Articoli Scientifici

This study explored the relationship between different types of interpersonal guilt as conceived according to control-mastery theory and emotion dysregulation, mentalization, frustration intolerance, and body appreciation. We recruited 200 participants to whom we administered the Interpersonal Guilt Rating Scale-20, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale–Short Form, the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire-8, the Frustration Discomfort Scale, the Body Appreciation Scale-2, and a sociodemographic schedule. The data revealed that self-hate and burdening guilt were positively associated with emotion dysregulation and negatively associated with body appreciation. Frustration intolerance correlated with burdening guilt, while mentalization impairments were linked to self-hate. Both constructs also positively correlated with separation/disloyalty guilt. The findings of this study underline the association between several guilt-related pathogenic beliefs and relevant psychopathological factors such as emotional dysregulation, mentalization difficulties, frustration intolerance, and body dissatisfaction. Among the pathogenic beliefs investigated, a particular role is played by the belief that one is bad, inadequate, and undeserving; the belief that one’s own emotions, needs, and way of being is a burden to other people; and the beliefs that separating physically or psychologically from important others may hurt them. The clinical implications of these finds are discussed.

According to Control-Mastery Theory, patients attend therapy with an unconscious plan to achieve adaptive goals and disprove their pathogenic beliefs. One important way patients work to disconfirm these beliefs is by testing them. Moreover, patients coach their therapists on what they need at different times during their treatment. The aim of this study is to expand the results of previous studies suggesting that therapists’ responses that support patients’plan predict progress. We investigated whether therapists’ ability to pass patients’ tests correlated with patients’ improvement in the following session and whether their ability to follow patients’ coaches correlated with immediate improvement. Transcriptions of 98 sessions from six brief psychodynamic psychotherapies wer assessed by 12 independent raters. The patients’ plans were formulated, and tests and coaching communications were identified. The accuracy of the therapist’s responses to these tests and coaches was rated, and the impact of the therapist’s interventions on the patient’s following communication was measured. The results showed that when a therapist’s intervention passes a patient’s tests, patients show signs of improvement both immediately and in the following session, and when therapists follow patients’ coaches, patients show signs of immediate improvement. The clinical implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.

The aim of this paper is to explore the theoretical and clinical features of burdening guilt according to control-mastery theory (CMT), an integrative, relational cognitive-dynamic theory of mental functioning, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. CMT posits that burdening guilt stems from the belief that one’s emotions, needs, and way of being are a burden to significant others. After having introduced some research data about the belief of being a burden to others, we will point out how CMT explains this belief in light of a coherent theory of development, emphasizing its connection with early traumatic or adverse experiences with caregivers that give rise to the formation of pathogenic beliefs. These beliefs are mostly unconscious, and influence the way people make sense of themselves and their reality, giving rise to symptoms, inhibitions, and maladaptive personality traits that obstruct the achievement of healthy and adaptive goals. We will then compare burdening guilt with omnipotent responsibility guilt and self-hate, highlighting the points of contact and the differences between these types of interpersonal guilt. Subsequently, we will point out the “double nature” of burdening guilt, describing how it represents both a self-blame for what one is, and the expression of the need to take care of important others. Finally, we will propose a clinical vignette to illustrate some manifestations of burdening guilt in the therapeutic context.

Burdening guilt refers to the belief that one’s emotions, needs, and ways of being are a burden to others, and is one type of interpersonal guilt proposed by the control-mastery theory (CMT). The aim of this article is to validate two new measures of burdening guilt. In the two studies conducted, we examined the psychometric properties of these scales and the relationship between bur- dening guilt and self-perceived burden (burdensomeness), self-esteem, shame, anxiety, depression, mental health, attachment insecurity, adverse childhood experiences, social desirability, empathy, and suicidal ideation. In Study 1, we presented a newly developed Burdening Guilt Rating Scale (BGRS) and its correlation with measures of the abovementioned dimensions. In Study 2 we verified, through confirmatory factor analysis and correlation techniques, the possibility of expanding the Interpersonal Guilt Rating Scale-15 with a shorter, 5-item burdening guilt scale derived from the BGRS, and showed that this shorter scale correlates similarly to the longer one. Findings allowed us to validate these new scales providing empirical measures of burdening guilt—a theoretical concept with important clinical implications.

According to Control-Mastery Theory (CMT)—a cognitive-dynamic relational theory of mental functioning, psychopathology, and psychotherapy—patients come to therapy with an unconscious plan to disprove their pathogenic beliefs and achieve adaptive goals. One of the primary ways patients work to disconfirm their pathogenic beliefs is by testing them within the therapeutic relationship. The present study aimed to replicate and expand the results of previous studies suggesting that therapists’ responses that disconfirmed patient’s pathogenic beliefs were predictive of patients’ within-session progress. Moreover, we wanted to investigate whether these interventions correlated with the therapeutic alliance. Transcriptions of 81 sessions from five brief psychodynamic psychotherapies were assessed by 11 independent raters. For each case, the patient’s plan was formulated and tests identified, the accuracy of the therapist’s responses to these tests was rated, and the impact of the therapist’s interventions on the patient’s subsequent communications and their relationship with the therapeutic alliance was measured. The results supported the central hypothesis of the CMT that when the therapist’s interventions passed the patient’s tests, the patient showed signs of improvement. Moreover, the ability of the therapist to pass the patient’s tests correlated with the therapeutic alliance. The clinical implications and the limitations of these findings are discussed, together with the relevance of a good case formulation for clinicians’ optimal responsiveness.

The aim of this article is to empirically investigate the relationships among interpersonal guilt, as conceived within control-mastery theory (CMT), and attachment, altruism, and personality pathology in an English-speaking sample. An online sample of 393 participants was recruited to complete the Interpersonal Guilt Rating Scale self-report version-15 (IGRS-15s), together with other empirically validated measures for the assessment of attachment, altruism, and personality pathology. On the basis of previous studies conducted in Italian-speaking samples, we hypothesized that survivor guilt, separation/disloyalty guilt, and omnipotent responsibility guilt would be associated with attachment anxiety and avoidance, altruism, and personality pathology; self-hate was hypothesized to be associated only with attachment anxiety and avoidance and personality pathology. Analyses examined bivariate associations as well as the network of partial correlations among variables. The results largely confirmed hypothesized associations, with self-hate evincing the strongest unique association with personality dysfunction. Findings provide a basis for further research regarding interpersonal guilt and personality and relational functioning, with potential implications for clinical conceptualizations of the role of guilt in psychopathology.

This paper aims to emphasize the fundamental role of unconscious processes in our adaptation. We will point out how we are able to unconsciously perform higher mental functions such as setting goals and planning how to pursue them, dealing with complex data, and making choices and judgments. In the first part of this paper, we will describe the main features of conscious and unconscious processes as pointed out by recent empirical research studies, and we will see how safety is essential in pursuing our fundamental goals, and how unconscious mental processes are strongly oriented towards preserving our safety and pursuing these goals. Finally, we will discuss control-mastery theory (CMT), an integrative, relational, cognitive-dynamic theory of mental functioning, psychopathology, and psychotherapy processes developed by Joseph Weiss and empirically validated by Weiss, Harold Sampson, and the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group over the last 50 years. This conceptualizes unconscious processes starting from this “higher unconscious mental functioning” paradigm and, in accordance with research data, stresses that our main goal is to adapt to reality and pursue adaptive developmental goals while preserving our safety. Three clinical vignettes will help show how the concepts proposed by CMT have important implications for therapeutic process.

“Dottoressa, in questo sono identico a mia madre”, oppure “mi ha ferito molto il suo essere così e mi sono ripromessa che nella vita sarei stata l’esatto opposto di mio padre”, sono frasi che credo ognuno di noi, pensando alla propria pratica clinica, può richiamare facilmente alla mente. E spesso, altrettanto facilmente, i pazienti sono in grado di fare questo tipo di associazioni senza troppe sollecitazioni da parte nostra, in linea con la tendenza inconscia della nostra mente a rilevare pattern e a giungere rapidamente a conclusioni (Kahneman, 2011). C’è un piano però molto più sottile e profondo di cui i pazienti invece non sono affatto consapevoli: il modo in cui quelle che loro trovano semplici similitudini guidi e orienti inconsciamente i loro pensieri, sentimenti e comportamenti e quale sia nello specifico la funzione che esse hanno.

Impostor phenomenon (Clance, 1985) refers to the psychological experience of individuals who perceive themselves as intellectual frauds and fear of being exposed as impostors. Previous studies suggest that the fear of failure, the fear of success, and low self-esteem are preconditions that foster the occurrence of impostor feelings (e.g., Neureiter & Traut-Mattausch, 2016). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the impostor phenomenon and interpersonal guilt as conceived in Control-Mastery Theory (Faccini et al., 2020), and their association with anxiety and depression. 343 subjects completed the Interpersonal Guilt Rating Scale-15s (IGRS-15s; Faccini et al, 2020), the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS; Clance, 1985), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger et al., 1983), and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II; Beck et al., 1996). As expected, impostor phenomenon was significantly associated with self-hate, survivor guilt and omnipotence guilt. The hypothesis that these kinds of guilt and the impostor phenomenon can contribute to anxiety and depression has also been confirmed. This study suggests that people who experience impostor fears struggle with maladaptive feelings of guilt related to pathogenic beliefs about oneself and significant others, favoring depression and anxiety. Therefore, working on these aspects can be essential in treating these patients.

aim of this article is to propose an interpretation of pathological worry and rumination based on the control-mastery theory (CMT), an integrative, relational cognitive-dynamic theory of mental functioning, psychopathology, and psychotherapy process developed by Joseph Weiss and empirically verified by Weiss, Harold Sampson, and the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group over the last 50 years. In the first part of this article, we will introduce the basic concepts of CMT and how this theory integrates dynamic and cognitive concepts into a relational theoretical frame. Then, we will review several definitions of pathological worry and rumination and their clinical features and consequences. We will differentiate these processes from the normal reflection processes aimed at solving problems and mastering traumas and will review research data supporting this differentiation. Finally, we will discuss some of the more important cognitive theoretical models for explaining pathological worry and rumination. In the last part of this article, we will describe how CMT can help understand pathological worries and ruminations and their functions. According to CMT, pathological worry and rumination are distortions of normal reflexive thinking often caused by pathogenic beliefs that support interpersonal guilt, and their unconscious aim is often self-punishment. Three clinical vignettes will help us show how CMT can help us understand and treat pathological worry and ruminations.

Worry and rumination are maladaptive cognitive strategies with the purpose to manage negative emotions and threatening events (Wells & Matthews, 1994), and studies have shown that they are associated with an increasing of anxiety and depression (Fresco et al., 2002; Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000). Although the relationship between guilt and shame with depression and anxiety is well documented (Cândea & Szentagotai-Tătar, 2018; Thibodeau, & Jorgensen, 2011), only few studies (Orth et al., 2006; Mor & Winquist, 2002; Spasojevic & Alloy, 2001) investigated the mediational role of worry and rumination in the relationship between guilt and shame and depression and anxiety. We hypothesized that worry and rumination correlate with all types of interpersonal guilt and with shame and that they mediate the effects of these moral emotions on depression and anxiety disorders. We recruited a sample of 343 subjects, to whom we administered the Interpersonal Guilt Rating Scale-15s (IGRS-15s; Gazzillo et al. 2018), The Other as Shamer Scale (OAS; Goss, Gilbert, & Allan, 1994), The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983), The Beck Depression Inventory II, The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ; Meyer, Miller, Metzger, & Borkovec, 1990) and The Ruminative Response Scale (RRS; Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991; Treynor et al., 2003) and an ad hoc form for assessing sociodemographic and anamnestic information. In line with our hypotheses (Gazzillo, Leonardi, Bush, 2020), worry and rumination correlated with all types of interpersonal guilt. Moreover, worry and rumination were positively correlated with depression and anxiety disorders; specifically, rumination emerged as a mediating factor between self-hate and depression, while worry was a mediating factor in the relationship between omnipotence and trait anxiety. Finally, our hypothesis that, in worrying and ruminating, shame had a relevant impact, was also confirmed. This study suggests that guilt and shame may be a powerful component of mental health problems and that worry and rumination represent risk factors for the maintenance and exacerbation of these disorders.