Does Interpretation of Transference Affect Psychotherapy Outcome?

Scientific examination of the effective ingredients of psychodynamic psychotherapy is notoriously difficult to conduct. These Swedish researchers randomized 100 patients deemed suitable for exploratory psychodynamic psychotherapy to receive 1 year of psychotherapy (45-minute weekly sessions) with a “moderate” level of transference interpretations (1–3 per session) or psychotherapy without such interpretations.

Patients had depressive, anxiety, or personality disorders, interpersonal problems, or combinations of these. Therapists had 10 to 25 years of experience. To achieve treatment fidelity, therapists were trained in the two modes for up to 4 years, and taped sessions were evaluated by raters blinded to assignment. Assessments were indexes…