A Study on influence of Effects and Therapy process to verbal and nonverbal behavior of therapist in therapy

2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 14510159
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 教育・社会系心理学
• Research Institution: Yamanashi College of Nursing
• Principal Investigator: KIKUNO Monju Yamanashi College of Nursing, Yamanashi College of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Professor (70191070)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): ANDO Kiyoshi Kagoshima University, Faculty of Education, Associate Professor (20151201) ; NAKAJIMA Sachiko Kagoshima University, Faculty of Education, Associate Professor (80223147) ; TANIZAKI Kazuyo Kagoshima Immaculate Heart University, School of International Studies, Associate Professor (30269154)
• Project Period (FY): 2002 – 2003
• Keywords: therapist / Client / Discourse analysis

Research Abstract

This research was conducted to manifest the effects of verbal and nonverbal behavior of therapists' intentions, and ways to express them in therapy. It was also aimed to analyze the effects of verbal behavior of therapists at different levels of experience. Therapy situations were experimentally set up, and 5 female therapists and 5 female college students were chosen for the experiment. The therapists were at different levels of experience, and the college students played the role of clients to carry out one-on-one interviews.
When dealing with chief complaint, therapists with less experience tended to hastily address it, and use a cheerful tone of voice. They were also prone to utter the kind of words to avoid silence during a conversation, which resulted in obstructing the formation of interaction in therapy, and its continuation. By contrast, experienced therapists had the characteristic of not taking turns, and letting the client utter, and speaking at slow pace. When therapists intended to intently listen, there were fewer changes in turn taking, and therapists did not tend to actively work on the client. Furthermore, therapists flexibly corresponded to internal situations of clients when attempting to create a situation that is comfortable to talk. Consequently, clients were able to see and understand themselves.
In comparison between the five therapists at different level, following points were found. 1) Less experienced therapists dealt only with the topics that the client talked about. Experienced therapists tried to see what was behind the client's emotion, and inexperienced therapists tried to focus on it but tended to be monotonous. 3) There were differences in types of therapy techniques that the therapists used, and the appropriateness of choosing them.