Changes in Time Perspectives Resulting from Psychotherapy

Constructed for clinical use and based on the concept of the feedback and feedforward systems in “cybernetic-psychology,” the Time Perspective Scale (TPS) was administered to three clients in order to assess the effects of psychotherapy. Two clients were withdrawn, suffering from a condition known as hikikomori in Japan; the other client was diagnosed with PTSD after suffering a major personal loss as a result of the Eastern Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The TPS was administered at pre-, mid-, and post-interventions. In addition, the Hildreth Feeling-Attitude Scale (F-A Scale) and the Kumamoto University Competence Scale (KUCS) were also administered to compare the results of the TPS. Results from the TPS indicated that at the end of the intervention, clients’ thoughts were positively focused on the present and the future. In comparison to their negative thoughts concerning the present and the future during the pre-intervention period, two clients displayed positive feedback regarding the past, and all clients displayed positive thoughts about the present as well as positive feedforward thoughts for the future. Similar to the TPS, the F-A Scale and the KUCS indicated that the clients had more positive and more constructive cognitions after the intervention. Therefore, the TPS is a useful questionnaire for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of the time perspective.