Factors Associated to Adherence to Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: a qualitative study

Abstract

Given its high prevalence, dropping out from psychotherapy has been a widely discussed phenomenon among therapists and researchers. Considering the negative consequences of early termination for both patients, therapists and health services, this study aims to understand factors that favor adherence to psychoanalytic / psychodynamic psychotherapy. Six former patients from a training institute in psychoanalytic psychotherapy who concluded their therapy in agreement with their therapists at the most 12 months ago were interviewed. The content of the interviews was transcribed and analyzed by clinical-qualitative methodology. The corpus generated four categories and seven subcategories, which were discussed based on the psychoanalytic / psychodynamic framework. The main facilitators of adherence were the relationship and therapeutic alliance, aspects related to the setting, the characteristics of both therapist and patient, as well as the perception of change during the process. The results may assist therapists in their practice, contributing to minimize such high rates of dropout, and help their patients to derive the maximum possible benefit from the intervention.