Therapists' Clinical Work between Sessions: A Preliminary Study of the Post Session Therapist Questionnaire. Issue 4 (2nd October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rocco, Diego; Antonelli, Elena; Bassi, Giulia; Salcuni, Silvia
• Is Part Of: Journal of constructivist psychology. Volume 34:Issue 4(2021)
• Page Start: 433
• Page End: 449
• Publication Date: 2021-10-02
• Subjects: Post Session Therapist Questionnaire -- exploratory factor analysis -- common factor -- therapist work -- elaborative activity; Personal construct theory -- Periodicals; Constructivism (Psychology) -- Periodicals; 150.1985
• DOI: 10.1080/10720537.2019.1697976
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1072-0537

Abstract

Abstract: In this paper, we present the development of a new self-report questionnaire to assess a specific characteristic of clinical work: the mental (affective and rational) work that therapists do between clinical sessions. The resulting instrument is the Post Session Therapist Questionnaire. In the pre-research phase, we generated 40 items. We had 16 experts carefully examine the questionnaire's content validity at various stages and thus obtained 38 pertinent, clear, and unambiguous items. We then carried out a pilot study with 29 clinicians, who filled out the questionnaire twice, referring to 100 patients in each case. To assess the structural validity of the new instrument, we conducted an Exploratory Factor Analysis using the session ( N = 200) as the unit of analysis. Three factors supported the theoretical dimensions conceptualized in the pre-research: we called the factors Positive Regard, Comprehension, and Diagnostic Effort. These dimensions have good internal consistency. The study's results suggest that these clinical dimensions are meaningful in the development of clinical processes, thereby encouraging further study of the psychometric properties of the questionnaire, with larger samples, so as to consider these results in relationship to the outcomes of the following sessions.