Le Teorie Private di pazienti e analisti: uno studio esplorativo nella fase iniziale del trattamento

This study explores the “Private Theories” (PT) that patients and analysts develop at the beginning of treatment regarding psychological distress, its origins, and possible cures. Indeed, unconscious ideas and fantasies influence the therapeutic work from its early stages. To identify thematic clusters of PT, 18 interviews administered to 9 pairs of patients and analysts were analyzed using T- LAB software (Lancia, 2004). The emerging clusters were interpreted by independent coders and examined through visual analysis in terms of convergence-divergence. The results reveal four main PT clusters in both groups: (1) diagnostic-experiential, (2) crisis-impasse, (3) gratification-frustration of desire, and (4) relational-contextual. Higher convergence is observed on clusters (1) and (3). Results are discussed in relation to clinical intervention and psychoanalytic literature.