Setting (Psychology)

Psychoanalytic

In psychoanalysis, the term “setting” is used to determine the initial settings (necessary and sufficient conditions for a psychotherapy session). The number and name of these installations is strictly regulated:

1. Time - the frequency (frequency) and duration of sessions.
2. Location - a comprehensive concept that defines the territorial location, interior and furniture arrangement, the location of the client and the psychologist relative to each other (face to face, on the couch with his back to the therapist), the client's position in the consultation process (sitting, reclining, lying), etc.
3. Payment - the amount, method and frequency of payment for the services of a psychotherapist is set at the installation setting (initial consultation). It is assumed that making a payment not only contributes to the stability of the visit, but also sets the client's motivation for a positive result from the process of psychotherapy. ^[one]

The authors of the classic textbook Modern Psychoanalysis, H. Tome and H. Kächele, define setting as the organization of the analytical situation, including the frequency and duration of sessions, the possibility of phone calls and audio recordings, the situation in the therapist’s office, the use of a couch, etc.

O. Kernberg talks about the concept of a “psychoanalytic framework”: regularity of sessions, temporal and spatial organization of meetings, the rule of patient’s free associations, and the technical neutrality of the analyst.

The definition of psychological setting in the Psychological Encyclopedia says that setting "has a significant impact on the course of any therapeutic session, but its significance is not always recognized not only by clients, but also by many therapists." ^[2]

“... the setting describes the basic arrangement necessary for the treatment, it was considered as just a structural or physical premise plus a treatment contract and a code of conduct for the patient and therapist, without further clarification. That is, he did not seem to need further discussion - the setting is present everywhere, in different areas and situations. Freud was the first to describe the role of the psychoanalytic setting as a basic treatment platform; in a series of articles on the technique of psychoanalysis, he focused on this at some points. ” Therapeutic setting in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. G. Goldsmith ^[3]

“... any violation of the patient’s setting is not accidental, but there is a continuation of the patient’s deep unconscious problems that need to be analyzed, as well as the fact that for patients with asocial tendencies, setting the setting has a pronounced therapeutic effect.” On the therapeutic effect of the setting. V. A. Osipov ^[4]

The fulfillment of the setting conditions (initial settings) has many functions in the process of psychotherapy ^[1] :

• allows you to establish effective interaction;
• allows to achieve a greater therapeutic effect;
• self-organize the client, as well as the psychologist himself;
• motivates the client - adds interest;
• has an unconscious positive effect on the process of psychotherapy;
• and etc.

Changing the setting conditions is possible depending on the methodology used and the stage of the psychotherapeutic process. ^[1] Also, some special conditions may be advanced (but may also be rejected) by the therapist or even by the client himself.

With different categories of customers, a different setting can be used. ^[5]