The efficacy of sculpting in brief, problem-focused systemic therapy

Sculpting has been used as an interventive process for a number of years in marital and family therapy. The theoretical rationale for sculpting is compelling with respect to the metaphoric nature of the process as well as its kinesic component. This study was an initial empirical investigation of the efficacy of sculpting as employed in a brief, problem-focused model of systemic therapy. Experienced family therapists received three days of intensive training in sculpting from a recognized expert. Each therapist saw moderately distressed couples/families and served as his/her own control by having control as well as experimental cases. Both process and outcome data were collected. In terms of process, it was found that clients had favorable responses to sculpting. Further, clients were more likely to express agreement with their therapists by levels of perceived alliance with their therapists as well the end of and immediately after the sculpting processes than they were immediately preceding the process. Nonetheless, clients in both treatment groups had comparable as satisfaction with therapy (an outcome measure). Clients in the sculpting (experimental) group were not shown to have higher levels of acceptance or understanding in comparison to the nonsculpting (control) group. In terms of therapy outcome, both treatment groups exhibited comparable levels of improvement in alleviation of presenting problems as measured by the goal attainment scale. The ENRICH test did not show appreciable gains in perceived marital quality on eleven of thirteen subscales for either treatment group, however, it did show that couples in the sculpting group were more dysfunctional than were couples in the control group. This issue and other issues such as therapist factors, client factors, sample size, ceiling effect, and common factors in therapy are addressed in the interpretation of these findings. Recommendations are made for future research on sculpting in light of the findings presented