Title
Autobiographical memory narratives in psychotherapy: A coding system applied to the case of Cynthia
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-9-2010
Abstract
Recent cognitive and psychodynamic oriented therapies have converged on the powerful role that narrative processing plays in psychotherapy. Although previous coding systems have examined specific aspects of memory narratives, there are no comprehensive methods for coding segments of clinical evaluations or psychotherapy sessions that zero in on the unit of a briefly recounted autobiographical memory narrative. The present single case study aims to introduce and to demonstrate the Coding System for Autobiographical Memory Narratives in Psychotherapy (CS-AMNP; Singer & Bonalume, 2008) with a young female client whom we call "Cynthia." We applied this autobiographical memory narrative approach to the diagnostic interview of Cynthia in evaluation for psychotherapy and compared predictions based on its results to the clinician’s report of Cynthia's actual therapeutic outcome. This study demonstrates the utility of the coding system for personality assessment and case conceptualization in the service of ongoing treatment. In addition, implications of this coding system for future research, clinical practice, and training are discussed.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
1
Recommended Citation
Singer, J. A., & Bonalume, L. (2010). Autobiographical memory narratives in psychotherapy: A coding system applied to the case of Cynthia. Pragmatic Case Studies In Psychotherapy, 6(3), 134-188.
The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.
Comments
Initially published in Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy, 2010, p134-188.
© 2010 by Rutgers University Libraries
PDF available at publishers website at: http://pcsp.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/pcsp/article/view/1041/2443