JUNKTIM e.V.

Empirical conversation research in psychotherapeutic interaction

Welcome to JUNKTIM.online

JUNKTIM is a non-profit association founded in 2020 out of the experience that psychotherapy benefits from the collaboration of linguistic research with clinically working colleagues of different therapeutic orientations. This collaboration is intended to help develop an improved scientific understanding of therapeutic conversations (process research) and to provide practical aids for conducting these very conversations.

JUNKTIM e.V. has been the first affiliated institute of the International Psychoanalytic University (IPU) Berlin since the winter semester 2022/2023.

Between the execution of therapeutic skills and the enrichment of linguistic studies through knowledge of therapeutic concepts, a field of activity is emerging, which we hereby cordially invite you to shape!

Every treatment has an effect

Save the Date

4th Annual JUNKTIM Conference:

“Sibling Conference” with International Conference on Conversation Analysis and Psychotherapy (ICCA-P) with a focus on the perspectives of psychotherapists in German language.

in Mannheim/Germany

16.03.2024

More information will follow soon.

 

Do you have any questions?

info@JUNKTIM.online

Why work with recordings at all?

Eigene Intuition fördern, was in therapeutischer Interaktion vor sich geht. Lernen, die eigene Intuition an Beobachtungen im Video zu knüpfen, um so bspw. therapeutische Deutungsstrategien sichtbar zu machen.

Praktiken des Deutens werden intuitiv angewendet, können jedoch über Aufzeichnungen nachvollzogen werden. Dies erlaubt, eine neue Position zur vormals intuitiven Deutungspraktik einzunehmen und für künftige Kontexte sensitiviert zu werden. Anhand von Aufzeichnungen können Deutungsstrategien und ihre Beziehung zu therapeutischen Theorien ausgemacht und festgehalten werden.

Aufzeichnungen der eigenen Therapie dienen als Entlastungsmöglichkeit, um einem Interessenskonflikt zwischen Aufmerksamkeit für Mitschreiben und Zuhören entgegenzuwirken. Die Aufmerksamkeit der/s TherapeutIn kann ungeteilt der Therapie gelten, da nachträglich die Aufzeichnung als Referenzpunkt herangezogen werden kann. So kann nachträglich der wortgetreue Dialog zur Grundlage einer Zusammenfassung für therapeutische, juristische und abrechnungsbezogene Zusammenhänge oder für eine wissenschaftliche Auswertung gemacht werden.

Durch den Fachnachweis als TherapeutIn können JUNKTIM-Qualitätszirkel mit Supervisionsstatus abgerechnet bzw. als Weiterbildung eingerechnet werden.

Die Gruppe des jeweiligen JUNKTIM-Qualitätszirkels kann dabei helfen, eigene blinde Flecken zu bearbeiten, da erst im Laufe der Videoanalyse bekannte Erinnerungen bzw. Vorstellungen so kombiniert werden, dass der erkenntnistheoretische Hiatus zwischen Theorie und Praxis überbrückt werden kann, indem neue Vorstellungen generiert werden.

Die Dokumentation der Therapie ist auch ein Qualitätssicherungsinstrument: Die „Daten sichern und erleichtern den Weg zurück zu den latenten Gedanken, die Seiten des Patienten nach der Theorie im Verlaufe des Prozesses bewußt werden müssen und, soweit sie die Gegenübertragung betreffen, zumindest partiell bewußtseinsfähig, d.h. formulierbar sein sollten. […] Sie können […] die Vorgänge […] auf eine ziemlich getreue, jederzeit wiederherstellbare Ausgangsbasis zurückführen. Daß vielfältige Auswertungen so eine gesicherte Grundlage erhalten, ist unbestreitbar.” (Kächele, Schaumburg & Thomä, 1973, S. 903–904).

Dokumentationen therapeutischer Stunden können Grundlage für Forschungen und Weiterentwicklungen auf empirischer Basis ermöglichen, indem sie Therapieprozesse nach Außen öffnen und nachvollziehbar machen: Die Aufzeichnungen sind „Voraussetzung für die Klärung bestimmter psychotherapeutischer und psychoanalytischer Fragestellungen […] [was] ermöglich[t], daß nicht nur die beiden am therapeutischen Prozeß unmittelbar Beteiligten Auskunft geben, sondern auch Dritte sich mit dem Material auseinandersetzen können.“ (Kächele, Schaumburg & Thomä, 1973, S. 902).

Mehr Informationen unter:

https://www.kbv.de/html/qualitaetszirkel.php

Encourage intuition
Encourage own intuition about what is going on in therapeutic interaction. Learning to link one's own intuition to observations in the video, e.g. to make therapeutic interpretation strategies visible.
Encourage reflection
Practices of interpretation are used intuitively, but can be traced through records. This allows one to take a new position on the previously intuitive interpretive practice and to become sensitised to future contexts. With the help of recordings, interpretive strategies and their relationship to therapeutic theories can be identified and recorded.
Relief
Recordings of one's own therapy serve as a relief possibility in order to counteract a conflict of interest between attention for taking notes and listening. The therapist's attention can be undivided to the therapy, as the recording can be used as a reference point afterwards. In this way, the verbatim dialogue can subsequently be used as the basis of a summary for therapeutic, legal and billing-related contexts or for a scientific evaluation.
Discover blind spots
With the professional certificate as a therapist, JUNKTIM quality circles can be accounted for with supervision status or included as further training. The group of the respective JUNKTIM quality circle can help to work on one's own blind spots, as only in the course of the video analysis are known memories or ideas combined in such a way that the epistemological hiatus between theory and practice can be bridged by generating new ideas.
more information (German language only)
Quality assurance
The documentation of the therapy is also a quality assurance instrument: The "data secure and facilitate the way back to the latent thoughts which, according to theory, sides of the patient must become conscious in the course of the process and, as far as they concern the countertransference, should be at least partially conscious, i.e. formulable. [...] They can [...] trace the processes [...] back to a fairly faithful starting point which can be restored at any time. That diverse evaluations thus receive a secure basis is indisputable." (Kächele, Schaumburg & Thomä, 1973, pp. 903-904).
Basis for research
Documentation of therapeutic hours can provide a basis for research and further development on an empirical basis by opening up therapeutic processes to the outside world and making them comprehensible: The records are "a prerequisite for the clarification of certain psychotherapeutic and psychoanalytic questions [...] [which] make[s] possible that not only the two people directly involved in the therapeutic process give information, but also third parties can deal with the material" (Kächele, Schaumburg & Thomä, 1973, p. 902).
A conversation is a performative process between two people

What is JUNKTIM?

JUNKTIM is a non-profit association that promotes the cooperation of scientific research with psychotherapists. This cooperation focuses on the mediation between scientific proof of the treatment effect on the one hand and the realisation in clinical practice on the other. This is where the need for cooperation for an institutionalised JUNKTIM comes in.

What does practice learn – from analyses of practice? JUNKTIM is committed to studying therapeutic reality through actual psychotherapy conversations – and thus enriching therapeutic reality through knowledge of communicative contexts. An important question here is how conversation research can really make a difference for practitioners – and what is actually helpful about this kind of research for clinical practitioners.

Psychotherapy in this sense cannot only be seen as the application of theoretical knowledge in practice, but above all as the execution of performative knowledge. Psychotherapists are not trained enough for this performative dimension of therapeutic skills. And conversation researchers too easily adopt the theories that have been trained within psychotherapy.

On the need for a JUNKTIM

Want to know more about it?

JUNKTIM logo (no text)

On the need for a JUNKTIM

Want to know more about it?

Therapeutic Conversation or Technique?

Therapeutische Konversation oder Technik?

An intensive debate on the future of psychotherapeutic care is underway, which is visible under #RasterPsychotherapie and #keinerasterpsychotherapie and around 200,000 votes in the petition against the same. On June 2nd, 2021 the relevant legal amendment was deleted – and JUNKTIM would like to contribute something to the future shaping of this debate with the help of linking practice and research.

Eine intensive Debatte zur Zukunft der psychotherapeutischen Versorgung ist im Gange, was u.a. unter #RasterPsychotherapie sowie #keinerasterpsychotherapie und rund 200.000 Stimmen der Petition gegen selbige sichtbar wird. Am 2.6.21 wurde der betreffende gesetzliche Änderungsantrag gestrichen – und JUNKTIM e.V. möchte etwas zur künftigen Gestaltung dieser Debatte mithilfe der Verknüpfung von Praxis und Forschung beitragen.

The "something more" of the performative execution
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JUNKTIM Videos

Therapie, Forschung und aktuelle Diskussionen

Social disintegration and the individual self: coronary diseases at the heart of society

A topical and insightful lecture on the question of the impact of the covid pandemic on self and society, Prof. Michael B. Buchholz develops insights from semantic sliding scale to a contrast of medical versus social developments of a pandemic to the development of “identity as compromise”. The online lecture was held in German on 05.11.2021, on the occasion of the BPM Annual Conference 2021 on the topic “Psychosomatic Medicine in the Field of Current Crises and Perspectives” with the title “Social Disintegration and the Individual Self – Coronary Diseases at the Heart of Society”. More about the conference: www.bpm-ev.de This video is part of the JUNKTIM lecture series, which contributes to topics in psychotherapy, conversation research and current linguistic and psychological discussions.

About the speaker: Prof. Michael B. Buchholz is a psychoanalyst, teaching and control analyst and professor at the International Psychoanalytic University Berlin. More about him: https://www.ipu-berlin.de/en/professoren/buchholz-michael-b/ 

One Plus One Equals Three – Observing The Therapeutic Couple

Every treatment has an effect – good or bad. How does this effect (“outcome”) come about? Through a therapeutic process. More precisely: through a conversation. These conversations can be observed – and also the cooperation of the therapeutic dyad. How can higher levels of cooperation and observation be achieved? Prof. Michael B. Buchholz offers some unexpected insights. The online lecture was held in English on 23.10.2021, broadcast in Ankara (Turkey), on the occasion of the 57th National Congress Psychiatric Association of Turkey. This video is part of the JUNKTIM lecture series, which contributes to topics in psychotherapy, conversation research and current linguistic and psychological discussions.

About the speaker: Prof. Michael B. Buchholz is a psychoanalyst, teaching and control analyst and professor at the International Psychoanalytic University Berlin. More about him: https://www.ipu-berlin.de/en/professoren/buchholz-michael-b/

JUNKTIM Podcasts

Psychotherapy

What is psychotherapy? Michael Buchholz finds it not so easy to define. What is fairly certain is that it involves talking to each other and thereby treating psychological problems. Psychoanalysis is therefore also referred to as a “talking cure”. But what distinguishes different forms of psychotherapy – and when does psychotherapeutic treatment succeed? More (German language only): https://50minuten.podigee.io/1-psychotherapie-1

Talking about Talking

Talking is a major channel of human communication, though far from the only one. How we not only use words, but interact and communicate by speaking, we clarify in this episode. When exploring talking, it’s not so much about the content of what is said, but the way it is said. This varies according to different rules from situation to situation. More (German language only): https://50minuten.podigee.io/26-sprechen-ueber-sprechen

Our JUNKTIM for you

We organise an annual JUNKTIM conference that addresses researchers as well as psychotherapists and encourages exchange between the two professions. The JUNKTIM Annual Conference provides a platform for important issues in psychotherapeutic practice and research through i) lectures and approximately half-hour discussions with renowned clinicians and researchers and ii) JUNKTIM data sessions. The events are registered with the Berlin Chamber of Psychotherapists as continuing education.

We will stimulate and intensify practitioner-researcher conversations through:

  • JUNKTIM data sessions are groups of about 10 participants, researchers and therapists, who are in turn moderated by a duo of researcher and therapist. The basis is usually transcriptions of audio- and videographed psychotherapies. The aim is to analyse the recordings on the basis of a question.
  • In JUNKTIM quality circles: here we first work in the format of data sessions. Recordings brought by clinical participants are transcribed, proofread and then discussed. Subsequently, hypotheses are formed about what can be observed in a transcript, how it can be formulated, which conversational formats are to be described and which clinical conclusions become possible. Every six months or so, one working group meets with another and presents what they have worked out to each other.
  • Freud’s idea of the junction of healing and research is taken up by us and somewhat modified: Today it is not enough that clinicians are automatically also researchers – the fields of psychotherapy and research, which are often separated today, must be brought together again and again.
  • JUNKTIM e.V. network: In the case of research questions within the framework of the JUNKTIM working groups, but also in the case of analysis projects from other meetings, similar to the intervision groups in the psychotherapeutic field that work with recordings for the first time or conversation researchers interested in researching therapeutic interactions, JUNKTIM members can enter into fruitful exchange with each other that would otherwise be difficult to establish.
  • We plan to advise on data protection-compliant implementations of and technical questions about recordings, including the necessary equipment.
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  • Exchange across borders: JUNKTIM e.V. is transverse to institutional constraints and thus enables greater freedom of thought, writing and research. We are integratively oriented: Many different therapeutic traditions have a place under the umbrella of the communication approach. Not only psychoanalysis and depth psychology are of interest to us, but also, for example, systemic, behavioural therapy and gestalt therapy approaches.
  • Through lectures in psychotherapy institutes we will advocate for the communicative turn in psychotherapy research, i.e. to oppose an interactional perspective in a certain opposition to a medical understanding of psychotherapy. Members will receive a platform for consultation and exchange on such (their own) lecture ideas.
  • We will look at questions of the development of psychotherapeutic training, for example, to what extent can conversation research really make a difference for practitioners?
  • We will promote the training of therapists with the help of conversation research, e.g. with the help of JUNKTIM-intervision groups, and also offer supervision opportunities independently of this. This is the case, for example, when trainees want to record their own therapies (after consultation with the Institute and for training purposes) and analyse them as part of their supervision or intervision.
  • NEW exclusive offer 2022/2023: JUNKTIM offers five IPU students of the MA Psychotherapy, who write a research report, to supervise a research paper e.g. in collaboration with the IPU outpatient clinic and on the basis of the (group) therapy data collected there in the context of an empirical conversation analysis by our experienced psychotherapists and researchers. To deepen exchange, we recommend a JUNKTIM membership.
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JUNKTIM founders

Contact us, we are looking forward to the exchange

Michael M. Franzen

Michael M. Franzen

Psychologist, linguist and psychotherapist in training

Chairman and member of managing committee

Prof. ret. Dr. Jörg R. Bergmann

Prof. ret. Dr. Jörg R. Bergmann

Psychologist, sociologist, philosopher and linguist

Prof. Dr. Eva-Maria Graf

Prof. Dr. Eva-Maria Graf

Linguist

Dr. habil. Werner Köpp

Dr. habil. Werner Köpp

Psychological psychotherapist, psychoanalyst

Prof. Dr. Thomas Spranz-Fogasy

Prof. Dr. Thomas Spranz-Fogasy

Linguist

Dr. Florian Dreyer

Dr. Florian Dreyer

Psychologist, linguist and psychotherapist in training

Co-Chairman and member of managing committee

Prof. ret. Dr. Michael B. Buchholz

Prof. ret. Dr. Michael B. Buchholz

Psychological psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, social scientist

Prof. Dr. Carl Eduard Scheidt

Prof. Dr. Carl Eduard Scheidt

Medical doctor, philosopher, psychoanalyst

Dipl. Päd. Barbara Wülfing

Dipl. Päd. Barbara Wülfing

Analytical child and adolescent psychotherapist

Dr. Marie-Luise Alder

Dr. Marie-Luise Alder

Psychologist, linguist and psychotherapist in training

Treasurer and member of managing committee

Prof. Dr. Johannes Ehrenthal

Prof. Dr. Johannes Ehrenthal

Psychologist, Psychological psychotherapist

Christoph Schmidt

Christoph Schmidt

Psychologist, philosopher

Prof. Dr. Claudio Scarvaglieri

Prof. Dr. Claudio Scarvaglieri

Linguist

Would you like to support JUNKTIM e.V. financially as a non-profit association? We welcome donations to support our voluntary work at the interface of psychotherapeutic practice and research.

Quote on the JUNKTIM

Truth of knowledge and efficacy of action, which in Freud's junction are said to be closely linked for psychoanalytic practice, move apart on the basis of this consideration; they do not stand in such a connection a priori, so that one presupposes or conditions the other. Research in the analytic situation is not naturally linked to therapeutic action and vice versa. The junction must first be established in concrete action. The analyst must ask himself whether his everyday psychoanalytic action not only leads to true singular insights into the patient's psychological events, but also promotes the patient's healing process; whether his technique is equally suitable for promoting new insights as for achieving therapeutic success. The junction must be established; it is not a law to which psychoanalytic practice is necessarily subject. It is only its production that entitles us to claim a Circulus Benignus for practice, i.e. the mutual promotion of (true) theory and (effective) therapy. To prove whether this has been achieved in practice beyond the individual case remains the task of therapy research by third parties not involved in the therapy process itself.
Helmut Thomä und Horst Kächele
Helmut Thomä und Horst Kächele
From: Thomä, H., Kächele, H. & Kübler, J. C. (1985). Zum Verhältnis von Theorie und Praxis der Psychoanalyse. Analyse & Kritik, 7(1), 3-25. [in German language only: On the relationship between theory and practice in psychoanalysis]
Wahrheit der Erkenntnisse und Wirksamkeit des Handelns, denen im Junktim Freuds für die psychoanalytische Praxis eine enge Verknüpfung zugesprochen wird, rücken aufgrund dieser Betrachtung auseinander; sie stehen nicht a priori in einem solchen Zusammenhang, so dass das eine das andere voraussetzt oder bedingt. Forschung in der analytischen Situation ist nicht selbstverständlich mit therapeutischem Handeln verknüpft und umgekehrt. Das Junktim muss jeweils erst im konkreten Handeln hergestellt werden. Der Analytiker muss sich fragen, ob sein alltägliches psychoanalytisches Tun nicht nur zu wahren singulären Einsichten in das psychische Geschehen des Patienten führt, sondern auch den Heilungsprozess des Patienten fördert; ob sich seine Technik gleich gut eignet für die Förderung neuer Einsichten wie für das Erzielen eines therapeutischen Erfolgs. Das Junktim muss hergestellt werden, es ist kein Gesetz, dem die psychoanalytische Praxis notwendig unterliegt. Seine Herstellung berechtigt erst dazu, für die Praxis einen Circulus Benignus zu behaupten, d.h. die gegenseitige Förderung von (wahrer) Theorie und (effektiver) Therapie. Nachzuweisen, ob dies in der Praxis über den einzelnen Fall hinaus gelungen ist, bleibt Aufgabe der Therapieforschung durch nicht am Therapiegeschehen selbst beteiligte Dritte.
Helmut Thomä und Horst Kächele
Helmut Thomä und Horst Kächele
Aus: Thomä, H., Kächele, H. & Kübler, J. C. (1985). Zum Verhältnis von Theorie und Praxis der Psychoanalyse. Analyse & Kritik, 7(1), 3-25.

Archive

We will report from our young association’s history.