The repression hypothesis studied in a situation of hypnotically induced conflict.

"Through hypnotic induction and control of conflict and degree of awareness, five experimental conditions were produced: (a) preconflict control; (b) conflict with posthypnotic amnesia for the situation; (c) conflict with partial posthypnotic amnesia; (d) conflict with full awareness; and (e) postconflict control. Eight measures of response to a word-association test administered by the Luria method were obtained for six Ss. Each S was tested in the waking state under the five experimental conditions. For the Ss as a group it was demonstrated that (a) there was a conflict; (b) there was a progressive increase in degree of awareness; and (c) most of the measures of behavior reflected emotional disturbance with some validity." (25 ref.) From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1HJ04B. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An analysis of professed psychotherapeutic techniques.

Psychotherapeutic technique is commonly assumed to be an important source of variance in the process and outcome of psychotherapy. It was postulated that at least 3 dimensions are essential to adequately characterize therapeutic technique. The hypothesized dimensions were psychoanalytic, impersonal vs. personal, and directive techniques. An inventory to assess therapeutic technique preferences was constructed and administered to 265 psychotherapists. 3 independent hypothesized factors were confirmed. Pattern scores of therapists on the factors related to their profession, sex, and amount of personal psychotherapy, but not to experience. The results provide a basis for classifying psychotherapists according to their characteristic techniques and for studying the effects of technique on treatment process and outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A paradigm for determining the clinical relevance of hypnotically induced psychopathology.

4 principles, or criteria, are suggested for the hypnotic induction of psychopathology: the induced process must not include cues as to how E expects the S to respond in any other respect; (b) the induced process must be response-producing, (c) some of the produced responses must fit the criteria for inclusion in some classification of psychopathology; and (c) some of the Ss must be asked by a co-experimenter, unknown to the E, to fake hypnosis in order to determine the demand characteristics of the research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Catharsis and the relief of hostility.

A study of the effect of different cathartic techniques on the relief of hostility feelings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of hypnotically induced anxiety on the Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Barron Ego-Strength Scale.

A measure of hypnotically-induced anxiety was correlated with scores on Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Scale and Barron's Ego-Strength Scale. A positive relationship was elicited between degree of experienced anxiety and the Taylor scale; a negative relationship between anxiety and Barron's scale. "These results suggest that the MAS is a valid indicator of clinical anxiety… [and] that the… [Barron scale] is genuinely measuring ego-strength or some similar trait associated with psychopathological conditions." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linguistic techniques and the analysis of emotionality in interviews.

In an attempt to analyze the degree of emotionality in the manner (as opposed to the content) of speech, excerpts from 6 interviews and a recording of a radio program were analyzed with regard to linguistic (junctures, stress, pitch) and paralinguistic phenomena (e.g., characteristic of vocalizations and voice quality). The therapeutic interviews were distinguished from the radio program conversation on the basis of linguistic phenomena only. However, linguistic phenomena were seen to be independent of emotional expressions contentwise. The results were interpreted in terms of the expression of emotion through content nonlanguage vocalizations. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4IF01D. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use and nature of present-focused interventions in cognitive and behavioral therapies for depression.

To improve cognitive and behavioral therapies (CBT) for depression, several approaches recommend an increased focus on the occurrence of problems as they occur in the therapeutic relationship or in relation to the live therapy process, referred to as present-focused. A lingering question has been the degree to which CBT therapists already engage in present-focused work. This study utilized sessions from recent trials of CBT for depression and, in Phase I, raters identified present-focused interventions on a turn-by-turn basis. Phase II raters used a qualitative analysis to determine categories of present-focused interventions. Results indicated that therapists rarely focused on the therapeutic relationship; when they did, it was often transient and lacking in the elaborations suggested by newer approaches. Therapists more often performed therapy process and emotion focused interventions, but these also tended to lack elaboration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychodynamic techniques: Working with emotion in the therapeutic relationship.

Reviews the book, Psychodynamic techniques: Working with emotion in the therapeutic relationship by Karen J. Maroda (see record 2010-01318-000). What makes Maroda’s work particularly remarkable, however, is that she not only manages to identify and explicate aspects of technique, but that the range of skills she addresses all converge on what can seem like an especially mystifying topic to new clinicians: the use of emotion in the therapeutic relationship. Maroda’s pragmatic tone seems to effortlessly weave concrete skills through the particularly vaporous topic of using emotion productively. The result is an admirably unmechanistic set of principles to aid clinicians in navigating the complex emotional terrain of the therapeutic relationship in a manner consistent with their own personal styles. One of the major strengths of Psychodynamic techniques is its breadth, and Maroda provides a good balance, including both general and specific issues related to the role of emotion in the therapeutic process. Despite the overall consistency of her attunement to the experience of the newer clinician, some of what Maroda stresses as vital to the therapeutic relationship may be unrealistic. The process of reading the book parallels the process of a successful therapy in which one has come to engage with and trust her guide and emerges a more flexible, confident, insightful person and professional. Maroda’s continued reassurances and frank openness to sharing her own vulnerabilities leaves the reader feeling infused with a sense of possibility that a fuller, deeper therapeutic relationship is possible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Process of Recommending Homework in Psychotherapy: A Review of Therapist Delivery Methods, Client Acceptability, and Factors That Affect Compliance.

Although the link between homework use and positive psychotherapy outcomes has been established, relatively little is known about the therapeutic processes, or factors, that promote homework compliance. Homework compliance may be viewed as an indicator of client commitment and involvement in psychotherapy. This article presents the results of a systematic review of research, including 16 empirical studies, related to the homework recommendation process. Findings relate to the frequency and type of homework that therapists deliver, factors that promote client acceptability of homework recommendations, and factors that affect compliance. On the basis of these findings, the authors propose a theoretically and empirically based, 6-phase conceptual model of the homework recommendation process. They also propose specific strategies for recommending homework to clients and directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship and techniques in cognitive-behavioral therapy--A motivational approach.

Motivational attunement is presented here as a set of guiding principles that can be used to foster the therapeutic alliance in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The overarching goal of motivational attunement is to provide the client with need-satisfying experiences. In order to do so, the therapist must attune his or her interventions to the client's motivational goals. The authors attempt to demonstrate how therapists can assess motivational goals and use this information to foster the central components of the alliance. The authors also outline how motivational attunement can be used to prevent and resolve alliance ruptures. Finally, empirical support for the effects of motivational attunement is briefly described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist techniques, client involvement, and the therapeutic relationship: Inextricably intertwined in the therapy process.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 43(3) of Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training (see record 2006-12148-016). an author's name was incorrectly spelled in a reference. The correct reference is presented.] I propose that therapist techniques, client involvement, and the therapeutic relationship are inextricably intertwined and need to be considered together in any discussion of the therapy process. Furthermore, I present a pantheoretical model of how these three variables evolve over four stages of successful therapy: initial impression formation, beginning the therapy (involves the components of facilitating client exploration and developing case conceptualization and treatment strategies), the core work of therapy (involves the components of theory-relevant tasks and overcoming obstacles), and termination. Theoretical propositions as well as implications for training and research are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Guess who's coming to therapy? Getting comfortable with conversations about race and ethnicity in psychotherapy.

Despite the fact that clinical psychology training programs now typically offer course work in multicultural issues, many professional psychologists may continue to feel unsure about how and when to incorporate multicultural awareness into their everyday clinical work. Having open discussions with clients regarding issues of race and ethnicity is one way to actively include a multicultural element into psychotherapy, as well as to strengthen the therapeutic alliance and promote better treatment outcome. The authors make several recommendations designed to provoke thought and stimulate conversation about race and ethnicity in the context of psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of games: A therapeutic tool with children and families.

The integration of games into therapy provides an innovative therapeutic tool that may potentially enhance the therapeutic process. This article explores the use of games in relation to the theoretical constructs of social learning, cognitive behavioral, psychoanalytic, and gestalt theories. In addition, the author discusses types of games, therapeutic components of games, and areas that impact the use of this therapeutic tool. Finally, the article presents a method explaining how counselors can modify existing games and create their own games to incorporate within the therapeutic process for individual, family, and group therapy sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder with integrated techniques from emotion-focused and interpersonal therapies.

Objective: Recent models suggest that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms may be maintained by emotional processing avoidance and interpersonal problems. Method: This is the first randomized controlled trial to test directly whether cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) could be augmented with the addition of a module targeting interpersonal problems and emotional processing. Eighty-three primarily White participants (mean age = 37) with a principle diagnosis of GAD were recruited from the community. Participants were assigned randomly to CBT plus supportive listening (n = 40) or to CBT plus interpersonal and emotional processing therapy (n = 43) within a study using an additive design. Doctoral-level psychologists with full-time private practices treated participants in an outpatient clinic. Using blind assessors, participants were assessed at pretreatment, posttreatment, 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year follow-up with a composite of self-report and assessor-rated GAD symptom measures (the Penn State Worry Questionnaire; T. J. Meyer, M. L. Miller, R. L. Metzger, & T. D. Borkovec, 1990; Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; M. Hamilton, 1959; assessor severity rating; State–Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Version; C. D. Spielberger, R. L. Gorsuch, R. Lushene, P. R. Vagg, & G. A. Jacobs, 1983) as well as with indices of clinically significant change. Results: Mixed models analysis of all randomized participants showed very large within-treatment effect sizes for both treatments (CI = [?.40, ?.28], d = 1.86) with no significant differences at post (CI = [?.09, .07], d = .07) or 2-year follow-up (CI = [?.01, .01]), d = .12). There was also no statistical difference between compared treatments on clinically significant change based on chi-square analysis. Conclusions: Interpersonal and emotional processing techniques may not augment CBT for all GAD participants. Trial Registry name: Clinical Trials.gov, Identifier: NCT00951652. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)