Table 2.
Therapist behaviours (percentage), definitions and examples.
| Therapist behaviour | % | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emphasise patient responsibility | 0.7 | Expressing that the patient is responsible for (among other things) his/her own decisions. | You yourself have to determine what is best. You must be the judge of that. |
| Affirming | 25.1 | Paying attention to, acknowledging and expressing an interest in, the patients' thoughts, emotions and actions and to deem them valid. | |
| Validating and interpreting | 14.3 | Affirming by interpreting and validating what the patient wrote. | You must be having a hard time. You are right about… |
| Normalizing | 3.7 | Affirming by writing that the patients' behaviour is frequently occurring in the population. | We often isolate ourselves when we feel bad. We all have our ups and downs. |
| Summarizing | 7.0 | Affirming by summarizing and repeating what the patient wrote. | So, you listen to audio-books when you do your chores. You write that … |
| Clarifying the framework | 5.9 | Clarifying, emphasizing or reminding the patient about the internet treatment framework, and giving practical information about the project. | The treatment ends in one week. You and I will never meet. |
| Self-disclosure | 0.9 | Mentioning the therapists own experience and using personal examples from one's own life. | I also get bored by physical exercise. I use that exercise myself when… |
| Informing about modules | 3.4 | Informing about, or making reference to, upcoming modules and module content. | Module 6 will cover… One module will be about… |
| Confronting | 0.4 | Expressing another opinion or disagreeing with the patient. | As a first exercise, that seems too difficult. |
| Urging | 9.8 | Urging the patient to do something | Tell me a bit more about that! Think about this and get back to me with your comments! Please fill out the weekly rating. Let me know if you have any questions. |
| Encouraging | 31.5 | Therapist behaviours aimed at encouraging some type of patient behaviour. | |
| Praising past behaviour | 27.0 | Praising some behaviour the patient has done. | Good of you to notice your own feelings in that situation! Thank you for sending a message! |
| Inciting future behaviour | 4.4 | Encouraging expressions about something the patient is planning to do. | I'm glad to hear that you are going to a movie! I hope to hear from you again soon! |
| Guiding | 22.2 | Giving advice, informing or making suggestions. | |
| Theoretical guiding | 12.3 | Giving guiding information about psychological processes. | Behaviours are easier to change than emotions. |
| Giving suggestions | 9.8 | Giving suggestions about alternative behaviours. Giving advice about how to do something. | I suggest that you start with a task that is rather simple. Test holding a pencil while resting in the afternoon. |
Note. Main-categories in bold, sub-categories in italics. The percentages for all categories give the proportion of that category within the overall sum of behaviours.