Application of the assimilation model in the context of couple therapy for depression : the case of Ralph and Rose

ABSTRACT This Master’s Thesis is part of the Dialogical and Narrative Processes in Couple Therapy for Depression project (DINADEP). In this case study the aim was to investigate how the assimilation model, a theory of psychological change, can be applied in couple therapy for depression. To further study the process of assimilation, individual changes were traced across 21 sessions in a couple therapy process of Ralph and Rose, a couple who came to therapy due to Ralph’s moderate depression and crisis in the relationship. The material of the research consisted of both qualitative and quantitative data: videotaped and transcribed couple therapy sessions and self-evaluation questionnaires. The Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Scale (APES) was utilized simultaneously with quantitative methods. It was found that assimilation model is a suitable method for a couple therapy setting. In addition, assimilation was tracked in four themes: one in Ralph’s case (disgust at sex) and three in Rose’s (feeling of responsibility, guilt, and fear of failure). Qualitative analysis of these themes suggested that Ralph reached assimilation level 5 (application and working-through) but ended up in lower levels at the end of therapy, thus his case was considered as an unsuccessful one. Rose progressed to the higher levels of assimilation and her case was considered as a successful one. The findings were analogous with previous studies in two ways: first, depressive symptoms improved in the successful case but not in the unsuccessful one, and second, assimilation analysis was amenable to be combined with qualitative and quantitative methods