Facilitating dyadic synchrony in psychotherapy sessions: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: This paper highlights the facilitation of dyadic synchrony as a core psychotherapist skill that occurs at the non-verbal level and underlies many other therapeutic methods. We define dyadic synchrony, differentiate it from similar constructs, and provide an excerpt illustrating dyadic synchrony in a psychotherapy session. Method: We then present a systematic review of 17 studies that have examined the associations between dyadic synchrony and psychotherapy outcomes. We also conduct a meta-analysis of 8 studies that examined whether there is more synchrony between clients and therapists than would be expected by chance. Results: Weighted box score analysis revealed that the overall association of synchrony and proximal as well as distal outcomes was neutral to mildly positive. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that real client-therapist dyad pairs exhibited synchronized behavioral patterns to a much greater extent than a sample of randomly paired people who did not actually speak. Conclusion: Our discussion revolves around how synchrony can be facilitated in a beneficial way, as well as situations in which it may not be beneficial. We conclude with training implications and therapeutic practices.

Keywords:

• synchrony
• dyadic processes
• therapist skills
• process outcome research
• coregulation
• psychotherapy method
• psychotherapy outcome
• meta-analysis

Acknowledgements

This article is adapted, by special permission of Oxford University Press, by the same authors in C. E. Hill & J. C. Norcross (Eds.) (2023), Psychotherapy Skills and Methods that Work. New York: Oxford University Press. The interorganizational Task Force on Psychotherapy Methods and Skills was cosponsored by the APA Division of Psychotherapy/Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplemental Data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2023.21918031.