Abstract

SALVO RIVERA, José Domingo. Resource Activation in Psychotherapy. How has it been studied and what do we know?:A Systematic Review. CES Psicol [online]. 2020, vol.13, n.3, pp.33-50.  Epub Aug 23, 2021. ISSN 2011-3080.  https://doi.org/10.21615/cesp.13.3.3.

From the first meta-analyzes on effectiveness in psychotherapy, Grawe (1997) theoretically abstracts four trans-theoretical mechanisms related to change, the main one being Resource Activation. This is understood as the use of the patient skills and motivational readiness in the service of a therapeutic objective, as well as the adjustment of therapeutic interventions to these aspects. Based on a systematic review of English and Spanish literature, this article discusses the results of different empirical studies, with the aim of clarifying what we know about the relationship between resource activation and change in psychotherapy. For this review, the search was not restricted by year of publication or methodological design, as long as the Resource Activation mechanism was evaluated and evidence of its relationship with a second variable was provided. The 14 included studies offer evidence mostly in favor of the relationship between Resource Activation and therapeutic results, but with doubts about how and when this mechanism favors or could even hinder change. These doubts are discussed based on the relationship between Resource Activation and different process variables, as well as methodological aspects of the studies. The main limitation of this review is related to the methodological heterogeneity of the included studies, added to the geographical-cultural homogeneity where they were developed, which suggests interpreting with caution both the integration of the evidence and its generalization, pending new studies in different contexts.

Keywords : Resource Activation; Generic Mechanisms of Change; Psychotherapy; Therapeutic Change; Systematic Review..

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