Therapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology

Abstract Introduction Patient suicidality is a frequently experienced topic for psychotherapists. Especially adolescents with borderline personality pathology (BPP) often exhibit suicidal tendencies. Previous research which examined therapists’ countertransference towards suicidal patients suggested...

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Autores principales:	Vera Bühlmann, Susanne Schlüter-Müller, Lukas Fürer, Martin Steppan, Marc Birkhölzer, Klaus Schmeck, Julian Koenig, Michael Kaess, Ronan Zimmermann
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Psychotherapy Countertransference Adolescents Suicidality Stress Borderline personality pathology Psychiatry RC435-571
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/32309914391c40d0bf8c151536e3d184
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:32309914391c40d0bf8c151536e3d1842021-11-28T12:06:57ZTherapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology10.1186/s12888-021-03549-91471-244Xhttps://doaj.org/article/32309914391c40d0bf8c151536e3d1842021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03549-9https://doaj.org/toc/1471-244XAbstract Introduction Patient suicidality is a frequently experienced topic for psychotherapists. Especially adolescents with borderline personality pathology (BPP) often exhibit suicidal tendencies. Previous research which examined therapists’ countertransference towards suicidal patients suggested that therapists are negatively affected and distressed by them. We hypothesize that this emotional response of the therapists is related to specific sessions in which suicidality came up as a topic. Accordingly, the objective of this study consists in examining therapists’ emotional state on a session level of analysis. Methods The sample consisted of N = 21 adolescents (age 13–19 years) with BPD or subthreshold BPD. Therapists’ emotional states were measured in n = 418 sessions using the Session Evaluation Questionnaire. Principal component analysis was used to reduce dimensionality of the therapist response. The emotional states were compared depending on whether suicidality has been addressed in the session (SS) or not (NSS). Results Two components could be identified. Firstly, therapists were more aroused, excited, afraid, angry and uncertain after SS than after NSS. Secondly, therapists were more aroused, excited, definite and pleased after SS than after NSS. Discussion: Suicidality does not always have to be a burden for therapists: Both a “distress” and an “eustress” component occur in this context from which the latter is supposed to help clinicians master a difficult situation. Since countertransference feelings are often not fully conscious, it is necessary to do research on therapists’ emotional states after sessions in which suicidality is addressed. This is crucial to both prevent the therapeutic process from being endangered and preserve clinicians’ mental health. Clinical implications and limitations are discussed.Vera BühlmannSusanne Schlüter-MüllerLukas FürerMartin SteppanMarc BirkhölzerKlaus SchmeckJulian KoenigMichael KaessRonan ZimmermannBMCarticlePsychotherapyCountertransferenceAdolescentsSuicidalityStressBorderline personality pathologyPsychiatryRC435-571ENBMC Psychiatry, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Psychotherapy Countertransference Adolescents Suicidality Stress Borderline personality pathology Psychiatry RC435-571
spellingShingle	Psychotherapy Countertransference Adolescents Suicidality Stress Borderline personality pathology Psychiatry RC435-571 Vera Bühlmann Susanne Schlüter-Müller Lukas Fürer Martin Steppan Marc Birkhölzer Klaus Schmeck Julian Koenig Michael Kaess Ronan Zimmermann Therapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology
description	Abstract Introduction Patient suicidality is a frequently experienced topic for psychotherapists. Especially adolescents with borderline personality pathology (BPP) often exhibit suicidal tendencies. Previous research which examined therapists’ countertransference towards suicidal patients suggested that therapists are negatively affected and distressed by them. We hypothesize that this emotional response of the therapists is related to specific sessions in which suicidality came up as a topic. Accordingly, the objective of this study consists in examining therapists’ emotional state on a session level of analysis. Methods The sample consisted of N = 21 adolescents (age 13–19 years) with BPD or subthreshold BPD. Therapists’ emotional states were measured in n = 418 sessions using the Session Evaluation Questionnaire. Principal component analysis was used to reduce dimensionality of the therapist response. The emotional states were compared depending on whether suicidality has been addressed in the session (SS) or not (NSS). Results Two components could be identified. Firstly, therapists were more aroused, excited, afraid, angry and uncertain after SS than after NSS. Secondly, therapists were more aroused, excited, definite and pleased after SS than after NSS. Discussion: Suicidality does not always have to be a burden for therapists: Both a “distress” and an “eustress” component occur in this context from which the latter is supposed to help clinicians master a difficult situation. Since countertransference feelings are often not fully conscious, it is necessary to do research on therapists’ emotional states after sessions in which suicidality is addressed. This is crucial to both prevent the therapeutic process from being endangered and preserve clinicians’ mental health. Clinical implications and limitations are discussed.
format	article
author	Vera Bühlmann Susanne Schlüter-Müller Lukas Fürer Martin Steppan Marc Birkhölzer Klaus Schmeck Julian Koenig Michael Kaess Ronan Zimmermann
author_facet	Vera Bühlmann Susanne Schlüter-Müller Lukas Fürer Martin Steppan Marc Birkhölzer Klaus Schmeck Julian Koenig Michael Kaess Ronan Zimmermann
author_sort	Vera Bühlmann
title	Therapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology
title_short	Therapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology
title_full	Therapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology
title_fullStr	Therapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology
title_full_unstemmed	Therapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology
title_sort	therapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/32309914391c40d0bf8c151536e3d184
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Therapists’ emotional state after sessions in which suicidality is addressed: need for improved management of suicidal tendencies in patients with borderline personality pathology

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