Assessing verbal elaboration of affect in psychotherapy: A preliminary report and single case study

Abstract

Verbal Elaboration of Affect (VEA) is an aspect of mentalization that refers to the transformation of drive-affect experiences. The GEVA (Grille de l'Elaboration Verbale de l'Affect), measures the formal properties of VEA, defined as levels of affect elaboration according to two dimensions: (1) four channels of verbal expression: somatic and motor activity, imagery, and labeling verbalization; (2) five levels of affect tolerance/abstraction: disruptive impulsion, modulated impulsion, externalization, appropriation, and meaning association. The GEVA and the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales are applied to transcripts of a 14-session prematurely terminated psychotherapy. The patient demonstrated an increase in mental elaboration of her negative affects across the sessions. A closer examination, however, reveals that she became less spontaneous and more externalizing, while increasingly adopting the verbal channel. She was also increasingly disavowing in her defensive functioning and spoke less frequently of her negative affects.