Safety in control-mastery theory

Article Psychology, Clinical

The therapeutic effects of the therapists' ability to pass their patients' tests in psychotherapy

Ramona Fimiani et al.

Summary: According to CMT, patients have an unconscious plan to disprove their pathogenic beliefs and achieve adaptive goals in therapy. The study found that therapists' responses that disconfirmed patients' pathogenic beliefs were predictive of patients' progress within the session, and correlated with the therapeutic alliance.

PSYCHOTHERAPY RESEARCH (2023)

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Article Psychology, Clinical

The plan formulation method: An empirically validated and clinically useful procedure applied to a clinical case of a patient with a severe personality disorder

Francesco Gazzillo et al.

Summary: This paper uses the PFM to analyze the initial psychotherapy sessions of Geena, a 30-year-old outpatient with borderline personality disorder and relational and substance abuse problems. The PFM helps identify a family of pathogenic beliefs in Geena and explains how she worked with the therapist to disprove these beliefs. It illustrates how the PFM can assist therapists in identifying helpful information and interventions for patients.

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY (2022)

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Article

The Plan Formulation Method from Control Mastery Theory and Management of Countertransference

Francesco Gazzillo et al.

Psychodynamic Psychiatry (2022)

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Article Psychology, Psychoanalysis

The adaptive unconscious in psychoanalysis

Jessica Leonardi et al.

Summary: The paper emphasizes the fundamental role of unconscious processes in adaptation, discussing how unconscious processes can perform higher mental functions and introducing the control-mastery theory as an integrated, relational, cognitive-dynamic theory.

INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF PSYCHOANALYSIS (2022)

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Article Psychology, Clinical

The Adaptive Function of Fantasy: A Proposal From the Perspective of Control-Mastery Theory

Martina Rodomonti et al.

Summary: This paper explores the evolution of the psychoanalytic conception of fantasy/phantasy, highlighting the shift from denial of reality to a tool for adaptation. Recent empirical research findings show that imagination and mental simulation are expressions of the psyche's constant effort to pursue adaptive goals and solve problems, aligning with the control-mastery theory.

PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOLOGY (2021)

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Article Psychology, Clinical