Assimilation of traumatic experiences and physical-health outcomes: Cautions for the Pennebaker paradigm.

This study reports an application of the assimilation model, a theory of psychotherapeutic change, to an analogue study in which 43 students were asked to write for 20 minutes a day for 4 days ("Pennebaker paradigm") about a traumatic experience. Contrary to expectations based on previous research, participants who showed the greatest change in assimilation level and achieved the highest levels of assimilation during the study subsequently had more health-center visits than participants whose assimilation was less. Qualitative exploratory work suggested that there may be negative consequences of exposing traumatic experiences in the absence of supportive therapy to contain and fully integrate the experiences. A more measured approach to the benefits of brief exposition of traumatic experiences may be warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A method of rating assimilation in psychotherapy based on markers of change.

This article reports the development of a marker-based method for rating assimilation in psychotherapy with a case study of a woman, Sarah, who was treated for depression with process-experiential psychotherapy. To increase the rigor of the qualitative case study methodology, independent judges rated passages--taken out of context and randomly ordered--from the qualitative analysis. The authors examined levels of training required to make quantitative judgments by comparing ratings from 4 graduate students and 4 undergraduate students. Pooled reliabilities of the 2 groups of caters were high (.90 and .84), and the estimated reliability of single graduate student raters was acceptable (.70). Consistent findings across a series of related case studies are reviewed to address the generalizability of the findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assimilation of voices in psychotherapy: The case of Jan.

The authors present a marker-based method for tracking the assimilation of a previously outcast voice into the self, conceived as a community of voices. In a qualitative assimilation analysis of the case of Jan, a woman whose depressive symptoms abated in process experiential psychotherapy, the authors tracked 2 major themes, excerpted 43 relevant passages, and rated each passage on the Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Scale (APES). Ratings by 3 independent raters who used a marker-based APES manual were highly correlated with the investigators' consensus ratings. APES ratings tended to increase across sessions, as expected in successful therapy. The authors present passages to illustrate the assimilation of a voice of neediness and weakness by Jan's dominant superwoman voice and the assimilation of a voice of rebellion and assertiveness by Jan's dominant good-girl voice, yielding a more complex and flexible community. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assimilative integration and responsive use of the assimilation model.

The assimilation model offers a framework for clinically responsive decisions integrating different therapeutic approaches. The authors suggest that the assimilation model can guide assimilative integration by delineating clients' changing requirements over the course of psychotherapy and linking those requirements with techniques drawn from varied theoretical approaches. According to the model, an appropriate therapeutic response is one that meets client requirements at a given stage of assimilation and helps to shift the client's assimilation of a given problematic experience from 1 stage to the next. The authors offer guidelines and case illustrations of integration at 4 separate time frames of intervention: treatment assignment, treatment strategies, treatment tactics, and moment-to-moment responsiveness within an intervention. At each time frame, therapists monitor client requirements and respond with interventions most appropriate for the client's level of assimilation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reformulation of assimilation analysis in terms of voices.

This article explores the implications of a multivoiced construction of the self for the assimilation model (W. B. Stiles et al, 1991-10592-001). The result is a theoretical reformulation of the model in terms of voices. According to the reformulation, assimilation is conceived as a process of dialogue between a previously unwanted voice and a representative of the dominant community of voices. A successful dialogue reconciles the problematic voice with the community of voices that comprise the self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)