Dynamical Systems Research (DSR) in Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Review of Empirical Results and Their Clinical Implications

Abstract

In psychotherapy research, the first applications of dynamical systems research (DSR) date back to the 1990s. Over time, DSR has developed three main lines of research: the study of oscillations in synchronization; the study of oscillations between stability and flexibility of process variables (S–F oscillations); the mathematical modeling to analyze the evolution of psychotherapy process. However, the connections among the empirical results and their implications for psychotherapy practice are unclear. For this reason, for the first time in the literature, this work carries out a comprehensive review of all three lines of research, including the main scientific contributions from the 1990s to the present day. For each line of research, the work critically analyzes the results, proposes future developments, and underlines the connections between empirical results and implications for psychotherapy practice. Furthermore, the work highlights the model of change that emerges from the empirical results, and its clinical correlates. In the conclusions, the author summarizes the results and the evolution of psychotherapy process in accordance with the DSR.

Keywords

• psychotherapy research
• dynamic systems
• change process
• process–outcome research
• dynamics of change