The above graph depicts a session of psychoanalysis. Areas where the green line (which depicts Referential Activity using the Weighted Referential Activity Dictionary) is at a peak, and the blue line (which shows the speaker's use of reflection words, e.g. think, plan, reason) is in a valley, indicate moments when the speaker is immersed in the narrative she is telling. Follow these links for more information about the Discourse Attributes Analysis Program that was used to generate this graph, and Wilma Bucci's Multiple Code Theory and theory of the Referential Process, which serve as the theoretical basis for these measures. Click on the graph for an enlarged view.
Dr. Wilma Bucci discusses the nature of her theoretical and experimental work in cognitive science and her attempts to build bridges among various fields that study the mind, including cognitive science, affective neuroscience, clinical psychology and psychotherapy, particularly psychodynamic psychotherapy.
How Does the Psychoanalytic Process Work? New Perspectives from Cognitive Science and Affective Neuroscience
An Online Continuing Education Course by Wilma Bucci, Ph.D.
The psychoanalytic treatment process, involving exploration of emotional experience in the context of a relationship, has informed all types of psychotherapy being practiced today. Its impact can be seen in behavioral, interpersonal and experiential therapies, as well as the many different forms of psychodynamic treatment. Freud was prescient in many respects in his theory of the treatment process; as in any complex theory, however, the basic premises and their therapeutic applications need to be continuously open to examination and revision in the light of new scientific knowledge. This course will formulate a modern theory of the psychoanalytic treatment process, and its various changing forms, in the light of current work in cognitive science and affective neuroscience.