Initial client expectancies in time-limited counseling.

Assessed the effects of (a) whether counseling was time-limited (12 sessions), (b) the interaction of time limits with the chronicity of the client's problem, and (c) the rationale given for time limits (time limits effective/appropriate vs a long waiting list) on the initial expectancies of clients. 80 female college students were asked to place themselves into the role of a client they saw interacting with a counselor on film. Pre- and postfilm written material manipulated the independent variables. Results show that Ss in the chronic (vs acute) problem condition had the most negative expectancies for the counseling relationship and outcome when the counseling was time-limited (vs unlimited). While the rationale for time limits did not affect the primary dependent variables, post hoc analyses of Ss' essay responses indicated that the waiting-list rationale stimulated more negative expectancies than the time-limits-effective/appropriate rationale. Contrary to predictions, time did not affect Ss' expectancies for client activity and responsibility and for counselor activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of time-limited counseling on client change.

24 college-student clients seeking help from a counseling center for emotional or personal-social problems were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment conditions: time-limited or undetermined-time counseling. Pre- and postcounseling measures were obtained relating to client status and problems. These included the Personal Orientation Inventory and Strupp's therapist questionnaire. Findings indicate significant improvement in terms of self-acceptance and increased independence as well as on various other self-report statements for clients in the time-limited group over a period of 8 wks. In addition, assessment by clients and the 15 counselors of improvement in both groups was significantly related. Implications of findings in terms of use of time-limited counseling in a time-limited environment, e.g., college counseling centers, are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A case study of the process and outcome of time-limited counseling.

12 sessions of personal, insight-oriented counseling were conducted by a female psychologist with a female undergraduate with a dominating, melodramatic communication style. The client's presenting problems were difficulties with her boyfriend and family, anxiety, and headaches. The counselor's style was interpretive, confrontive, and experiential within the context of a safe, supportive, therapeutic atmosphere. Process measures indicated that the client increased amount of experiencing and insight and decreased amount of time spent describing her problems both within and across sessions. Mechanisms of change seemed to be interpretations, direct feedback, gestalt exercises, and discussion of the counselor–client relationship, following the establishment of rapport and support. Client's scores on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist and Tennessee Self-Concept Scale showed that treatment had resulted in an improvement that was maintained at 2 mo, but the client had relapsed at a 7-mo follow-up. Process analyses suggested that relapse occurred because counseling was too brief, not allowing enough time for the client to incorporate changes. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Insight and symptom reduction in time-limited psychoanalytic counseling.

The contention that client insight "causes" symptom reduction was examined for 12 clients who completed 20 sessions of psychotherapy. Clients rated target complaints before each counseling session and completed the Important Events Questionnaire (IEQ; A. L. Cummings, J. Martin, E. T. Hallberg, & A. G. Slemon, 1992) after each counseling session. Counselors rated target complaints for their clients after each session. Three judges rated the IEQs using the Insight Rating Scale (IRS; R. W. Morgan, L. Luborsky, P. Crits-Christoph, H. Curtis, & J. Solomon, 1982). Validity of the IRS was established by examining the relationship between IRS ratings, counselor-judged insight, and counts of client insight statements. Regression analyses showed that clients had significant linear increases in insight and significant linear decreases in target complaint distress across the 20 counseling sessions. Time-series analyses showed that increases in insight led reductions in target complaints. These results support the importance of insight for symptom reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stages of successful time-limited counseling: An interactional examination.

Six counselor/undergraduate dyads (the 3 most successful and the 3 least successful, as rated by client and counselor) were selected for intensive study from a sample pool of 15 dyads representative of time-limited counseling. It was hypothesized that successful counseling dyads would have 3 fairly distinct stages—high, low, and again high levels of complementarity—and that unsuccessful counseling dyads would not demonstrate this pattern. The sequence of topic-following/topic-initiation responses was used as an index of complementarity and was analyzed using a Markov chain model to test for differences in the sequence of topic responses over time. Moderate support was found for the hypothesized general stage model of high–low–high complementarity. The 3 successful dyads loosely fit the general pattern, but each showed individual variation in the length of each stage and the abruptness of stage changes. All 3 unsuccessful dyads had constant levels of complementarity over the course of counseling and thus did not fit the hypothesized model. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A preparatory method for group counseling.

Describes a preparatory method for clarifying individual expectations of group counseling and therapy: a 17-min motion picture film entitled Groups. Results indicate that the film was effective in reducing the number of unclarified expectations that 85 15-50 yr old Ss had about group counseling and therapy. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive uncertainty: A new decision-making framework for counseling.

Changing one's mind will be an essential decision-making skill in the future. Keeping the mind open will be another. Positive uncertainty helps clients deal with ambiguity, accept inconsistency, and utilize the intuitive side of choosing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social network analysis: A new methodology for counseling research.

Social network analysis (SNA) is a set of procedures that use indices of relatedness among individuals to produce representations of social structures and positions inherent in dyads or groups. This approach differs from traditional research strategies in that the focus is on developing an understanding of the ongoing transactions and the implications of transactional patterns between individuals, groups, or other social units. Although the primary emphasis in SNA is on the social context, network analysts also include traditional individual-differences variables as potential explanatory factors. SNA methods provide the means to derive a more complete view of a given social environment. A group-psychotherapy example is used to provide an overview of SNA, introducing the concepts, notation, and statistical methods used by the current generation of network researchers. Methodological issues are discussed, applications are reviewed, and resources are recommended for those wishing to learn more about SNA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on "a case study of the process and outcome of time-limited counseling."

The single-case outcome study reported by C. E. Hill et al (see record 1983-10833-001) has several strengths, including the use of sequential analysis and careful recording and investigation of sessions. However, several limitations are identified, such as the small variety of outcome measures, the lack of behavioral change measures, the failure to impose a theoretical structure on the therapy and its evaluation, and the suitability of this client for case analysis. Recommendations are made for case studies in outcome research. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychotherapy in a new key: A guide to time-limited psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Psychotherapy in a new key: A guide to time-limited psychotherapy by Hans H. Strupp and Jeffrey L. Binder. This is a well-written and carefully-reasoned book that could easily become a minor classic, a benchmark in the development of short-term psychotherapy. For the myriad pyschotherapists who have been practicing short-term therapy, based on dynamic principles, for many years, the book is not likely to be either radical or new. It is rather more likely to provide sound, reasoned arguments for doing what many therapists have intuitively sensed works best: constant focus on the here-and-now interaction between patient and therapist, avoidance of historical reconstructions, and the disciplined use of psychodynamic principles translated into everyday language for improvements of the patient's understanding of current problems in living. This is a great service in and of itself. But the book is likely to find its largest audience and use among several other groups, namely, trainers of psychotherapists, clinicians who wish to develop their skills in short-term approaches, clinic directors who wish to establish short-term therapy programs, and other investigators. Psychotherapy in a new key, quite simply, is a book that no serious student of short-term dynamic therapy can afford to miss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time-limited therapy in university counseling centers: Do time-limited and time-unlimited centers differ?

Investigated the use of brief therapy in university counseling centers with time-limited therapy (TLT) policies and centers without time limits (TUT). The Counseling Duration Questionnaire was mailed to 265 members of the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors. 213 directors (80%) completed the questionnaire. TLT centers had longer waiting lists and more frequently referred clients to other mental health agencies both at intake and at termination of treatment. Mean number of sessions per client did not differ by duration policy. A cross-validated stepwise discriminant function analysis significantly differentiated TLT centers from TUT centers on the basis of several variables, including average size of December and April waiting lists and the percentage of enrolled students seen. The results raise concerns about generally accepted rationales for movement to time limits. Policy implications for administrators are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new method for investigating prototype learning.

Past researchers studied prototype learning by asking subjects to categorize exemplars constructed from different prototypes. This procedure is less than ideal because learning must be inferred from the percentage of correct categorizations pooled across many trials or subjects or both. An alternative procedure is proposed in which subjects are asked to reproduce their estimate of the prototype on each trial, thereby providing trial-by-trial information about changes in the estimated prototype. This procedure provides straightforward tests of three basic properties implied by several prototype learning models: additivity across exemplars, noninterference among features, and time invariance of serial position effects. An experiment is reported and the results provide reasonably good support for the properties of additivity and noninterference, but clear violations of time invariance were observed. The implications of the results for distributed-memory models and multiple-trace models of prototype learning are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Otto Rank and time-limited psychotherapy.

Contends that the relationship between O. Rank's (published 1929–1966) psychotherapeutic innovations and time-limited therapy has been overlooked. Rank stressed the therapeutic value of working with time limitation, making his work particularly relevant in an area in which time-limited resources impose time constraints on most practicing clinicians. Rank's ideas are discussed in relation to contemporary theorists who have proposed models for time-limited treatment. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Videotape playback: Analysis of a new technique for counseling.

Examined the effects of videotape playback on client verbal behavior and evaluation of counseling. No significant differences were found between undergraduates receiving videotape playback counseling and traditional counseling in verbal behavior, evaluation of the counseling process, or the 4 factors assessed by the Counseling Evaluation Inventory. Implications for the use of videotape playback in counseling are discussed. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing severity of psychopathology at counseling centers: A new look.

University counseling center staff and directors have argued that there has been an increase in severity of psychological concerns among university counseling center clients (R. P. Gallagher, B. Zhang, & R. Taylor, 2004; G. L. Stone, K. M. Vespia, & J. E. Kanz, (see record 2000-02442-010)). A body of literature exists to support this perception; however, this research has been criticized for focusing solely on therapist or client perceptions of psychopathology, rather than on objective data (B. S. Sharkin & L. P. Coulter (see record 2005-14332-008)). In this investigation, the authors explored changes in severity among a random sample of 827 university counseling center clients over the course of 7 years (1999-2005) by concurrently measuring client self-report on the Outcome Questionnaire-45, number of prior treatments, and urgency of concern, as well as psychologist reports of Axis I diagnosis, diagnosis severity rating, and Global Assessment of Functioning score. No meaningful trend increases in severity of psychopathology were found over time. Practice implications of these findings are presented, and possible explanations for the impression that severity is increasing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The working alliance within time-limited therapy: A case analysis.

The working alliance across stages of time-limited psychodynamic treatment was investigated using an intensive case-analysis approach. Two White, male clients in their 20s were treated by the same therapist with process data obtained from the perspectives of client, therapist, and independent judge. As predicted, clients' perceptions of the working alliance increased, dropped, and then increased over the course of treatment. The implications of these results for a stage-process model of time-limited treatment and for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dose–effect relations in time-limited psychotherapy for depression.

Criteria for reliable and clinically significant improvement were applied to standard and individually tailored outcome measures data from 212 depressed clients who had been randomly assigned to receive either 8 or 16 sessions of time-limited psychotherapy. The data were used to address 2 questions: (a) Is the dose-effect curve for psychological symptoms negatively accelerated? and (b) is there a differential rate of response for acute, chronic, and characterological/interpersonal components of depression? The results supported the differential rate of response of different components of depression and suggested qualifications to the acute, chronic, and characterological/interpersonal components and evidence that both supported and qualified previous suggestions that the dose effect curve is negatively accelerated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A group counseling emphasis at a university counseling center.

Describes a service delivery system with a group personal counseling emphasis, based on the authors' 2 yrs of experience at a university counseling center. The local background and rationale for this system are discussed, and the practical logistics, the operational policies, and the group ground rules are presented. Utilization data are summarized: 36% of all clients and 88% of clients with 8 or more sessions were group members; groups typically grew to 9 clients and had 60% attendance. Results for a self-report outcome survey of 128 students are exemplified by the 95.1% who reported some level of improvement and the 92.2% who rated their psychologist "very" to "exceptionally effective." (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring adherence in time-limited dynamic psychotherapy.

Reports the development of the Vanderbilt Therapeutic Strategies Scale (VTSS), a measure of adherence to the tenets of time limited dynamic psychotherapy (TDLP). The VTSS comprises 2 subscales, 1 intended to assess the extent to which therapist's in-session behaviors are consistent with the approach outlined in the TDLP manual and the other rating the presence and quality of general psychodynamic techniques. Results from 64 patients (aged 24–64 yrs) and 16 therapists (aged 27–48 yrs) suggest the VTSS subscales have acceptable psychometric properties and provide good discriminant validity between pre- and post-training conditions. VTSS ratings were also compared with ratings of the therapist's contribution to the therapy process and ratings of "overall competence" made by the therapists' supervisors. The relationship between technical adherence, competence, interpersonal manner, and therapeutic skill is examined and discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)