The mistake in psychotherapy. A perspective between the control-mastery theory and the cognitive evolutionary therapy

Journal title PSICOBIETTIVO
Author/s Armando Cotugno, Walter Sapuppo
Publishing Year 2014 Issue 2014/1
Language Italian Pages 15 P. 24-38 File size 557 KB
DOI 10.3280/PSOB2014-001003
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Both psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy consider the “error” as an important, even if controversial, issue. The Authors argue that a mistake can be considered as an event that affects the patient in a negative way (directly or indirectly) through the impairment of the course or quality of the therapy. The Authors examine different studies that present a classification of therapeutic mistakes, and that deal with the iatrogenic factors that can derive from distortions or lacks of therapeutic technique. The need for sharing systematic and empirically based criteria with which to evaluate the specialized skills and the ability of the therapist, as well as his personality characteristics, is discussed. The paper includes a number of clinical exemplifications and is informed by the theories associated with Cognitive Evolutionary Therapy Control-Mastery Theory.

Keywords: Error; Psychotherapy; Cognitive Evolutionary Therapy; Control-Mastery Theory; Therapeutic Alliance.

  1. Altshuler K.Z. (1989) “Common mistakes made by beginning psychotherapists”, Academic Psychiatry, 13: 73-80
  2. Beck A.T., Emery G., Greenberg R.L. (1985) Anxiety disorders and phobias: A cognitive perspective, Basic Books, New York
  3. Beck J.S. (1995) Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond, The Guilford Press, New York
  4. Buckley P., Karasu T.B., Charles E. (1979) “Common mistakes in psychotherapy”, American Journal of Psychiatry, 136: 1578-1580
  5. Bugas J., Silberschatz G. (2005) “How patients coach their therapists in psychotherapy”, in G. Silberschatz (ed.), Transformative relationships: The Control-Mastery theory of psychotherapy, Routledge, New York, pp. 153- 167
  6. Casement P. (2002) Learning from Our Mistakes, Guildford, New York
  7. Cotugno A. (2007) “Tra nuvole e orologi: riflessioni sul processo terapeutico in una prospettiva cognitivo-evoluzionista”, Psicobiettivo, 26: 17-37
  8. Cotugno A., Iannucci C., Manaresi F., Mantione G., Monticelli F. (2008) “Analisi dei momenti problematici in psicoterapia: il contributo dell’AIMIT”, in Liotti G., Monticelli F. (a cura di), I sistemi motivazionali nel dialogo clinico: il manuale AIMIT, Raffaello Cortina, Milano
  9. Cotugno A., Sapuppo W. (2013) “Rotture e riparazioni dell’aleanza terapeutica e cicli cognitivo-interpersonali nei disturbi del comportamento alimentare: aspetti clinici e impasse nel trattamento”, Cognitivismo Clinico, 9 (1): 41-52
  10. Friedberg R.D., Taylor L.A. (1994) “Perspectives on supervision in cognitive therapy”, Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 12 (3): 147-161
  11. Garner D.M. (1985) “Iatrogenesis in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa”, International Journal of Eating Disorders, 4: 701-726
  12. Gilbert P. (1989) Human Nature and Suffering, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hove, UK
  13. Huppert J.D., Bufka L.F., Barlow D.H., Gorman J.M., Shear M.K., Woods
  14. S.W. (2001) “Therapists, therapist variables, and cognitive-behavioral therapy outcome in a multicenter trial for panic disorder”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69 (5): 747-755
  15. Incerti A., Scarinci A. (a cura di) (2008) Assessment dell’ansia in psicoterapia cognitivo comportamentale, Erickson, Trento
  16. Lichtenberg J. (1989) Psychoanalysis and Motivation, The Analytic Press, Hillsdale Liotti G. (1994) La dimensione interpersonale della coscienza, Carocci, Roma
  17. Liotti G. (2001) Le opere della coscienza: Psicopatologia e psicoterapia nella prospettiva cognitivo-evoluzionista, Raffello Cortina, Milano
  18. Liotti G. (2005) La dimensione interpersonale della coscienza, Carocci, Roma
  19. Liotti G., Monticelli F. (a cura di) (2008) I sistemi motivazionali nel dialogo clinico. Il manuale AIMIT, Raffaello Cortina, Milano
  20. Mancini F., Barcaccia B. ( 2009) “La diagnosi in psicoterapia cognitivo compor tamentale”, in Dazzi N., Lingiardi V., Ganzillo F. (a cura di), La diagnosi psicologica, Raffaello Cortina, Milano
  21. Merton R.K. (1971) “La profezia che si autoavvera”, in Teoria e Struttura Sociale, vol. II, Il Mulino, Bologna
  22. Mordecai E.M. (1991) “A classification of empathic failures for psychotherapists and supervisors”, Psychoanalytic Psychology, 8: 251-262
  23. Popper K.R. (1974) La ricerca non ha fine. Autobiografia intellettuale, Armando, Roma
  24. Powell B., Cooper G., Hoffman K., Marvin B. (2014) The Circle of Security Intervention. Enhancing Attachment in Early Parent-Child Relationships, The Guilford Press, New York
  25. Prasko J., Vyskocilova J., Slepecky M., Novotny M. (2011) “Principles of supervision in cognitive behavioural therapy”, Biomed. Pap. Med. Fac. Univ.
  26. Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub, 156 (1): 70-79
  27. Roth A.D., Pilling S. (2008) “Using an Evidence-Based Methodology to Identify the Competences Required to Deliver Effective Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy for Depression and Anxiety Disorders”, Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 36: 129-147
  28. Safran J.D., Muran J.C., Samstag L.W., Stevens C. (2001) “Repairing alliance ruptures”, Psychotherapy, 38: 406-412
  29. Safran J.D., Muran J.C. (2000) Teoria e pratica dell’alleanza terapeutica (trad. it. Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2003)
  30. Safran J.D., Segal Z.V. (1990/1996) Interpersonal Process in Cognitive Therapy, Basic Books, New York, 2a ed. Aronson, Northvale, NJ
  31. Salkovskis P.M. (a cura di) (1997) Frontiers of cognitive therapy, Guilford Press, New York
  32. Schore A.N. (2003) “Parent-Infant Communication and the neurobiology of Emotional Development”, in Erlbaum L., Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self, Hillsdale, New Jersey
  33. Semerari A. (2000) Storia, teorie e tecniche della psicoterapia cognitiva, Laterza, Roma-Bari
  34. Shaw B.F., Dobson K.S. (1988) “Competency judgments in the training and evaluation of psychotherapists”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56 (5): 666-672
  35. Silberschatz G. (2005) Trasformative relationships: The Control-Mastery Theory of psychotherapy, Routledge, Hove
  36. Sibilia L. (2011) Gli errori in psicoterapia come processo di problem solving, Relazione tenuta al Convegno: “Errori in psicoterapia” presso la LUMSA, Roma.http://www.crpdownload.com/ErroriSibiliaIdee.pdf
  37. Stern D.N. (1998) Le interazioni madre-bambino, Raffaello Cortina, Milano
  38. Thompson R.A., Sherman R.T. (1989) “Therapist errors in treating eating disorders: Relationship and Process”, Psychotherapy, 26: 62-68
  39. Trevarthen C. (2005) “Stepping Away from the Mirror: Pride and Shame in Advetures of Companionship. Reflections on the Nature and Emotional Needs of Infant Intersubjectivity”, in Carter C.S., Ahnert L., Grossmann K.E., Hrdy S.B., Lamb M.E., Porges S.W., Sachser (eds.), Attachment and Bonding. A New Synthesis, The MIT Press, Cambridge
  40. Tronik E.Z. (1986) “Interactive mismatch and repair challenges to the coping infant”, Zero to Three, 6: 1-6
  41. Tronik E.Z. (1998) “Dyadically expanded states of consciousness and the process of terapeutic change”, Infant Mental Health Journal, 19 (3): 290-299
  42. Watzlawick P., Beavin J.H., Jackson D.D. (1971) Pragmatica della comunicazione umana, Astrolabio Ubaldini, Roma
  43. Weiss J. (1993) Come funziona la psicoterapia, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino
  44. Weiss J., Sampson H., The Mount Zion Psychotherapy Research Group
  45. (1986) The Psychoanalytic Process: Theory, Clinical Observation, and Empirical Research, Guilford, New York
  46. Williams M., Haverkamp B.E. (2010) “Identifying Critical Competencies for Psychotherapeutic Practice With Eating Disordered Clients: A Delphi Study”, Eating Disorders, 18 (2): 91-109
  47. Wolman W.L. (2005) “Internal and External Supervision of Boundary Mistakes”, Australasian journal of psychotherapy, 24 (2): 1-15
  48. Young J., Beck A. (1980) Cognitive therapy scale: rating manual. http://academyofct.org/files/documentlibrary/CTRSManual.pdf

Armando Cotugno, Walter Sapuppo, L’errore in psicoterapia. Una prospettiva tra Control-Mastery theory e cognitivismo evoluzionista in "PSICOBIETTIVO" 1/2014, pp 24-38, DOI: 10.3280/PSOB2014-001003