Play therapy behaviors of sexually abused children.

Examined the question of whether there are specific play therapy behaviors associated with children who have been sexually abused, and whether these behaviors differ by sex and age of the children. A survey instrument was developed which listed 140 play therapy behaviors. 21 play therapists participated in a field test to establish external validity. 249 play therapists were also surveyed to identify professionals who provide play therapy. Analysis identified highly interrelated play therapy behaviors of sexually abused girls and boys from ages 3–10 yrs. Suggested use of the play therapy behaviors include assessments to detect sexual abuse and recommendations for child placement and/or court testimony. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The spirit of Jungian group psychotherapy: from taboo to totem

Practitioners of analytical psychology were late in coming to the practice of group psychotherapy because Carl Jung effectively forbade the treatment of individuals in stranger groups. This article explores Jung's objections to group therapy and, by way of a conceptual review of the literature, expands on the practice that grew up proximate to his death. It is argued that Jungian theory is especially conducive to collective treatment because it is concerned with the relationship between oppositions (whether in persons or between people) and uses synthetic and symbolic processes to bring about an integration of the one with the many. For Jungians who espouse a theory of symbolic transformation, archetype, and myth, the group is embodied in individuals and can be accessed by working with individuals in groups.     

A consumer-oriented approach to psychotherapy.

Argues for a consumer-oriented approach to psychotherapy that focuses on the perspective and role of the client in the therapeutic contract. It is recommended that therapists clearly specify their type of therapy in the initial contract and engage in ongoing evaluation by soliciting periodic feedback from clients. Moreover, it is suggested that follow-up evaluation, consumer protection boards, and client involvement in problem definition and problem resolution planning may all help to ensure protection of a client's rights. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culture and psychotherapy: Toward a hermeneutic approach.

Outlines a hermeneutic model of the self and its relationship to culture based on an integration of the hermeneutic work of M. Heidegger, H. Gadamer, and C. Taylor, and the cultural anthropologist C. Geertz. The author begins by first summarizing a hermeneutic theory of culture. Next, how the reigning Western understanding of the person, ontological individualism, makes it difficult to grasp how thoroughly people are shaped by culture is examined. The author then turns to Heidegger's notion of "being-in-the-world" as an alternative non-Cartesian ontology of the human agent that compliments an interpretive view of culture. Also addressed is Taylor's claim that culture is a moral framework that orients us to the good. The author then explores how the hermeneutic notion of dialogue can provide a framework for engaging with those from different cultural backgrounds. Finally, these concepts are applied to a cross-cultural case study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual psychotherapy. Institutional psychotherapy. Individual approach

In the psychiatric management of patients where the author works the following factors are given careful consideration: a) source of referral, b) previous information about the illness, c) the content of the first session, d) obstacles for further treatment and e) theoretical basis for the psychotherapy sessions. Bellak and Small outlines are followed to structure brief and emergency psychotherapy at the author's institution.     

Emotive-reconstruction psychotherapy: a short-term cognitive approach

Emotive-Reconstructive Therapy, a recently developed therapeutic modality deriving from cognitive theory, may be a promising short-term approach to psychopathology. Combining the use of imagery with selective hyperventilation, a therapist induces patients to reexperience past events, and subsequently to radically reconstrue themselves and significant others in a personally satisfying direction.     

Therapist effects in outpatient psychotherapy: A three-level growth curve approach.

Evidence suggests that a moderate amount of variance in patient outcomes is attributable to therapist differences. However, explained variance estimates vary widely, perhaps because some therapists achieve greater success with certain kinds of patients. This study assessed the amount of variance in across-session change in symptom intensity scores explained by therapist differences in a large naturalistic data set (1,198 patients and 60 therapists, who each treated 10-77 of the patients). Results indicated that approximately 8% of the total variance and approximately 17% of the variance in rates of patient improvement could be attributed to the therapists. Cross-validation and extreme group analyses validated the existence of these therapist effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A dialectic of experience: A radical empiricist approach to conflicting theories in psychotherapy.

Uses the radical empiricism of William James (e.g.,1890 [1981]), in combination with the work of G. A. Kelly (1963) and E. Husserl (1929 [1977], 1936 [1970]), in a dialectical exploration of the roots of the problem of psychotherapy theories. The convolutions and confusions that result from metaphysical pursuits are clarified, although no attempt is made to finalize any particular theory. The dialectic of experience, like a kind of cognitive therapy on psychotherapy theory itself, shows how differing sets of presuppositions have reframed and redefined primary experience to arrive at radically different, incompatible theories. The discussion leads to a common factor approach to psychotherapy research, practice, and theory that is cognizant of the dialectic of experience. The dialectic accommodates the insights of the various schools without sacrificing them in a superficial eclecticism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integration in psychotherapy: An approach from Argentina.

This article presents the distinctive features of psychotherapy in Argentina. An overview of the major changes it has faced in the past 10 years is provided. The development of psychotherapy models and significant aspects of the integration movement are highlighted. The article also outlines the formal aspects and training of psychotherapists and the main publications in Argentina. Original contributions of the national culture are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Holotropic breathwork: An experiential approach to psychotherapy.

Investigated the relationship between the use of Holotropic Breathwork and therapeutic changes in levels of distress associated with self-identified problems, death anxiety, self-esteem, and sense of affiliation with others. Two groups of 24 Ss (aged 22–50 yrs) were compared using a repeated measures design. One group participated in a combination of experientially oriented psychotherapy plus 6 monthly session of Holotropic Breath work (Breath work Group); the 2nd group participated only in experientially oriented psychotherapy (Therapy Group). Dependent measures were the Death Anxiety Scale, the Abasement and Affiliation subscales of the Personality Research Form-E, and a questionnaire regarding self-identified problems. The Breathwork Group showed significant reductions in death anxiety and increase in self-esteem compared to the Therapy Group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personologic psychotherapy: Ten commandments for a posteclectic approach to integrative treatment.

Presents 10 commandments of integrative psychotherapy (IP) as a means of conveying themes in IP, including the view that (1) IP uses techniques that are selected only as a part of the overall constellation of treatment procedures employed; (2) the IP personality construct represents a combination of the cognitions, interpersonal behaviors, and unconscious mechanisms that characterize persons; (3) IP is most ideally suited to the treatment of personality disorders; and (4) personological psychotherapy is an integrative treatment strategy that uses counterpoised techniques to produce personality changes through combinational and sequential effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dependency in psychotherapy: Toward an integrated treatment approach.

Briefly reviews empirical research on the etiology and dynamics of dependency, describes extant theoretical and clinical writings on dependency in psychotherapy, and presents an integrated treatment approach to working with dependent patients in the clinical setting. This treatment approach focuses, first and foremost, on altering the dependent patient's problematic cognitions and self-statements. In addition, this treatment approach strives to alter the dependent patient's motivations, behaviors, and emotional responses, with the aim of facilitating autonomous functioning and encouraging healthy interdependence in interpersonal relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A self-determination theory approach to psychotherapy: The motivational basis for effective change.

The application of self-determination theory (SDT) to psychotherapy is particularly relevant because a central task of therapy is to support the client to autonomously explore, identify, initiate, and sustain a process of change. In this article, the authors discuss the experimental work, field studies, and clinical trials representing the application of SDT to the domain of psychotherapy. Evidence supports the importance of client autonomy for the attainment and maintenance of treatment outcomes. In addition, intervention studies suggest that therapist autonomy support enhances the likelihood that treatment gains will be achieved and maintained. The authors discuss some of the processes involved in enhancing autonomy, including the role of awareness, the importance of exploring and challenging introjects and external regulations, attention to need-related goal contents, and therapist attitudes required for a therapy approach that is process- rather than outcome-focused. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical significance of psychotherapy for unipolar depression: A meta-analytic approach to social comparison.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 55(3) of Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (see record 2008-10745-001). The data presented in Table 2 were incorrect because a row and a column were inadvertently omitted. The corrected Table 2 appears in the erratum.] This study used meta-analysis to study the clinical significance of psychotherapy for symptoms of unipolar depression. The following questions were addressed: How similar is the posttherapy adjustment of depressed adults to that of nondepressed adults? Is this adjustment maintained at follow-up? What dimensions of treatment, therapists, or design are associated with clinical significance? Using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), we calculated composite BDI norms from 28 published studies. Sixty effect sizes (from 31 outcome studies utilizing the BDI) were calculated. The results indicated that psychotherapy produces outcomes that have moderate clinical significance and that are well-maintained at follow-up, that individual therapy is associated with greater clinical significance than group treatment, and that type of therapy is not related to improvement. Alternative approaches for operationalizing clinical significance as the return of individuals to normal levels of functioning are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The inherently integrative approach of positive psychotherapy.

Positive Psychotherapy (PPT) is a therapeutic metatheory and approach that was developed in 1968 by Dr. Nossrat Peseschkian. His contribution to psychotherapy is not to be confused with what is being called PPT and is an outgrowth of Positive Psychology begun by Dr. Martin Seligman in the U.S. Peseschkian's approach to therapy is inherently and systematically integrative, along the lines of being cross-cultural, multidisciplinary, therapeutically, and psychologically intertheoretic. This article presents some basic premises of PPT: the use of stories; having a positive starting point; basic and actual capacities; five-stage therapeutic model; as well as mentioning other aspects of PPT and a case study. PPT is well suited to therapists advocating integrative psychotherapy as demonstrated by empirical research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An approach to defining a patient population in psychotherapy research.

The utility of employing elevated scores on the Depression and Psychasthenia scales of the MMPI as an indicator of a genuine, enduring clinical problem in need of remediation was investigated for a male college student population. The personal, academic, and occupational histories of 54 entering students with elevated scores (T > 60) on these scales were compared with those of a comparable random group of 54 males over an 81/2-yr period. Based on university records and self-report questionnaire data, the high scorers exhibited greater difficulty with personal adjustment, in graduating from college, and in finding a job and deciding on a career; they were earning lower salaries and fewer had married. Nearly half had sought professional help for an emotional problem. Pilot data further suggest that MMPI scale scores for this population decrease following psychotherapy but not with the passage of time. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A non-aversive approach to reducing hospital absconding in a head-injured adolescent boy

Human envenomation caused by bee or wasp stings has been reported to cause acute renal failure (ARF), usually due to acute tubular necrosis (ATN), as a frequent complication. The pathogenetic mechanisms of ATN occurring in these accidents are still unclear. In the present study, female Wistar rats weighing 150-200 g were injected intravenously with Africanized bee venom at a dose of 0.4 microl/100 g body weight and used in functional and light microscopy studies. The animals were divided into two groups: the early group was studied 3-8 h after inoculation, and the late group was studied 24-30 h thereafter. The animals showed ARF characterized by reduction of glomerular filtration rate with increasing levels of plasma creatinine. They also showed increased fractional sodium and potassium excretions, suggesting changes in the proximal portion of the nephron. The water transport through collecting tubules was reduced, with consequent diuresis, indicating functional changes in the distal portion of the nephron. These functional changes were more marked in the early group, with recovery tending to occur after 24 h. Albuminuria was also observed in this group. Light microscopy showed ATN mainly in cortex and outer medulla, with isolated necrosis in cells or small groups of cells and cast formation in the distal and collecting tubules. After 24 h frequent mitotic figures were found in the tubular epithelium. The observed ARF was due to ATN which in turn was probably caused by multiple effects, mainly hemodynamic changes secondary to cardiotoxicity and systemic vasodilation caused by the venom, myohemoglobinuria, and the direct action of the venom on tubular cells.     

A transvaluation of psychotherapy: a reply to Hans Eysenck.

In an attempt to answer Eysenck's contention that "the figures fail to support the hypothesis that psychotherapy facilitates recovery from neurotic disorder," the author re-examines three vital questions: What is psychoneurosis? What is psychotherapy? and What is improvement or recovery? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consciousness as a regulatory field: A theory of psychotherapy.

The proposed theory places emphasis "on central factors with utilization of the biological concept of regulation… . Psychotherapy is defined as a set of techniques, all of which should have as their common purpose the progressive re-establishment in the individual of a more adequate degree of self-regulation." An organized approach is attempted which gives "a more appropriate place to the unsuccessfully rejected concept of consciousness." Phenomena related to psychotherapy, including free association, insight, "uncovering" and interpretation, and group relationship factors are considered. "It is assumed that the current style of being eclectic in psychotherapy demands that certain basic concepts be systematically identified so that the recognized common factors in psychotherapy shall have an organized meaning. The regulatory theory of consciousness and the derived concepts of stress-defense dynamics are offered as a step in this direction." 17 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)