Dialogues between Distanced and Suffering I-Positions: Emotional Consequences and Self-Compassion.

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of temporal dialogues and self-compassion in coping with emotions connected to difficult past situations. In this study, we used the dialogical chair procedure, where we asked participants to narrate a difficult, past negative experience by moving from "here and now" to that time and place (Suffering-I/past-I), and to narrate the same past event from a current perspective (Distanced-I/current-I). Additionally, fifty seven participants completed three measures: The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS); the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS); and the rating scales for functions of dialogue (criticism, support, instruction, and evaluation). The study showed that self-compassion predicts lower negative affect after an internal dialogue about difficult past events, but this effect is not mediated by functions of dialogue. On the other hand, dialogue functions are associated with higher levels of positive affect after dialogue, while self-compassion does not appear to be significant here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]