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Cited by 249Psychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsPsychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 65 of the 65 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Effect of alexithymia on the process and outcome of psychotherapy: A programmatic review

Ogrodniczuk, John S., Piper, William E., Joyce, Anthony S.·2011·Psychiatry Research
DOI 10.1016/j.psychres.2010.04.026
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Abstract

Most psychotherapeutic approaches assume that individuals have some access to their emotions. Thus, patients who are unable to identify, differentiate, and articulate their emotions present therapists with a difficult challenge. Such patients may suffer from alexithymia. Despite much attention in the clinical literature, research on alexithymia in the treatment setting has been sparse. Thus, many of the assumptions about psychotherapeutic treatment of alexithymic patients remain untested. This article summarizes findings from a series of studies that examined the effect of alexithymia on various aspects of the psychotherapeutic enterprise. Findings indicated that alexithymia has little effect on patients' treatment preferences, yet there was some tendency for alexithymic patients to prefer group therapy. However, alexithymia was associated with poor outcome in both traditional psychodynamic psychotherapy and supportive therapy. This negative effect was found in individual and group psychotherapies. In the context of group therapy, higher levels of alexithymic features elicited negative reactions from one's therapist, which partially contributed to the poor outcome experienced by such patients. Finally, the negative reaction that therapists had toward patients with high alexithymia appeared to be in response to the lack of positive emotion expressed by these patients. Clinical implications and ideas for future research are considered.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.psychres.2010.04.026

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Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Kleinberg, 1996, Working with alexithymic patients in groups, Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, 13, 76
  2. Suslow, 2001, A critique of the construct of “alexithymia” and its measurement — the weakness of self-report and the opportunities of an objective assessment approach, Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, 2, 153

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Metadata

Authors
Ogrodniczuk, J. S., Piper, W. E., & Joyce, A. S.
Affiliations
  • University of British Columbia (CA)
  • University of Alberta (CA)
Corresponding author
Ogrodniczuk, John S.
ORCID
Venue
Psychiatry Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-11
Volume
190
Issue
1
Pages
43-48
ISSN
0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.psychres.2010.04.026
OpenAlex
W2098604952
Cited by
249
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 3
FWCI
5.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Keywords
alexithymia, psychotherapy outcome, treatment preferences, group therapy, individual psychotherapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, supportive therapy, therapist reactions, emotional awareness, positive emotions
MeSH terms
Affective Symptoms, Humans, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychotherapy, Treatment Outcome

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