Volume 26, Issue 3
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2017.1028
How do Introjective and Anaclitic Patients Speak? Microanalysis of the words used by depressive patients during the psychotherapeutic process
Abstract
The aim of this study was to describe and compare the linguistic style of a group of female patients according to type of symptoms (depressive and anxious), personality style (anaclitic and introjective) and the phase of the therapy (initial and final). A total sample of 125 sessions of 10 therapeutic processes were analyzed using the Spanish version of the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC). Depressed patients verbalized fewer words referred to ""Affective Processes"", compared to anxious patients. Likewise, the words referred to ""tentativeness"" were more used by introjective patients, and less when they presented depressive symptomatology. The implications of the findings for understanding the mechanisms underlying the verbalizations of patients during the psychotherapeutic process are discussed.
Keywords
Verbal expression, depression, personality style, linguistic style