The Role of Mindfulness and Contrast Avoidance in Individuals' Attitudes Toward Psychotherapy

Öz

The Contrast Avoidance Model is a contemporary model proposing that individuals maintain a negative affective state because they perceive emotional fluctuations as threatening and consider remaining in this state potentially beneficial. Maintaining a chronic negative mood can prevent diverse emotional experiences during the psychotherapy process or lead to the avoidance of positive emotions that could potentially emerge with recovery. This can lead to the emergence of negative beliefs and attitudes about the therapy process and, indirectly, lead to the termination of the therapy process. In this context, mindfulness is thought to be a significant determinant of individuals' thoughts about psychotherapy, but this relationship may be shaped by the tendencies toward contrast avoidance. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the mediating role of contrast avoidance in the effect of mindfulness on thoughts about psychotherapy. The study sample consisted of 281 female and 124 male participants aged 18–60 years, with a mean age of 29.39 years (SD = 8.26). The study utilized the Thoughts About Psychotherapy Scale, the Contrast Avoidance Scale, and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. The study found a significant relationship between mindful awareness, contrast avoidance, and thoughts about psychotherapy. The study revealed that contrast avoidance mediated the effect of mindfulness on attitudes toward psychotherapy. These results suggest that mindfulness practices can contribute to the therapy process by reducing individuals' tendencies toward contrast avoidance behaviors.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Mindfulness
• contrast avoidance
• thoughts on psychotherapy

Bireylerin Psikoterapi Hakkındaki Düşüncelerinde Bilinçli Farkındalık ve Kontrasttan Kaçınmanın Rolü

Öz

Kontrasttan kaçınma modeli, duygusal dalgalanmanın tehdit olarak algılanması ve olumsuz duygulanımda kalmanın potansiyel faydaları sebebiyle mevcut duygulanımın sürdürülmesi üzerine temellendirilen güncel bir modeldir. Olumsuz duygudurumun uzun bir süre boyunca devam etmesi, psikoterapi sürecinde birçok farklı duygusal deneyimin yaşanmasına engel olabilir ya da potansiyel iyileşme ile birlikte ortaya çıkabilecek olumlu duygulardan kaçınılmasına neden olabilir. Bu durum, terapi süreci hakkında olumsuz inanç ve tutumların ortaya çıkmasına ve dolaylı olarak terapi sürecinin sonlanmasına sebebiyet verebilir. Bu bağlamda, bireylerin psikoterapiye dair düşüncelerinde bilinçli farkındalığın önemli bir belirleyici olduğu, ancak bu ilişkinin kontrasttan kaçınma eğilimi aracılığıyla şekillenebileceği düşünülmektedir. Bu doğrultuda, bilinçli farkındalığın psikoterapi hakkındaki düşünceler üzerindeki etkisinde kontrasttan kaçınmanın aracı rolünün incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklem grubunda, 18-60 yaş aralığında, yaş ortalaması 29.39 olan, 281 kadın ve 124 erkek katılımcı bulunmaktadır. Araştırma verileri toplamak için, Psikoterapi Hakkındaki Düşünceler Ölçeği, Kontrasttan Kaçınma Ölçeği ve Bilinçli Farkındalık Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde yapısal eşitlik modellemesi kullanılmıştır. Veriler SPSS ve AMOS programlarında analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda, bilinçli farkındalık, kontrasttan kaçınma ve psikoterapi hakkındaki düşünceler arasında anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu görülmüştür. Ayrıca, bilinçli farkındalığın psikoterapi hakkındaki düşünceler üzerindeki etkisinde kontrasttan kaçınmanın aracı rolü olduğu belirlenmiştir. Aracılık modelindeki bu sonuçlar, bilinçli farkındalık uygulamalarının bireylerin kontrasttan kaçınma davranışlarını azaltma yoluyla terapi sürecine katkıda bulunabileceğini göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Bilinçli farkındalık
• Kontrasttan Kaçınma
• Psikoterapi Hakkındaki Düşünceler

Kaynakça

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