Clients’ resilience and distress in psychotherapy: a preliminary meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Understanding the clinical utility of positive client characteristics like resilience can help bring a balanced perspective to psychotherapy in which clinicians work to alleviate distress and foster positive traits. Existing literature documents the value of resilience as a resource to navigate stressful life experiences. However, minimal research has explored the utility of resilience within psychotherapy. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to understand the relationships between clients’ resilience and distress as well as the influence of psychotherapy on resilience. PRISMA procedures led to the identification of ten studies meeting inclusion criteria. We conducted two random-effects model meta-analyses to understand the relationship between clients’ resilience and distress (n = 5) and understand how psychotherapy treatment influences changes in resilience (n = 6). For both analyses, we found moderate effect sizes demonstrating that (a) there appears to be an inverse relationship between resilience and psychological distress and (b) resilience appears to increase during psychotherapeutic intervention. Findings are discussed in light of the role resilience may play in psychotherapy. The disperse operationalization of resilience is also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Resilience
• psychotherapy Research
• meta-analysis
• positive psychology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Theodore T. Bartholomew

Theodore T. Bartholomew, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and an affiliate of the Department of Africana Studies at Scripps College. His research interests include psychotherapy processes and outcomes (e.g., cultural factors, positive processes, and therapist effects), culturally diverse conceptualizations of mental illness and psychological healing, mental health in Namibia, refugee mental health, and the application of diverse methodologies inpsychological research.

Krista A. Robbins

Krista A. Robbins, MEd, is a doctoral student of counseling psychology in the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University. Her research interests include impacts of migration on mental health and help-seeking behaviors, culturally-specific mental health, and therapeutic processes and outcomes with clients impacted by grief and loss.

Eileen E. Joy

Eileen E. Joy, MA, is a teaching assistant and doctoral student in counseling psychology in the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University. Her research interests include therapeutic processes and outcomes for diverse clients, the impact of contextual factors and poverty-related stressors on mental health, and therapists’ conceptualizations of diagnosis and treatment.

Ellice Kang

Ellice Kang, MEd, is a doctoral student of counseling psychology in the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University. Her research interests include cultural and racial factors in mental health and identity development and social justice issues among marginalized populations.

Sergio Maldonado Aguiñiga

Sergio Maldonado Aguiñiga, MEd., is a doctoral student of Counseling Psychology in the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University. His research interests include therapeutic process and outcomes for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and examining the strengths of former incarcerated individuals and community-based reentry organizations that fosters and promotes successful reentry in both the community and higher education.