Therapeutic cycles and referential activity in the analysis of the therapeutic process

The present study was designed to show the usefulness of a process analysis based on a joint use of two computerized methods - Mergenthaler's Therapeutic Cycle Model (TCM) and Bucci's Italian Weighted Referential Activity Dictionary (IWRAD). This analysis focused on the transcripts of six sessions from the first eight months of a three-year, face-to-face psychodynamic psychotherapy. Both qualitative and quantita-tive analyses were conducted. Results showed the presence of specific indicators of a good outcome, according to the two approaches, such as the patient's ability to link reflective processes and felt emotions, the occurrence of referential cycles, and the presence of organized and coherent narratives. © 2012 Italian Area Group of the Society for Psychotherapy Research.