Abstract

There is a diverse body of research that utilizes notions of the dynamical systems (DS) perspective to describe change processes in psychotherapy, understanding it as a non-linear self-organized system that presents emergent processes and structural variations. A systematic review of research in individual psychotherapy with adult patients addressed from this perspective has been carried out. The review was carried out supported by the PRISMA methodology tracking the main concepts of the DS perspective applied to individual psychotherapy of adults (between 1997 and 2019), in English and Spanish, using the electronic databases PsycINFO and ProQuest. The final selection included 34 studies, both case studies and naturalistic studies, covering different process and outcome variables of psychotherapy. The results highlight how such concepts help to understand patients' change as a nonlinear process, emphasizing its self-organizing characteristics, transitions from states that generate psychological distress to healthier states, and the formation of emergent patterns at different stages of psychotherapy. Some related aspects (e.g. role of the alliance, and of clinical interventions) that can be considered in the therapeutic work are discussed.