Introduction to the special section on multivariate psychotherapy process research: Structure and change in the talking cure.

In response to the search for novel investigative strategies to apply in the study of psychotherapy processes, several investigators have turned to the use of factor-analytic methods of investigation. Four studies are presented that use such methods to investigate the structure of, and change in, aspects of the client and therapist discourse and symptoms over the course of treatments. The corpora of process data, culled from investigations taking place on three different continents, represent some of the largest samples of in-therapy behavior that have been analyzed in microanalytic detail. Providing both methodological advances and important substantive findings, the studies included were conducted to stimulate further use and development of factor-analytic methods to identify and track key processes over the course of psychotherapeutic treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trends in psychotherapy process research: Samples, measures, researchers, and classic publications.

Psychotherapy studies published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP) and the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (JCCP) between 1978 and 1992 were examined. Differences were found between the 2 journals. JCP published mostly process, outcome, and analog research, whereas JCCP published mostly outcome research. Most process and process-outcome studies across journals were of individual, brief therapy. Across the years, more diversity was evident in samples used in process research in terms of student status, gender, and race of clients and therapists. Three content areas were prominent in the process measures and classic studies: therapist techniques, therapist influence, and facilitative conditions. Lists are provided of the frequently used measures, most productive authors, and classic studies in process research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Reassessing psychotherapy research.

Reviews the book, Reassessing psychotherapy research edited by Robert L. Russell (see record 1994-98237-000). This book, with its international representation of contributors, attempts to address central issues in contemporary ("fourth generation") psychotherapy research. The main tenet is that much dominant psychotherapy research has focused on outcome, curative factors, and scientific rigor and overlooked the richness of therapeutic process. This book does as the title suggests: addresses content and process issues, balanced with methodological sophistication. (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)     

Perceived support and relational effects in psychotherapy process constructs.

Recent research has indicated that only a small portion of supportiveness reflects the objective properties of providers. Instead, supportiveness primarily reflects the unique relationships among specific recipients and providers (i.e., relational effects), thus suggesting new approaches to support interventions. The authors investigated the possibility that similar relational effects occur for therapy process constructs (e.g., working alliance). Isolating relational effects in psychotherapy requires that each client receive treatment from more than one therapist during the same period of time. Therefore, we conducted analog studies in which therapy clients and students viewed videos of therapists and then rated expected therapist supportiveness and expected therapy process constructs for each therapist. Two studies indicated very strong relational effects in therapist supportiveness and therapy process constructs. In addition, process constructs were correlated strongly with supportiveness (Study 1) and favorable affect (Study 2) for relational effects specifically. Implications for integrating research on perceived support and therapy process were discussed. (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)     

Decision making and psychotherapy integration: Theoretical considerations, preliminary data, and implications for future research.

In recent years, a number of publications have called for investigation of how psychotherapists make treatment decisions in clinical practice. This recommendation is particularly salient for psychotherapy integration, as studies have consistently shown that a plurality of American clinicians consider themselves to be either "eclectic" or "integrative" in theoretical orientation. Yet, the research on clinician decision making in psychotherapy is in its infancy. This article examines the need for decision-making research in psychotherapy integration, as well as aspects of psychotherapy integration that are targets for research and possible theoretical frameworks for understanding decision-making processes of integrative psychotherapists. A preliminary study provides data from practicing psychotherapists to illustrate these points. Finally, implications and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Helpful and hindering events in psychotherapy: A practice research network study.

This paper presents the findings of a psychotherapy process study conducted within the Pennsylvania Psychological Association Practice Research Network (PPA-PRN). The investigation was the product of a long-term collaborative effort, both in terms of the study design and implementation, between experienced clinicians of various theoretical orientations and full-time psychotherapy researchers. Based on a relatively large sample of clients seen in independent practice settings, close to 1,500 therapeutic events (described by clients and therapists as being particularly helpful or hindering) were collected. These events were coded by three independent observers using a therapy content analysis system. Among the findings, both clients and therapists perceived the fostering of self-awareness as being particularly helpful. The results also point to the importance of paying careful attention to the therapeutic alliance and other significant interpersonal relationships. The merits and difficulties of conducting scientifically rigorous and clinically relevant studies in naturalistic contexts are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural influences on the process of conducting psychotherapy: Personal reflections of an ethnic minority psychologist.

I was asked to reflect how being a member of an ethnically diverse minority group, that is, Japanese American, may have influenced my clinical practice as a psychologist and psychotherapist. I first define the various facets of my “diversity status,” followed by an offering of reflections on how being a member of this group impacted both myself as a therapist and my clients. I conclude with several general recommendations geared to enhance a positive therapeutic alliance and client outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond the illusion of structural change: A process priming approach to psychotherapy outcome research.

Psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy outcome research has yet to differentiate between a psychological structure that is present but temporarily inactive and genuine change in that underlying structure. Thus, a decrease in maladaptive responding following treatment may sometimes reflect illusory structural change, with the patient remaining vulnerable to relapse in situations that activate the underlying pathogenic structure. Genuine structural change would be better assessed by deliberately seeking and failing to find evidence of the enduring presence of a pathogenic structure under conditions that typically activate that structure, using both implicit (e.g., free response) and explicit (self-report) outcome measures. Because implicit and explicit measures are differentially affected by situational variables (e.g., mood, mindset priming), rigorous psychotherapy research must use experimental techniques and multimodal assessments to assess outcome under the conditions most likely to evoke a pathological reaction in a seemingly recovered individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Group psychotherapy: Studies in methodology of research and therapy. Report of a group psychotherapy research project of the U. S. Veterans Administration.

Reviews the book, Group Psychotherapy: Studies in Methodology of Research and Therapy. Report of a group psychotherapy research project of the U. S. Veterans Administration by Jerome D. Frank and Florence B. Powdermaker (see record 1954-02756-000). According to the reviewer, the project described in this volume was probably the first large-scale formal research into the process of group psychotherapy. The two major objectives of the investigation were to develop methods for studying the process of therapy and the specific problems faced by therapists, and to develop methods which could provide solutions to the problems isolated by the analysis of the treatment process. The book, like the project, has two main divisions, the research with neurotic clinic patients and a controlled study of group therapy with hospitalized schizophrenics. According to the reviewer, whatever its failings as pure research, there can be no question that this is an important and useful book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research in dynamic psychotherapy.

The Psychosocial Treatments Branch of NIMH held two conferences during 1982 and 1983 at which groups of experts in dynamic psychotherapy and research examined the feasability of mounting a special research program on dynamic psychotherapy. Recommendations regarding such a research program are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating outcome research and clinical reasoning in psychotherapy planning.

This article reviews the strengths and weaknesses of outcome research and clinical reasoning as bases of treatment planning and presents a synthesis in which these two types of information complement each other. The author proposes that therapy planning should begin with a review of the relevant outcome literature and also that divergence from research-based guidelines might be warranted under several conditions, including (a) when the client is demographically or culturally dissimilar to the study samples, (b) when assessment suggests a mismatch between the etiologies of the client's disturbance and the processes addressed by empirically supported treatments, and (c) when use of such treatments is followed by a lack of progress that signals the advisability of midcourse correction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapist mindfulness and the psychotherapy process.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 47(2) of Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice (see record 2010-13424-005). the order of authorship and the affiliations of the authors was incorrectly printed. The correct order and affiliations are as follows: Noah Bruce, Shauna L. Shapiro, Michael J. Constantino, and Rachel Manber; Kaiser Permanente, Santa Clara University, University of Massachusetts, Stanford University] A psychotherapist’s ability to relate to his or her patients is essential for decreasing patient suffering and promoting patient growth. However, the psychotherapy field has identified few effective means for training psychotherapists in this ability. In this conceptual article, we propose that mindfulness practice may be a means for training psychotherapists to better relate to their patients. We posit that mindfulness is a means of self-attunement that increases one’s ability to attune to others (in this case, patients) and that this interpersonal attunement ultimately helps patients achieve greater self-attunement that, in turn, fosters decreased symptom severity, greater well-being, and better interpersonal relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Translational research: How social psychology can improve psychotherapy.

In an effort to generate innovative treatments, the National Institute of Mental Health has made translational research for alleviating mental illness a major funding priority. Although translational research is a powerful approach for moving basic science findings into novel treatments, it remains ambiguous and rarely implemented in psychology. The current article describes conceptual and methodological issues involved with translational research, including considerations about time frame, scope of hypothesis tested, dose of treatment, contraindication, and sampling. Translational concepts and methods are illustrated with areas of social psychology that are promising for translation into solutions for pressing questions in psychotherapy research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simplification as a strategy for research in psychotherapy.

Simplification as a strategy whereby phenomena originally observed in their natural setting are abstracted and, usually, transferred to a laboratory setting is discussed in the context of psychotherapy. 4 types of simplifications utilized in research in psychotherapy were reviewed. 3 rules for achieving acceptable simplifications are described and applied to the 4 types of simplifications that have been used. While simplification can be expected to play an important part in the accumulation of knowledge, control without simplification and other naturalistic research will need to be continued. (31 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some implications of psychotherapy research for therapeutic practice.

Implications for practice and research are drawn from a survey of psychotherapy research findings, condensed into 6 broad conclusions: (1) psychotherapy causes clients to become better or worse adjusted than controls; (2) control Ss improve with time as a result of informal therapeutic encounters; (3) therapeutic progress varies with therapist warmth, empathy, adjustment, and experience; (4) client-centered therapy is the only interview-oriented method that has been validated by research; (5) traditional therapies are seriously limited in effectiveness and are relevant for a small minority of disturbances; and (6) behavior therapies have considerable promise for enhancing therapeutic effectiveness and should be utilized or experimented with more widely. (2 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathic relational bonds and personal agency in psychotherapy: Implications for psychotherapy supervision, practice, and research.

Although psychotherapy researchers have become increasingly interested in identifying common factors that contribute to effective therapeutic practices, across psycho-diagnostic categories and treatment approaches, relatively little attention to date has been focused on the impact of these research findings for psychotherapy supervision and training programs. To address this gap, in this article we describe key components of an integrative psychotherapy supervision and training program that focuses on the development of a strong therapeutic alliance as an empirically supported, common principle of change in psychotherapy. We review empirical research evidence that addresses the contributions of therapist empathic engagement for the development of secure, relational bonds, heightened client agency, and the development of strong therapeutic alliances, and we discuss the implications of these findings for therapy practice and supervision training. We conclude with specific recommendations for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)