The Clinical Relevance of Psychophysiology: Support for the Psychobiology of Empathy and Psychodynamic Process

Psychophysiologic measures, such as skin conductance and heart rate, have been used in both psychotherapy process research and clinical practice. We present a case report of a patient and therapist who participated in a process-oriented psychotherapy research protocol using simultaneous measures of skin conductance. Data from the research protocol were used to broaden an empathic understanding of the patient, which facilitated insight and enhanced the exploration of conscious and unconscious processes that originated in the past and have come to dominate the present—the core of psychodynamic theories of change. The case illustrates the clinical relevance of psychophysiology and its use as a potential bridge between psychotherapy research and the theory and practice of psychotherapy. The implications of the case in support of the role of empathy in psychotherapy are discussed.