Browsing by Author "Cunha, Carla"
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- Ambiguity and the dialogical self: In search for a dialogical psychologyPublication . Ferreira, Tiago; Salgado, João; Cunha, CarlaIt is intuitively felt that ambiguity plays a crucial role in human beings’ everyday life and in psychologists’ theoretical and applied work. However, ambiguity remains essentially non-problematised in psychological science since its foundation. This article analyses positivist and social constructionist perspectives on ambiguity in the context of their epistemological and ontological fundamental assumptions. The relational thesis of social constructionism is further analysed and it is argued that it constitutes a “weak thesis” concerning the relational constitution of human beings. In the second part, a dialogical alternative is elaborated. In this perspective, ambiguity is placed in the context of relationship and both are brought to an ontological ground. Therefore, it is argued, ambiguity is a fundamental property of human experience and plays a fundamental role in the constitution of (inter)subjective processes. The impact of this thesis on dialogical perspective on self is elaborated.
- Ambiguity and the dialogical self: In search for a dialogical psychology.Publication . Ferreira, Tiago; Salgado, João; Cunha, CarlaIt is intuitively felt that ambiguity plays a crucial role in human beings’ everyday life and in psychologists’ theoretical and applied work. However, ambiguity remains essentially non-problematised in psychological science since its foundation. This article analyses positivist and social constructionist perspectives on ambiguity in the context of their epistemological and ontological fundamental assumptions. The relational thesis of social constructionism is further analysed and it is argued that it constitutes a “weak thesis” concerning the relational constitution of human beings. In the second part, a dialogical alternative is elaborated. In this perspective, ambiguity is placed in the context of relationship and both are brought to an ontological ground. Therefore, it is argued, ambiguity is a fundamental property of human experience and plays a fundamental role in the consti tution of (inter)subjective processes. The impact of this thesis on dialogical perspective on self is elaborated.
- Client's immersed and distanced speech and therapist's interventions in emotion-focused therapy for depression: an intensive analysis of a case studyPublication . Couto, Ana Bela; Barbosa, Eunice; Silva, Sara; Bento, Tiago; Teixeira, Ana Sofia; Salgado, Joào; Cunha, CarlaPrevious laboratory studies have explored the importance of participants adopting an immersed or distanced perspective in the analysis of their experiences. These studies concluded that distancing allows analyzing emotions in a healthier way and immersion leads to higher vulnerability. However, in psychotherapy, the relationship between these perspectives and clinical change has been less investigated. The present study aims to contribute to understanding how these variables evolve during psychotherapy and also to explore the therapist’s contributions to this process. This study analyzes a good-outcome case of emotion-focused therapy for depression through two observational measures of psychotherapy process: the measure of immersed and distanced speech – which identifies client’s adoption of an immersed or distanced stance when talking about their problems – and the helping skills system – which identifies therapist’s interventions focused on exploration, insight or action. Results showed a decrease of immersed speech and an increase of distanced speech along the process, with a higher frequency of exploration skills preceding both types of client’s speech. Finally, the evolution of therapist’s and client’s speech showed a reasonable flexibility of therapeutic dialogue throughout the sessions, in particular due to the evolution of client variables (evidencing a higher diversity of behaviors).
- Client's immersed and distanced speech and therapist's interventions in emotion-focused therapy for depression: an intensive analysis of a case studyPublication . Couto, Ana Bela; Barbosa, Eunice; Silva, Sara; Bento, Tiago; Teixeira, Ana Sofia; Salgado, Joào; Cunha, CarlaPrevious laboratory studies have explored the importance of participants adopting an immersed or distanced perspective in the analysis of their experiences. These studies concluded that distancing allows analyzing emotions in a healthier way and immersion leads to higher vulnerability. However, in psychotherapy, the relationship between these perspectives and clinical change has been less investigated. The present study aims to contribute to understanding how these variables evolve during psychotherapy and also to explore the therapist’s contributions to this process. This study analyzes a good-outcome case of emotion-focused therapy for depression through two observational measures of psychotherapy process: the measure of immersed and distanced speech – which identifies client’s adoption of an immersed or distanced stance when talking about their problems – and the helping skills system – which identifies therapist’s interventions focused on exploration, insight or action. Results showed a decrease of immersed speech and an increase of distanced speech along the process, with a higher frequency of exploration skills preceding both types of client’s speech. Finally, the evolution of therapist’s and client’s speech showed a reasonable flexibility of therapeutic dialogue throughout the sessions, in particular due to the evolution of client variables (evidencing a higher diversity of behaviors).
- Construct validity of two measures of self-forgiveness in Portugal: a study of self-forgiveness, psychological symptoms, and well-beingPublication . Costa, Liliana; Worthington, Jr., Everett L.; Cavadas Montanha, Cristina; Couto, Ana Bela; Cunha, CarlaSeveral studies have suggested that self-forgiveness promotes psychological well-being. The state self-forgiveness scale (SSFS) and the differentiated self-forgiveness process scale (DSFPS) are two self-report questionnaires that assess self-forgiveness in psychotherapy, personal change, and health. The present study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the SSFS and the DSFPS in a Portuguese sample, highlighting reliability and validity properties for scores on both scales. We examine the relationships among self-forgiveness, self-criticism, psychological well-being, and global psychopathological symptoms. The two scales were completed in a random nonclinical sample of 475 University students. The psychological well-being scale was used to explore the relation between self-forgiveness and well-being. Our findings show evidence of a good estimated internal consistency for scores on both scales - SSFS and DSFPS. Self-forgiveness is related to higher indexes of positive feelings (e.g., self-compassion, self-esteem) such as positive behaviors and beliefs about the self. Thus, self-criticism (e.g., hated self) tends to decrease while self-forgiveness feelings and actions, as well as positive feelings of the self (self-compassion; self-love) tends to increase. In clinical practice these are positive indicators, which can lead to personal improvement, as well as positive affect and lower symptomatology (e.g., symptoms of depression)
- Constructing organization through multiplicity: A microgenetic analysis of self-organization in the dialogical selfPublication . Cunha, CarlaThe self is in a constant process of becoming that demands the construction of “sameness” and identity throughout the irreversibility of time and changing experience (Valsiner, 2002b). Thus, self-organization is the constant and necessary task of a changing self. Occasionally, this dynamic organization may lead to recursive and inflexible patterns implicated in a perpetuating personal problem. The “Identity Positions Interview” (Gonçalves & Cunha, 2006) was designed to elicit dialogical processes while discussing a personal problem. This allows different dialogues to occur: 1) the actual dialogues from the interaction participant- researcher; 2) the imagined dialogues of the participant and others about the problem (e.g. “What would your mother say about the problem?”); 3) the imagined dialogues between Present and Future possible-selves (e.g. “What would the Future say to you?”). These different phases were inspired in therapeutic techniques that call upon the perspectives of social others or temporal movements as semiotic devices used to generate diversity and novelty in the present. Following a dialogical framework, two case-studies are presented to illustrate the emergence of novelty and difference and its regulation into recursive self-dynamics at a microgenetic-level. This idiographic study has two aims: a) to highlight the dynamism of I-positions within the Dialogical Self, and b) to depict the emergence of novelty, self-innovation and re-organization.
- Dialogism in detail: Per Linell’s Rethinking language, mind, and world dialogically and its potentialsPublication . Lourenço, Pedro; Basto, Isabel; Cunha, Carla; Bento, TiagoPer Linell’s (2009) book Rethinking language, mind, and world dialogically offers an integrated view upon the many strands of Dialogism, establishing itself as an essential reference to the field. In this review of his book we aim to discuss a few selected topics, building upon these with our own views. Initially, we focus on the relevance and urgency of such book by summing up the most important dialogical concepts presented by it. Following our initial argument, we move on to the discussion of contrasts between monological and dialogical perspectives, the concepts of extended mind and the interworld, suggesting Dialogism as an ontology, and finally, reflecting upon the relation between intersubjectivity and alterity. We conclude our review by stressing how Linell’s book contributes to the unification of an entanglement of different dialogical theories and perspectives, crafting a solid meta-theory. This integration paves the way
- Emotion-Focused Therapy for DepressionPublication . Salgado, João; Cunha, Carla; Monteiro, M.
- Helping Clients Victimized by Intimate Partners Through Stages of Change: An Emotion-Focused ApproachPublication . Leal, João; Cunha, Carla; Santos, Anita; Salgado, JoãoIntimate partner violence results in extensive negative mental health outcomes including depression, posttraumatic stress, and anxiety. Moreover, victimized partners who experience cumulative episodes of abuse over time can also present severe afect dysregulation and interpersonal difculties. Preliminary evidence for existing psychological treatments shows that these are globally efective on a symptomatic level and in reducing revictimization. Nonetheless, systematic reviews show high attrition rates and suggest that future interventions need to address a wider range of emotional difculties and contextual challenges according to readiness for change. In this article, our goal is to contribute to the development of more responsive interventions that are tailored to individual experiences of violence with a focus on personal values, self-determination, and autonomy, as well as promoting adaptive coping and safety. More specifcally, we describe how the intervention principles and experiential tasks of a neohumanistic model, emotion-focused therapy, can be integrated into a mediating readiness for change framework to help victimized clients receiving psychological treatment. We address four main problematic contentafective states that may hinder the therapeutic progress (interrupting fear of change, decisional pain, overwhelming safety concerns, and long-term interpersonal injuries), their association with stages of change, and how they can be resolved insession using emotion-focused principles and interventions. The implications for future research are also discussed .
- Helping Clients Victimized by Intimate Partners Through Stages of Change: An Emotion-Focused ApproachPublication . Leal, João; Cunha, Carla; Santos, Anita; Salgado, JoãoIntimate partner violence results in extensive negative mental health outcomes including depression, posttraumatic stress, and anxiety. Moreover, victimized partners who experience cumulative episodes of abuse over time can also present severe affect dysregulation and interpersonal difficulties. Preliminary evidence for existing psychological treatments shows that these are globally effective on a symptomatic level and in reducing revictimization. Nonetheless, systematic reviews show high attrition rates and suggest that future interventions need to address a wider range of emotional difficulties and contextual challenges according to readiness for change. In this article, our goal is to contribute to the development of more responsive interventions that are tailored to individual experiences of violence with a focus on personal values, self-determination, and autonomy, as well as promoting adaptive coping and safety. More specifically, we describe how the intervention principles and experiential tasks of a neohumanistic model, emotion-focused therapy, can be integrated into a mediating readiness for change framework to help victimized clients receiving psychological treatment. We address four main problematic contentaffective states that may hinder the therapeutic progress (interrupting fear of change, decisional pain, overwhelming safety concerns, and long-term interpersonal injuries), their association with stages of change, and how they can be resolved insession using emotion-focused principles and interventions. The implications for future research are also discussed.