O IMPACTO SOBRE A PESSOA DO TERAPEUTA DO ATENDIMENTO AO CLIENTE BORDERLINE

Abstract

This research is an effort to explore, from a functional analytic perspective, the feelings that dealing with borderline clients causes in therapists. First, the therapeutic relationship is described as an instrument that can promote changes in the client s repertoires. This approach considers that if an individual behaves in relation to a therapist in the same way as he behaves in his daily life in relation to other people, these settings are functionally identical. So, changes in one context, will affect the others. Besides, the client s behaviors cause feelings in the therapist (a phenomenon known in psychotherapy literature as counter-transference) that can be used as cues about how other people feel in the client s daily life. So, the therapeutic relationship would be a context that makes in-vivo learning possible for the client, since the behavior can be immediately reinforced or weakened after its occurrence. Four behavioral therapists, who worked with borderline clients, took part in this research. The sessions were conducted weekly and lasted one hour each. Reports by the therapists concerning their feelings were recorded during semistructured interviews and during monthly supervisions with each therapist separately. All recordings were transcribed and explored according the methods of grounded theory. The results indicate that the therapists noted the occurrence of clinically relevant behaviors and countertransference in the therapeutic relationship. During supervision it was tried to lead the participants to use their own feelings (about the client) as cues to promote changes in clients behaviors. They reported that their clients punished many of their new behaviors they were coerced to continue reacting in ways that were complementary to the client s behaviors. The therapists what went back to behave in a way that was safe for them reinforced the problem behaviors of their clients. This counter-therapeutic behavior seems related to experiential avoidance. The results suggest that particular attention to interpersonal interactions during the session is important. It could avoid that the therapeutic relationship maintains the client s problems and can make it possible to take better advantage of the therapist s private responses.