Transformational Process Scale: An Initial Validation and Application to the First Psychotherapy Session

In order to understand the process of emotional transformation in psychotherapy, the development of objective measures of patient emotional processing that capture clinically important aspects of the patient affective state is crucial. The Transformational Process Scale (TPS) is an observer-based measure of patient emotional processing based on the phenomenology of transformation in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) that captures the process of emotional change in four sequential phases of distinct affective experiences. TPS categorizes 1-min segments of therapy sessions into one of the four states and also notes the intensity of the emotion experienced on a 5-point Likert scale. One of its unique features is that it categorizes different classes of positive emotions. This paper details the TPS and its empirical utility. First, the theoretical background of the scale is described. Second, an initial validation study is presented. Third, the scale is illustrated with clinical vignettes representing each state of TPS. As an initial validation of the TPS scale, a subset of sessions was scored by two raters. A satisfactory level of interrater reliability at the level of the four major affective categories and their intensity was demonstrated. The TPS ratings showed that productive first sessions involved higher frequency and intensity of classes of positive emotions. Public Health Significance Statement This study demonstrated the reliability of the Transformational Process Scale, an observer-based measure of patient emotional processing during psychotherapy. This measure is based on the phenomenology of patient's transformation in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy. One of the measure's unique features is that it categorizes different classes of positive emotions. The TPS ratings can differentiate productive first sessions from less productive ones in both frequency and intensity of core affective phenomena and transformational affects. Patients experience a variety of positive emotions from the first session of psychotherapy, while in less productive sessions, the expression of secondary distress and defensive affects is more prevalent. 转变过程量表：对第一次心理咨询疗程的最初的运用和验证为了理解心理治疗中情绪转化的过程，开发能够捕捉患者重要临床情感状态中的情绪处理的客观测量方法至关重要。转化过程量表 (TPS) 是基于加速体验式动态心理治疗 (AEDP) 中转化现象学的一种根据观察者的患者情绪处理测量方法，它捕捉不同情感体验的四个连续阶段中的情绪变化过程。 TPS 将 1 分钟的治疗环节归类为四种状态之一，并且还用5 分李克特量表记录了 所经历的情绪强度。它的独特之处之一是它对不同类别的积极情绪进行了分类。本文详细介绍了 TPS 及其实证效用。首先，阐述了该量表的理论背景。其次，提出了初步验证研究。第三，该量表用代