A document file containing the following information can be found here.
How to Conduct a DAPP-III Analysis
Choosing the Data
One of the most important aspects of a DAPP analysis is in the selection of data to analyze. First and foremost, it can be difficult to gain access of video or audio recorded psychotherapy sessions. However, there are sources that can be found through APA, or most libraries, which provide such videos upon request. Furthermore, it can be especially powerful for a therapist to use his or her own sessions as a way to deeply reflect. Of course, this would require consent by the client in order to audio/video tape the sessions, which would need to be negotiated on a case to case basis. Finally, transcripts can be generated by the participating clinicians through role plays recreating scenarios experienced in sessions, or even ones that one could imagine or anticipate. Although a DAPP analysis can be trusted as much more accurate when verbatim material is available, in a two-day workshop offered in Lisbon in 2013 by Basseches and Vasco (personal communication), therapists who presented case narratives from memory or reconstruction, as is typically done in supervision and consultation, were able to transform their narratives into narratives of resources offered and either used or not used. Psychotherapists’ dilemmas of practice could be translated into questions of what resources to offer and how, which then facilitated resolution of the dilemmas through group consultation of the hopes and risks entailed in different approaches to offering resources. This suggests that even without verbatim data, efforts to use DAPP language to reframe case discussions can be fruitful. The selection of data is perhaps the most important part of the process, as it is the data which will drive what is gleaned. The criteria for choosing sections of sessions for which to code can vary depending on the purpose of what one hopes to learn and/or achieve. There are two main ways to use DAPP: 1) in clinical training, and 2) as a part of reflective clinical practice. The instructions to follow, however, will be for learning how to formally code using DAPP-III.
In terms of clinical training, the ideal data to be working with then, would be one’s own sessions, followed by real psychotherapy sessions conducted by other clinicians, and lastly, through made up scenarios. Of course, the ease-of-access to these forms of data are reversely correlated with the desirability of such data, which points to the main advantage of constructing the data. Despite an imaginary scenario not being grounded in real situations, it still provides an avenue for practicing and learning the coding system. Because DAPP-III is a clinical training tool as opposed to a research tool, it is through learning how to code and apply the concepts of DAPP which provide the most benefit, as opposed to the coded transcripts themselves; in learning how to use DAPP-III, the process is the product.
If one wants to focus on further understanding what psychological development in the context of psychotherapy looks like, as has been the case in much DAPP case research, it is beneficial to consider sections wherein clients seem to show transformations or change, the stages leading up to the aforementioned transformations/change, or perhaps more importantly, when clients appear to be stuck. While it is important to be able to document when psychotherapy is successful, it is as important, if not more so, to be able to identify when and how therapy is not successful. Thus, sections in which it is unclear whether the client is progressing, or where it is clear that he or she is struggling, are ripe for DAPP analyses.
Preparing the Transcripts
Once a section of a therapy session has been selected, it must be transcribed. This can be done manually, or with transcription software. Each exchange of speech between participants is considered an “utterance,” and should begin on a new line with an identifier. The identifiers can be pseudonyms, initials, or simply “client” and “therapist.” The transcript can then be transferred to a spreadsheet (e.g. Google Spreadsheet ©, Excel ©, or WordPerfect ©). The spreadsheet program should provide numbering for each of the lines, which is helpful for keeping track in the coding of conflicts and syntheses. Once sections of therapy sessions have been selected, all formal DAPP coding processes require verbatim transcripts, or observations of actions when the interaction is completely nonverbal or has core nonverbal components (which we’ve found to be of greatest importance in play therapy and body-oriented psychotherapies). Transcriptions may be created by listening, watching and typing, or with of the help transcription software. Each turn of speaking or acting in the interaction among participants is considered an “utterance,” (or coded act)[1] and should begin on a new line with an identifier. The identifiers can be pseudonyms, initials, or simply “client” and “therapist.” The transcript can then be transferred to a spreadsheet (e.g. Google Spreadsheet ©, Excel ©, or WordPerfect ©). The spreadsheet program should provide numbering for each of the lines, which is helpful for keeping track in the coding of conflicts and syntheses.
The best way to prepare the data is to create a spreadsheet with five columns, in which the first column of the spreadsheet consists of the utterances from the transcript. The following four columns are: Conflict/Synthesis, Resource Offered, Resource Usage, and Coder Rationale. A sample of the coding structure is provided below in Table 1. It is helpful to freeze the top row, so that you can continue to read the headings of the columns while scrolling through your transcript.
One of the most important aspects of a DAPP analysis is in the selection of data to analyze. First and foremost, it can be difficult to gain access of video or audio recorded psychotherapy sessions. However, there are sources that can be found through APA, or most libraries, which provide such videos upon request. Furthermore, it can be especially powerful for a therapist to use his or her own sessions as a way to deeply reflect. Of course, this would require consent by the client in order to audio/video tape the sessions, which would need to be negotiated on a case to case basis. Finally, transcripts can be generated by the participating clinicians through role plays recreating scenarios experienced in sessions, or even ones that one could imagine or anticipate. Although a DAPP analysis can be trusted as much more accurate when verbatim material is available, in a two-day workshop offered in Lisbon in 2013 by Basseches and Vasco (personal communication), therapists who presented case narratives from memory or reconstruction, as is typically done in supervision and consultation, were able to transform their narratives into narratives of resources offered and either used or not used. Psychotherapists’ dilemmas of practice could be translated into questions of what resources to offer and how, which then facilitated resolution of the dilemmas through group consultation of the hopes and risks entailed in different approaches to offering resources. This suggests that even without verbatim data, efforts to use DAPP language to reframe case discussions can be fruitful. The selection of data is perhaps the most important part of the process, as it is the data which will drive what is gleaned. The criteria for choosing sections of sessions for which to code can vary depending on the purpose of what one hopes to learn and/or achieve. There are two main ways to use DAPP: 1) in clinical training, and 2) as a part of reflective clinical practice. The instructions to follow, however, will be for learning how to formally code using DAPP-III.
In terms of clinical training, the ideal data to be working with then, would be one’s own sessions, followed by real psychotherapy sessions conducted by other clinicians, and lastly, through made up scenarios. Of course, the ease-of-access to these forms of data are reversely correlated with the desirability of such data, which points to the main advantage of constructing the data. Despite an imaginary scenario not being grounded in real situations, it still provides an avenue for practicing and learning the coding system. Because DAPP-III is a clinical training tool as opposed to a research tool, it is through learning how to code and apply the concepts of DAPP which provide the most benefit, as opposed to the coded transcripts themselves; in learning how to use DAPP-III, the process is the product.
If one wants to focus on further understanding what psychological development in the context of psychotherapy looks like, as has been the case in much DAPP case research, it is beneficial to consider sections wherein clients seem to show transformations or change, the stages leading up to the aforementioned transformations/change, or perhaps more importantly, when clients appear to be stuck. While it is important to be able to document when psychotherapy is successful, it is as important, if not more so, to be able to identify when and how therapy is not successful. Thus, sections in which it is unclear whether the client is progressing, or where it is clear that he or she is struggling, are ripe for DAPP analyses.
Preparing the Transcripts
Once a section of a therapy session has been selected, it must be transcribed. This can be done manually, or with transcription software. Each exchange of speech between participants is considered an “utterance,” and should begin on a new line with an identifier. The identifiers can be pseudonyms, initials, or simply “client” and “therapist.” The transcript can then be transferred to a spreadsheet (e.g. Google Spreadsheet ©, Excel ©, or WordPerfect ©). The spreadsheet program should provide numbering for each of the lines, which is helpful for keeping track in the coding of conflicts and syntheses. Once sections of therapy sessions have been selected, all formal DAPP coding processes require verbatim transcripts, or observations of actions when the interaction is completely nonverbal or has core nonverbal components (which we’ve found to be of greatest importance in play therapy and body-oriented psychotherapies). Transcriptions may be created by listening, watching and typing, or with of the help transcription software. Each turn of speaking or acting in the interaction among participants is considered an “utterance,” (or coded act)[1] and should begin on a new line with an identifier. The identifiers can be pseudonyms, initials, or simply “client” and “therapist.” The transcript can then be transferred to a spreadsheet (e.g. Google Spreadsheet ©, Excel ©, or WordPerfect ©). The spreadsheet program should provide numbering for each of the lines, which is helpful for keeping track in the coding of conflicts and syntheses.
The best way to prepare the data is to create a spreadsheet with five columns, in which the first column of the spreadsheet consists of the utterances from the transcript. The following four columns are: Conflict/Synthesis, Resource Offered, Resource Usage, and Coder Rationale. A sample of the coding structure is provided below in Table 1. It is helpful to freeze the top row, so that you can continue to read the headings of the columns while scrolling through your transcript.
It is important to recognize that while there is a prescribed structure for DAPP-III coding, it is flexible for fitting the needs of an analysis. In the example of the excerpt coded above, descriptions of non-verbal communication are added in parentheses to the verbal utterances that accompanied them. This transcript was prepared for a study of a particular “body-oriented” approach to psychotherapy (Thomas, 2012), in which the therapist claimed that his focus on non-verbal communication was an essential part of his approach. Additionally, coding can be done for interactions between dyads, as in individual psychotherapy, or among multiple parties, as in couple or group therapy (an example for couple therapy, using a transcript from Alvarez’s study (2013), is provided in Table 2).
Through the preparation of the transcript for coding, it is important to gain a sense of familiarity with the overall movement within the session. If the transcript has already been prepared, then it is helpful to first read through the session, in order to select the most important/interesting moments and place them in context.
Coding the Transcripts
After the preparation or read-through, the next step is to code the conflicts and syntheses. A conflict may be interpersonal, intrapersonal, or between the client and her environment. For example, the conflict in the transcript presented in Table 1 represents potential conflict on multiple levels. During this process, it is important to record the rationale behind the ascribed codes, for which the Coder Rationale section is provided. It can be useful to provide the utterance numbers, if there is a conflict between specific utterances; this can be recorded with “<C>” inserted between the numbers of the two conflicting utterances, as demonstrated in Table 2. Additionally, if possible when coding syntheses, you can identify the specific conflicts synthesized.
Through the preparation of the transcript for coding, it is important to gain a sense of familiarity with the overall movement within the session. If the transcript has already been prepared, then it is helpful to first read through the session, in order to select the most important/interesting moments and place them in context.
Coding the Transcripts
After the preparation or read-through, the next step is to code the conflicts and syntheses. A conflict may be interpersonal, intrapersonal, or between the client and her environment. For example, the conflict in the transcript presented in Table 1 represents potential conflict on multiple levels. During this process, it is important to record the rationale behind the ascribed codes, for which the Coder Rationale section is provided. It can be useful to provide the utterance numbers, if there is a conflict between specific utterances; this can be recorded with “<C>” inserted between the numbers of the two conflicting utterances, as demonstrated in Table 2. Additionally, if possible when coding syntheses, you can identify the specific conflicts synthesized.
Once the conflicts have been identified, the next step is to identify which resources the therapist (or client) offers, and to what extent the client (or therapist) appears able to use those resources. In the first example (Table 1), we saw that the client was able to use the resources effectively. However, in the second example (Table 2), it was less clear whether the client (Terry) was fully able use the resources provided.
In conducting a DAPP-III analysis, the most important aspect of the coding process is in documenting the Coder Rationale. By being prompted to articulate the rationale for a coding decision, the coder is provoked to access his or her assumptions about what is happening in the session. Through an increased focus on exchanges on the micro-level of a psychotherapy session, the coder is given an opportunity to reflect on a number of levels: 1) the fundamental change mechanisms involved in fostering development in the context of psychotherapy; 2) identifying whether we can see if a client is making progress or not; and 3), if the client is stuck, whether the therapist adapts to the client (attunement) in order to provide resources that the client can use more effectively. Additionally, having a record of the coding rationale provides a sort of secondary set of data which coders can then share with others, opening up the potential for conversation. This exchange of ideas and understandings allow for intersubjective reflections, and expanding perspectives on the change process.
Reflecting
Using structured reflection on the segment of therapy before and after the coding process can be helpful in a number of ways; it orients you towards the session in a way that facilitates the ease of the coding process, as well as to bringing you in touch with why you are coding. Before coding the segment, it is helpful to write down the answers to the following questions about the transcript after reading it through:
DAPP-III Coding Key
A coding key with brief descriptions of DAPP-III codes can be found on this page, as well as in .doc format, found here.
In conducting a DAPP-III analysis, the most important aspect of the coding process is in documenting the Coder Rationale. By being prompted to articulate the rationale for a coding decision, the coder is provoked to access his or her assumptions about what is happening in the session. Through an increased focus on exchanges on the micro-level of a psychotherapy session, the coder is given an opportunity to reflect on a number of levels: 1) the fundamental change mechanisms involved in fostering development in the context of psychotherapy; 2) identifying whether we can see if a client is making progress or not; and 3), if the client is stuck, whether the therapist adapts to the client (attunement) in order to provide resources that the client can use more effectively. Additionally, having a record of the coding rationale provides a sort of secondary set of data which coders can then share with others, opening up the potential for conversation. This exchange of ideas and understandings allow for intersubjective reflections, and expanding perspectives on the change process.
Reflecting
Using structured reflection on the segment of therapy before and after the coding process can be helpful in a number of ways; it orients you towards the session in a way that facilitates the ease of the coding process, as well as to bringing you in touch with why you are coding. Before coding the segment, it is helpful to write down the answers to the following questions about the transcript after reading it through:
- What is your general impression of what happened in the session?
- How do you think this clinician should proceed in the rest of the session, or following sessions?
DAPP-III Coding Key
A coding key with brief descriptions of DAPP-III codes can be found on this page, as well as in .doc format, found here.