Peripheral signatures of affect in psychotherapists: cardiac modulations during visualization of clinical sessions

Abstract

This research proposes an unprecedented multidimensional assessment of the behavioral, cardiac, and neurophysiological signatures of affective processing in professional psychotherapists. Specifically, we will focus on assessing their reactions to patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and two control conditions, namely: major depression (MD) and neutral affect. In this presentation, we will focus on data from our electrocardiographic and behavioral assessments Methods: The study involves 35 clinical psychologists and 35 matched controls. Participants watched the clinical sessions while we recorded emotion-sensitive peripheral measures (heart rate [HR] and heart-rate variability [HRV]). The naturalistic videos reflect dynamic interactions between a psychotherapist and patients with three profiles: ambivalent (BPD), mournful (MD), and neutral. Furthermore, we assessed the subjects' empathic and emotional regulation profiles with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, respectively.