Computer-Assisted Content Analysis

"This paper provides an overview of the current state of the art in computer-assisted content analysis (CACA). First, background, history and a model of CACA will be given, the dichotomy of qualitative versus quantitative is addressed, and a new understanding, the 'marker view' leading to a more general Text Analysis is introduced. Subsequent chapters provide a definition of terms and cover issues of size of scoring units, and the development of computerized coding to replace well established manual rating systems. The paper concludes with the description of a recently developed computer-assisted text analysis methodology to describe psychotherapeutic processes." (author's abstract

Unconventional metaphors and emotional-cognitive regulation in a metacognitive interpersonal therapy

This study investigates the relationship between unconventional (i.e., creative) metaphors and emotional-cognitive regulation in a metacognitive interpersonal therapy (MIT). The occurrence of unconventional metaphor was identified using the Metaphor Analysis in Psychotherapy (MAP) model, and emotional-cognitive regulation was assessed by the Therapeutic Cycles Model (TCM). The results showed that the dyad’s frequency of unconventional metaphors is significantly related to emotional-cognitive integration, reflective processes and moments of therapeutic engagement based on the quality of such regulation. More specifically, client metaphors were associated with emotional-cognitive integration and moments of therapeutic engagement, while therapist metaphors were associated with reflective processes. The results suggest that unconventional metaphors may be considered markers for different cognitive-emotional regulatory processes and moments of heightened therapeutic work and change in MIT

Coincidência de conexão do tom emocional com abstração e o resultado psicoterapêutico

O estudo objetivou testar a afirmação de que "pacientes que não têm êxito em conectar suas emoções com cognição durante suas terapias provavelmente não melhorarão". Dois processos de psicoterapias psicodinâmicas breves, um bem-sucedido e outro malsucedido, foram analisados com o Modelo dos Ciclos Terapêuticos. O Modelo dos Ciclos Terapêuticos é um método de análise de texto por computador que permite identificar padrões de emoção-abstração na narrativa de interlocutores. Quatro padrões são identificados: Relaxamento, Experiência, Reflexão e Conexão. Momentos clinicamente significantes são mais associados à Conexão. Levantou-se a hipótese de que o caso bem-sucedido apresentaria maior proporção de Conexão. Quanto à Reflexão, ao Relaxamento e à Experiência, não eram esperadas diferenças. Encontrou-se maior proporção de Conexão e de Relaxamento no caso bem- sucedido, e diferenças não significantes em Reflexão e Experiência. Considerações sobre a magnitude das mudanças, valência das emoções e abstrações e sequência de ocorrência dos padrões sugerem novas análises

Exploring the relationship between reflective function and recovery process of borderline users on Instagram: a multimethod study through computerized and thematic analysis

The use of computerized stylistic measures, which allows to evaluate psychological states from linguistic markers (Mergenthaler & Bucci, 1999), is increasing in clinical psychology research (Mariani et al., 2013). As for our knowledge, despite the extensive research on offline narratives of borderline patients (BPD) (Bateman & Fonagy, 2004), no studies on reflective functioning (RF) in online social networks have been conducted using computerized language style analysis. Furthermore, while there is an increasing interest in the recovery-oriented approach (Maone & D'avanzo, 2015), there are few studies on the experience of recovery in BPD (Ng, Bourke & Grenyer, 2016). This study aims to evaluate the reflective style in narratives shared online by borderline users and to investigate its relation to the users’ recovery process. The participants were 14 active Instagram users (Hu et al., 2014) with a self-reported diagnosis of BPD. Two groups of users were distinguished on the basis of the hashtags #BPD and #BPDrecovery. Seventy randomized narratives were extracted from users accounts, 35 in each group. A multi-method approach was adopted: 1) computerized reflective functioning (CRF) (Fertuck et al., 2012), a stylistic analysis of RF that identifies RF related lexical markers from transcribed or written text 2) a thematic analysis of recovery processes by using the theoretical framework CHIME (Leamy et al., 2011), which identifies five recovery processes of different complexity (e.g. hope and optimism, meaning and purpose, etc.). The results indicated that the narratives of the #BPDrecovery group were significantly more reflective (p=0.02) than those of the #BPD group. Moreover, the #BPDrecovery group presented more advanced recovery processes than the #BPD group. Overall, these results suggest that a multi-method analysis approach may allow a more thorough understanding of the relationship between RF and recovery in an online setting

Reflective functioning and personal recovery process of users with borderline personality disorder on Instagram: An explorative study using computerized and thematic analysis

Although recent literature has stated that mentalizing (or reflective functioning; RF) promoted the clinical recovery (symptomatic remission; CR) of individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD), to our knowledge, there have been no studies that analyzed the relationship between RF and a process more complex than CR, namely personal recovery (PR) - a deep and unique process of change in one's attitudes, values, feelings, goals and/or roles. Furthermore, while there have been a few studies concerning PR of BPD individuals, but to date none analyzed PR of BPD individuals through online narratives shared on social media platforms. This study investigates the relationship between RF and PR of 14 Instagram users with a self-reported diagnosis of BPD. Two groups of users were distinguished on the basis of hashtags, #bpd and #bpdrecovery. Seventy randomized text posts (5 from each user) were extracted from users' profiles: 35 from the #bpd group and 35 from #bpdrecovery. Two methods of analysis were applied: i) a thematic analysis, by using the theoretical framework CHIME, which identifies five dimensions of PR; and ii) a stylistic analysis of RF utilizing computerized reflective functioning (CRF), which identifies RF lexical markers. Results indicate that the #bpdrecovery group presented more dimensions of PR, and that its posts showed a significantly higher RF than the #bpd group. These findings suggest that RF could be involved in the PR of BPD individuals, thus mentalization-based treatment could be effective in supporting PR processes and enhancing the impaired RF in BPD users even in the online context