodimenthead movementbody movementprocess-outcome researchnonverbal synchrony |
| spellingShingle | Fabian eRamseyer Wolfgang eTschacher Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome Frontiers in Psychology Psychotherapy embodiment head movement body movement process-outcome research nonverbal synchrony |
| title | Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome |
| title_full | Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome |
| title_fullStr | Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome |
| title_short | Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome |
| title_sort | nonverbal synchrony of head and body movement in psychotherapy different signals have different associations with outcome |
| topic | Psychotherapy embodiment head movement body movement process-outcome research nonverbal synchrony |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00979/full |
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