Men, loss, and psychotherapy.

Recent advances in the understanding of male identity development and masculine-specific gender role strain make it possible to conceptualize and design psychotherapy strategies especially suited for men. Emphasizing contributions from developmental psychology, self-psychology, and gender studies, the prominence of loss issues for men is discussed from both a developmental and a sociocultural perspective. Recommendations are made for incoporating this point of view into a new psychotherapy for men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychotherapy relationship with borderline personality disorders.

Discusses different points of view concerning the psychotherapy relationship with borderline personality disorders from the standpoint of their possible effects on the process and outcome of psychotherapy. The following major positions are reviewed: (a) traditional psychoanalytic position of technical neutrality, (b) reality relationship in which the therapist shares thoughts and feelings with patients, and (c) establishment of a relationship to facilitate gratification of primitive developmental phases. It is proposed that the major position that theorists take in the psychotherapy relationship with borderline personality disorders, especially their handling of the developmental arrest and transference–countertransference issues, differentially affects the patients' personality structure within the context of separation–individuation. A case vignette of a 15-yr-old male is used to demonstrate this point. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implications of Loevinger's theory of ego development for time-limited psychotherapy.

Examines the implications of J. Loevinger's (1976) stages of ego development, which are characterized by psychic structures that determine the form in which self and other are experienced, for psychotherapy. The stages of ego development are described, and their association with specific symptoms of psychopathology is discussed. An important distinction in applying developmental concepts to clinical work is the difference between internal developmental stages and external challenges of the life cycle. Case examples of a 42-yr-old woman with an adjustment disorder and a 17-yr-old girl with school and family problems illustrate the use of developmental concepts in time-limited psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The process of psychotherapy: An essential element.

Describes an essential cognitive element that determines the course of successful psychotherapy. The origin of the structure and function of this element depends on biological and social factors present during the developmental years. Its functioning in the process of psychotherapy depends on the freedom of the person seeking help to participate actively and to have some responsibility for direction. Three identifiable stages characterize its function: (1) perceptual-explorative (trial-and-error behavior), (2) provenience-causative (perceptual distortion and search for origin or cause of the problem), and (3) hypothetico-deductive (development of hypotheses leading to solution). Attention to this essential element reveals points of progress during therapy, deficits causing delays or blocks in progress, importance of cognitive ability in the process, and a base for empirical investigations of the process of psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterological resistances in psychotherapy supervision.

A developmental model is used to provide greater understanding of the phenomena of resistance in psychotherapy supervision. Some underlying developmental or characterological issues that may cause resistance include autonomy, identity, basic trust, shame, and narcissism. The manifestations of and approaches for dealing with characterological resistances are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Language switching in psychotherapy with bilinguals: Two problems, two models, and case examples.

Discusses the unique problems that working with bilingual patients in psychotherapy presents. One such problem is a "here and now" split between both affective experiences and developmental issues that took place in the mother tongue and their availability for exploration in psychotherapy conducted in a 2nd language. Previous theoretical material is reviewed and 2 additional models, one psychodynamic and one psycholinguistic, explaining this phenomenon are offered. Case material on 4 40–56 yr olds is presented to highlight both the affective split and the nonavailability of developmental issues in psychotherapy. Regression is discussed as an additional concept in approaching the language switching phenomena. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changing narrative schemas in psychotherapy.

Presents a model of narrative structure, based on work in child therapy and the cognitive developmental investigation of narrative structure and memory. A model is presented of the processes that maximize the likelihood of securing narrative representational change, drawing on work in cognitive/developmental theory and the philosophy of science. Discussion and example show how the models of narrative structure and representational change can be integrated to define specific therapeutic tasks. Ways in which the empirical study of narrative schematic representations in psychotherapy may enhance understanding of various psychotherapeutic techniques are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group development and the practice of group psychotherapy.

This article supports MacKenzie's (1997) proposal that group development and research be used as a guide for clinicians conducting group psychotherapy. Evidence supporting the validity of group development is presented. The author suggests that the time frame of group psychotherapy must be long enough to ensure adequate development as group productivity is associated with the later stages in the developmental sequence. Finally, clients and therapists working as partners to ensure group development is recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental model for teaching and learning in psychotherapy supervision.

Contends that supervision of psychotherapy is a complicated responsibility because the supervisor's commitment is divided between supporting the growth of the student and protecting the welfare of the client. The phenomenon of the treatment relationship can be obscured by parallel processes in the supervision. A model based on a set of developmental crises that reflect stages of learning and maturation in therapist growth is proposed. Crises in learning psychotherapy include (1) the demand for wide-ranging tolerance of ambiguity, (2) recognition and acceptance of the limits of one's capacity to offer therapeutic conditions, (3) the discovery of therapy as deep communication, and (4) the emergence of a conceptual set in which a variety of models of therapeutic intervention are related to the needs of varying patients. It is suggested that the behavior of the supervisor in dealing with problems in supervised psychotherapy is the real modeling. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Noninterpretive interventions in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy: A developmental perspective.

One of the more important issues confronting psychoanalysis and psychotherapy seems to involve the clinical and theoretical aspects of so-called noninterpretive interventions. Advances in infant research, developmental psychology, and clinical theory may aid in shedding new light on the role and mechanisms of action of a variety of noninterpretive interventions and clinical concepts, including validation and confirmation, mirroring, clarification, "holding environment," negative therapeutic reactions, and others. In addition, these advances may enhance the understanding of the nature of change in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Submergence of the personal and unique in developmental models of psychotherapy groups and their leaders.

K. R. MacKenzie (1997) and J. M. Dugo and A. P. Beck (1997) have presented developmental models of psychotherapy groups and their co-therapy leaders. Their paradigms can be functional guideposts for group psychotherapists. However, there are potential dangers inherent in the utilization of these models, including a neglect of the individuality of the client and the group therapist, a leveling of what is personal and unique in a psychotherapy group, and the possible misuse of these developmental schema in service delivery systems. These dangers could compromise the psychotherapeutic process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leading researchers' consensus on psychotherapy research findings: Implications for the teaching and conduct of psychotherapy.

We examined leading international psychotherapy researchers' views on psychotherapy outcome research. Participants completed a questionnaire on which they rated level of research evidence for or against various assertions about psychotherapy processes and outcomes. Participants rated how confident they were that the assertions were supported by psychotherapy research. Strong, or relatively strong, consensus was achieved on several of the questionnaire items. Areas for which relative uniformity of opinion does or does not exist have potential implications for the teaching and conduct of psychotherapy and for the science-practice interface in psychotherapy. Additionally, consensus about psychotherapy findings can be used as a yardstick by which to measure practicing clinicians' knowledge of the research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recipes for psychotherapy.

W. B. Stiles and D. A. Shapiro (see record 1995-10433-001) try to make a case for abandoning the model of drug research in exploring psychotherapy effectiveness, specifically, the idea that psychotherapy can be viewed in terms of effective "ingredients." Although provocative, their analysis can be challenged on methodological grounds involving failure to use multivariate analytic approaches, incomplete exploitation of advantages of growth curve analysis, and lack of attention to issues of statistical power. Acceptance of the conclusions proffered by Stiles and Shapiro would have negative effects on psychotherapy research and practice, and the case against the search for effective elements in psychotherapy process is not yet strongly made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Philosophy and psychotherapy.

In the course of responding to Elliott's (2008) provocative article, the authors tour some precincts of the intellectual foundations of psychotherapy. In particular the authors review the philosophical underpinnings of contemporary research on psychotherapy and provide a context that allows for an examination and critique of Elliott's proposals for new research methods and new approaches to conceptualizing the data of psychotherapy research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of primary process in psychotherapy: III. Dramatization and the transmission of affect.

Suggests that primary processes (PPs) may be seen to operate as a part of normal mental life. In psychotherapy, the PP of dramatization transforms communicated themes into perceptual, contextual, or representational forms within the therapist. Different kinds of patients may induce different kinds of responses in therapists, depending on the patient's developmental level of functioning. Attention to perceptual illusion, contextual bind, and daydream as they portray the patient's affect may have significant informational value for psychotherapists. Case vignettes illustrate the use of PPs in psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The application of separation-individuation theory to analytic group psychotherapy.

Argues that analytic group psychotherapy can be a highly effective modality in the treatment of patients with deficits in psychic structure. It is important to develop treatment approaches that integrate theory and technique and can be therapeutically directed toward developmental lesions in phase-appropriate ways. The application of separation-individuation theory is discussed as one useful model to facilitate change in patients with developmental arrests. This conceptual framework is also valuable in understanding how individuals may use the group to enhance personal growth and/or to perpetuate symbiosis. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The formative method for adapting psychotherapy (FMAP): A community-based developmental approach to culturally adapting therapy.

How is psychotherapy culturally adapted for ethnic minorities? Although there has been growing interest in doing so, few therapy adaptation frameworks have been developed. The majority of these frameworks take a top-down theoretical approach to adapting psychotherapy. This article introduces a community-based developmental approach to modifying psychotherapy for ethnic minorities. The formative method for adapting psychotherapy (FMAP) is a bottom-up approach that involves collaborating with consumers to generate and support ideas for therapy adaptation. It involves 5 phases that target developing, testing, and reformulating therapy modifications. These phases include (a) generating knowledge and collaborating with stakeholders, (b) integrating generated information with theory and empirical and clinical knowledge, (c) reviewing the initial culturally adapted clinical intervention with stakeholders and revising the culturally adapted intervention, (d) testing the culturally adapted intervention, and (e) finalizing the culturally adapted intervention. Application of the FMAP is illustrated using examples from a study adapting psychotherapy for Chinese Americans, but it can also be readily applied to modifying therapy for other ethnic groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contrast, contradiction, and change in psychotherapy.

The experience of contrast not only plays a fundamental role in moment-to-moment construction of reality, but also may function as a common source of change across diverse forms of psychotherapy. This article (1) examines salient sources of contrast associated with psychodynamic, interpersonal, behavioral, cognitive–behavioral, and experiential psychotherapies and (2) proposes a developmental framework for understanding the role of contrast in the process of change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment theory: A “secure base” for psychotherapy integration.

Attachment theory is well positioned to serve as a foundation for assimilative psychotherapy integration. It has an exceptionally strong empirical base and provides a life span developmental framework often absent in current treatment models. Attachment theory focuses on the need for proximity to a sensitive caregiver in childhood who provides a sense of security and a safe base from which to explore. Affect regulation and relational behavior in later life are greatly affected by the vicissitudes of attachment relationships, with significant implications for psychopathology and psychotherapy. Attachment theory should help bridge the current gap between researchers and practitioners because it underscores the centrality of relationship in the therapeutic process but possesses a long tradition of empiricism. I propose three criteria that a foundational theory requires at this time and suggest that attachment theory satisfies them with its breadth of explanatory power, strong research base, and potential for integration with a wide array of other methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Convergence and divergence of themes in successful psychotherapy: An assimilation analysis.

Theme convergence is the linking of seemingly unrelated problem domains as they advance through assimilation stages-a developmental sequence of cognitive and affective changes through which problematic content is hypothesized to pass during successful psychotherapy. Theme divergence is the contradiction or conflict of solutions to different problems, so that progress in one domain leads to stagnation or regression in another domain. An intensive qualitative method called assimilation analysis was used to examine theme convergence and divergence in a successful psychodynamic psychotherapy with a 20–yr–old female patient. Because specific problems often fail to progress monotonically, even in successful psychotherapy cases, it is suggested that clients' problems cannot be resolved in isolation; instead, they may influence each other toward resolution or stagnation in complex and unpredictable ways. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)