Emotional safety atmosphere

Abstract «Emotional security in psychotherapy»

Maxim A. Goncharov

Many authors emphasize, that still it is not clear how the changes have been made by psychotherapy. There are big varieties of effective influences which effectiveness is often not noted & is not taken into account.

The main force of different directions of psychotherapy is “psychotherapist – patient” relationship system.  Then general factors of psychotherapy depend on style and strategy of psychotherapist behaviour. J.M. Lewis (1998) indicates that although relations can be a corrective experience, its mode of operation is not known.

Resent research has showed that main variable of the psychotherapeutic process is not the technique but the man who applies this technique, the psychotherapist it self. The psychotherapists of different schools are very similar in the ideal style of performance with the patients (Orlinsky et all., 1996). Never the less, the main part of psychotherapist behaviour in psychotherapy process still is not clear and far from objective assessment. Without analyzing, describing and understanding these factors, psychotherapy can not really be successful and “helping relations” (Luborsky L., 1988) will not be effective. 

Lots of authors emphasize the importance of emotional security atmosphere in psychotherapy. Each individual seeks a central relationship in which to find security, satisfaction, and meaning. Weiss (1993) tells, that «first task of psychotherapist – is to help the patient feel secure». The therapeutic requirements in accordance to therapeutic relationship provide the patient with the sense of security, which is necessary to cope with the problem. If these communication skills have provided adequate respect, information and overview, they provide for a sense of safety and trust. Safety is the feeling experienced when you know that one’s boundaries will be respected, that you are regarded by others with caring, and that you have sufficient information about an event or person to predict possible futures. Feeling safe with someone, you can risk revealing the aspects of yourself with which you are uncomfortable so as to examine then with him or her. The essence of good therapy is the capacity of the therapist to provide for safety by his or her own skills in communicating the validation, ownership, differentiation, progress and context with humour and inquiry to help the patients change. Indeed, J. Kottler notes that majority of the psychotherapist pay a lot of attention to the process of making secure and convenient atmosphere in which the client could try new ways of functioning. Making atmosphere of security and emotional support in communication with the patient, psychotherapist provides patient with mechanism of identification which decreases uncertainty, increases self-confidence through unconscious borrowing therapist’s strengths, optimism and ability to cope with the difficulties. Professional psychotherapist can create an atmosphere, where the patient would feel himself being in security, accepted and understood. Hence, the emotional security phenomenon needs to be investigated and described with the aim to clarify its role for psychotherapeutic relationship. 

On the basis of different researches we have chosen 9 criteria that are needed to establish effective emotional security atmosphere. It is laid on the personality capacities of the psychotherapist which were recognized in psychotherapy field as necessary condition for creating “helping relationship”. 

1. The capacity to understand someone emotions
2. The capacity to listen others
3. The capacity to stay in contact with own emotions
4. The capacity to transfer emotions constructively
5. The capacity to focus on the future salvation of the problem, to see a chance
6. The capacity to see someone resources
7. The capacity to set freedom to respond
8. The capacity to give someone time
9. The capacity to stay patient

In the research a strong correlation between level of emotional security and the patient experience of psychotherapeutic relationship was found.