TY - JOUR

T1 - Mirroring patients – or not

T2 - A study of general practitioners and psychiatrists and their interactions with patients with depression.

AU - Davidsen, Annette Sofie

AU - Fosgerau, Christina Fogtmann

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - For mentalization theorists, implicit mentalization is a key component ofall forms of therapy. However, it has been difficult to grasp and to describeprecisely how implicit mentalization works. It is said to take place partlyby mirroring others in posture, facial expression and vocal tone. Based onstudies of imitative behaviour within linguistics and psychology, we arguethat interactional mirroring is an important aspect of displaying implicitmentalization. We aimed to explore if, and in that case how, mirroring isdisplayed by general practitioners (GPs) and psychiatrists in consultationswith patients with depression. We wanted to see how implicit mentalizingunfolds in physician–patient interactions. Consultations were videorecordedand analysed within the framework of conversation analysis. GPsand psychiatrists differed substantially in their propensity to mirror bodymovements and verbal and acoustic features of speech. GPs mirrored theirpatients more than psychiatrists in all modalities and were more flexible intheir interactional behaviour. Psychiatrists seemed more static, regardlessof the emotionality displayed by patients. Implicitly mirroring and attuningto patients could signify enactment of implicit mentalization, according tohow it is described by mentalization theorists. We discuss reasons for thedifferences between GPs and psychiatrists, and their implications.

AB - For mentalization theorists, implicit mentalization is a key component ofall forms of therapy. However, it has been difficult to grasp and to describeprecisely how implicit mentalization works. It is said to take place partlyby mirroring others in posture, facial expression and vocal tone. Based onstudies of imitative behaviour within linguistics and psychology, we arguethat interactional mirroring is an important aspect of displaying implicitmentalization. We aimed to explore if, and in that case how, mirroring isdisplayed by general practitioners (GPs) and psychiatrists in consultationswith patients with depression. We wanted to see how implicit mentalizingunfolds in physician–patient interactions. Consultations were videorecordedand analysed within the framework of conversation analysis. GPsand psychiatrists differed substantially in their propensity to mirror bodymovements and verbal and acoustic features of speech. GPs mirrored theirpatients more than psychiatrists in all modalities and were more flexible intheir interactional behaviour. Psychiatrists seemed more static, regardlessof the emotionality displayed by patients. Implicitly mirroring and attuningto patients could signify enactment of implicit mentalization, according tohow it is described by mentalization theorists. We discuss reasons for thedifferences between GPs and psychiatrists, and their implications.

U2 - 10.1080/13642537.2015.1027785

DO - 10.1080/13642537.2015.1027785

M3 - Journal article

VL - 17

SP - 162

EP - 178

JO - European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling

JF - European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling

SN - 1364-2537

IS - 2

ER -