Humanistic–existential psychotherapy competencies and the supervisory process.

There has been an increasing focus in recent years on articulating foundational and functional competencies for practice in professional psychology and how a competency-based approach might inform psychology training. With the aim of contributing to the dialogue in this area, the discussion herein explores psychotherapy competencies through the lens of a humanistic–existential perspective and describes implications for psychotherapy training and supervision. Specifically, competencies pertaining to facilitating the client’s experiential awareness and use of the psychotherapy relationship to engender client change are described. Next, the foundational and functional competencies within professional psychology that are particularly salient to a humanistic–existential psychotherapy framework are discussed. Finally, the ways in which a humanistic–existential supervision framework contributes to the development of psychotherapy competencies in trainees is considered. A brief vignette is presented to illustrate the supervision process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theistic existential psychotherapy.

Recently, the dichotomy between psychotherapy and spirituality has weakened as scholars and practitioners have begun to acknowledge the value of spiritual factors in clients’ lives. This article integrates I. D. Yalom’s (1980) existential psychotherapy with the theistic worldview and with the assumptions and ideas of theistic scholars such as Kierkegaard. The philosophical foundations of Yalom’s existential psychotherapy are contrasted with those of theism. A theistic reconceptualization of existential personality theory is presented, and the existential approach to treatment is reconsidered in light of theism. Finally, a case vignette involving fear of love loss is presented to illustrate how a theistic perspective can enhance the practice of existential psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Existential applications to practice: Can existentialism integrate psychotherapy?

Reviews the book, The psychology of existence: An integrative, clinical perspective by Kirk Schneider and Rollo May (see record 1994-98741-000). In light of what they see as a growing interest in existential psychology among training clinicians and researchers, Schneider and May have authored a text which introduces the existential movement and outlines clinical applications of existentialism in psychotherapy. The text's most significant contribution is the latter—the presentation of a guiding clinical framework for conducting the "existential- integrative approach" in psychotherapy. While many personality and psychotherapy texts include introductory chapters about existentialism, few discuss how therapy cases are conceptualized and conducted from an existential therapeutic orientation. This text is an important contribution to the clinical psychology training literature. In traditional clinical training programs, existential approaches to psychotherapy are often overlooked, because such approaches are viewed as purely philosophical rather than clinically applicable. Schneider and May challenge this view. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

HIV-Related Stigma Among Market Workers in China.

HIV-related stigma was examined among 209 employees and owners of stalls in 5 markets in an eastern coastal city in China. Of the participants 53% were women and 47% were men; 100% were Han. Ages ranged from 18 to 49 years (M=35, SD=8.1). Half of the participants believed that punishment was an appropriate response toward those living with HIV (50%). Over half (56%) were unwilling to be friends with infected individuals. The majority thought that those living with HIV should be isolated (73%). They agreed that persons living with HIV should not take care of other people's children (85%). Punishing beliefs toward persons living with HIV were related to being male, older, married, less educated, and unwilling to be tested for HIV. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Existentialism, psychology, and psychotherapy.

The basic elements of existentialism and its relevance to psychology and psychotherapy are considered. "Existentialists are concerned with the meaning of life… . The existential analysts emphasize the study of the experiencing individual. Events are looked at in terms of their meaning for the individual… . In an attempt to get at the patient's inner universe of experience, the existential analyst studies how the phenomenological coordinates of time, space, causality, and materiality are experienced… . Logotherapy focuses upon the search for meaning in human existence." If it is approached as an area representing possible suggestions for further study "existentialism may have much to offer and psychology considerable to gainp" (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapy and Alcoholics Anonymous: An integrated approach.

This article provides a rationale for, and a method of, combining a nonprofessional self-help addiction recovery program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and a professional treatment approach, psychotherapy. The two approaches share a common goal, target similar issues, and work toward similar outcomes. A psychotherapy approach that integrates the two approaches can be quite powerful. Treating a patient in psychotherapy who is also working in the AA program without a good understanding of AA can result in the two approaches working at cross-purposes, diminishing the effectiveness of both interventions. After a brief discussion of psychotherapy integration, the AA program is examined in detail, focusing on the philosophy and change strategies that are compatible with psychodynamic and cognitive–behavioral models of psychotherapy. A method for integrating these techniques into a psychotherapy directed at treating addiction is presented. Guidelines are provided to manage the implementation of this integrated approach throughout the process of recovery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of HIV treatment: Mental health aspects of antiviral therapy.

Reviews the book, HIV treatment: Mental health aspects of antiviral therapy by Michael Shernoff and Raymond A. Smith (see record 2000-02567-000). In this monograph, the authors offer valuable, requisite knowledge for mental health providers who work with HIV positive patients. The authors impart essential biomedical information about antiviral treatments without becoming overly technical and provide vivid case studies to highlight the psychosocial context of antiviral treatment. The authors then succeed in bringing attention to the often ignored intersection of psychotherapy and medical treatment. One minor limitation of Shernoff and Smith's monograph is that little information is provided regarding psychotherapy with HIV positive children and older adults; the majority of the clinical examples feature adult, gay clients. Some therapists may take issue with the authors' suggestions that, in certain cases, the disclosure of a therapist's HIV status can facilitate empathy, and a supportive hug can be encouraging. Despite professional agreement or disagreement with these interventions, the authors clearly state that an eclectic approach represents one in which treatment decisions are made only after careful thought and consideration, with the benefit of supervision. The reviewer cannot help but agree, and commend Shernoff and Smith on providing an infinitely useful, illustrative text on a critically important topic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the practice of psychotherapy by the nonmedically trained.

Freud in his writing indicated that medical training was not necessary for psychoanalytic qualification. The problem (of the practice of psychotherapy by the nonmedically trained) is still very much with us; and it may be profitable to re-examine the arguments pro and con for allowing nonmedically trained individuals to perform psychotherapy. The positions of persons opposed to nonmedically trained psychotherapy are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dynamics of attachment and systems-centered group psychotherapy.

In this article, links are made between 2 theoretical paradigms, 1 that primarily describes the dynamics of dyads (attachment theory) and another that primarily although not exclusively describes the dynamics of groups (the theory of living human systems). The ideas presented are based on research into empathic attunement in adult psychotherapy, clinical material from a group psychotherapy session, and research in the field of attachment. It is suggested that systems-centered group psychotherapy provides the environment for changing members' attachment status through its attention to emotional resonance, authentic affect, and empathic attunement. These ideas are presented with a view toward encouraging research into the links between attachment theory, affect attunement, and group psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Death Anxiety and the Emotion-Processing Mind.

Death anxiety, a critical influence on human life and its psychotherapies, has been relatively neglected by psychoanalytic writers. The author proposes several reasons for this oversight and introduces the communicative or strong adaptive approach to psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, which has recently begun to explore this issue. The features of the approach are described, with emphasis on a revised version of Freud's topographic model of the mind. Three forms of death anxiety are postulated: existential, predatory, and predator. The author explores the effects of each form on emotional adaptations and the psychotherapy experience, and their role in the evolution of the emotion-processing mind-the postulated mental module with which people adapt to emotionally charged events and their meanings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of existence: An integrative, clinical perspective.

Reviews the book, The psychology of existence: An integrative, clinical perspective by Kirk J. Schneider and Rollo May (see record 1994-98741-000). There are three goals of this book: 1) to introduce the present generation of graduate students to the richness and value of existential psychotherapy, 2) to show how existential principles and treatments can be integrated with other clinical perspectives and treatments, and 3) to provide a critical link between these goals of integrating existential theory with other clinical perspectives and therapies and showing how existential principles and treatments are applied in real cases. Dividing the text into three parts, the authors present the historical roots of existentialism and recent and future trends in existential-integrative psychology. In addition, they address therapeutic applications. The reviewer concludes that this book is a creative contribution to therapy literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment and psychotherapy practice implications of new combination antiviral therapies for HIV disease.

New combination antiviral regimens that include protease inhibitors have created heightened levels of optimism about the future of HIV-related health care as well as new challenges with important implications for mental health intervention. Emerging issues in HIV-related mental health treatment are described herein, and strategies for assessment and psychotherapy are outlined, highlighting ways to address newly emerging themes in clinical practice. Clinical evaluation and therapeutic intervention specific to psychological adjustment, antiviral treatment adherence, access to care, HIV risk behavior, and central nervous system functioning are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Competency in integrative psychotherapy: Perspectives on training and supervision.

Increasingly, many psychotherapists identify with an integrative approach to psychotherapy. In recent years, more attention has been directed toward the operationalization and evaluation of competence in professional psychology and health care service delivery. Aspects of integrative psychotherapy competency may differ from competency in other psychotherapy orientations, although convergence is more often the case. Despite the potential differences, there exist very few formal training programs or guidelines to systematically guide clinicians in developing a competent integrative practice. This paper attempts to distill the essential elements of competent integrative psychotherapy practice and focuses on how these might be developed in training and supervision. We address most of these complex issues from a specific integrative perspective: principle-based assimilative integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Treating chronic depression with disciplined personal involvement: Cognitive behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy (CBASP).

Reviews the book, Treating chronic depression with disciplined personal involvement: Cognitive behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy (CBASP) by James P. McCullough Jr. (see record 2006-11486-000). The premise of this book is that therapeutic neutrality does not apply to the psychotherapy of chronically depressed individuals, and that disciplined personal involvement is an efficacious and perhaps necessary component of their treatment. Cognitive behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy (CBASP) is a learning model, in which the therapist focuses on teaching patients to recognize the consequences of their behavior. McCullough addresses practical and theoretical objections to this therapeutic approach, which include fears of overinvolvement, and inappropriate behavior, and clinical risks of flooding patients with excessively personal information and content. Ultimately, most readers will finish reading this volume with many open questions, some specific to McCullough's approach, others related to the challenging condition of chronic depression itself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a unified conceptual framework of psychotherapy.

The increase in theoretical redundancy and the fact that all theories of psychotherapy possess weaknesses as well as strengths suggest that the time may be ripe for the emergence of a unified theory of psychotherapy. Three questions are addressed that are prerequisite to the development of a unified conceptual framework in psychotherapy: (1) What is the current state of the field of psychotherapy integration? (2) How do we move toward a unified theory of psychotherapy? and (3) What must a unified psychotherapy theory include? Unification is merely the next step in the evolution of psychotherapy theory, which is expected to oscillate between stages of unification and differentiation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of experiential psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Handbook of experiential psychotherapy by Leslie S. Greenberg, Jeanne C. Watson, and Germain Lietaer (see record 1999-02133-000). The editors of this book note that what they call the experiential therapies (such as client-centered, Gestalt, and existential therapies) have receded into the background since their heyday in the sixties and seventies. Their stated purpose in this useful book is to make professionals aware of how experiential therapies have become more focused, generated a new theoretical perspective on human functioning, and continued research on the process of change. The editors also wish to integrate the experiential therapies to become an alternative to cognitive and dynamic approaches to therapy. Each chapter contains a reference section for those who wish to pursue any of the topics in more depth. The editors might not have succeeded in shaping the experiential therapies as an integrated alternative to the prevailing approaches of our day, but they definitely have provided an exposition of this approach that can inform every clinician's work, no matter what orientation he or she espouses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Making contact: Uses of language in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Making contact: Uses of language in psychotherapy by Leston Havens (see record 1986-97288-000). Drawing on ideas from psychoanalytic, existential, and interpersonal theories, the author has provided a thought-provoking and practical book about how to reach, affect, and influence the distant or absent patient through language. This book is not only thought-provoking and practical but also a pleasure to read; Havens possesses a graceful literary style that is vivid, witty, and filled with fresh metaphors. Havens avoids traditional terminology for describing the more disturbed patient in favor of a personal and less objectifying way of speaking. Havens has provided a framework for conceptualizing how language can be used in a disciplined and powerful way to locate the lost selves of our patients. By calling attention to how we speak, he reminds us that language, used empathically and authentically, is the most powerful tool we have to bridge the often wide chasm between us and our patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining HIV-related knowledge among adults in the U.S

Supplemental AIDS data from the 1987 National Health Interview Survey indicate that adults in the U.S. know the most frequent modes of HIV transmission, but lack a more comprehensive understanding of HIV and AIDS. Elements from a diffusion model were isolated to create a path-analytic framework for examining the effects of population or recipient characteristics and information sources or communication channels on HIV-related knowledge with these data. This multivariate analysis suggests that persons of lower socioeconomic status, older adults, those from racial/ethnic minority groups, those living outside of metropolitan areas, men, and those citing mass media (television or newspapers) as their primary source of information about HIV and AIDS have slightly lower levels of HIV-related knowledge. Decomposition of the effects in the path analysis suggests that use of information sources or channels, as measured by survey data, accounts for little of the observed variation in HIV-related knowledge. The implications of these results for future research and HIV-related education are discussed.     

Learning psychotherapy in the digital age.

There is substantial literature documenting the process factors that lead to effective psychotherapy. Similarly, there is now a wealth of data attesting to the effectiveness of several psychotherapy brands. Little is known about the elements that facilitate learning how to be an effective clinician. One important step, after reading about a treatment model and seeing techniques demonstrated, is having the chance to practice the approach and receiving feedback and coaching from an experienced, knowledgeable supervisor. To accomplish this efficiently, most programs rely not only on trainee accounts of what went on in their therapy sessions, but also on recordings and videos of therapeutic encounters. This article describes our experience over a 5-year period in developing the use of Webcams for training psychology interns and psychiatric residents in the delivery of psychotherapy services. Pragmatic and technical details are given about how we went about establishing a recording system that is easy to use and provides secure, confidential storage of information at a reasonable cost. Discussion addresses both the weighing of choices that need to be made and overcoming the hesitation of trainees to reveal their work during treatment sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)