The voices of registered play therapists as supervisors.

This study examined the background, perceived training needs, and issues of Registered Play Therapist Supervisors (n = 305) and their supervisees. Supervisors completed a four-part survey regarding demographics, supervisor and supervisee issues, and perceptions of training needs for supervisors of play therapists. Important findings are the lack of training in and possible understanding of clinical supervision, the lack of perceived need for supervision of supervision, and the absence of countertransference as an important issue for supervisors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misconduct by therapists.

Suggests that, in his retrospective review of malpractice claims against psychologists, R. H. Wright (see record 1982-22006-001) infers beyond the limits of the data he reports. Specifically, he suggests that, because there were so few complaints of sexual misconduct, stories of sex between psychologist and patient are substantially overstated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethics of practice: The beliefs and behaviors of psychologists as therapists.

There is an absence of comprehensive, systematically gathered data concerning psychologists' beliefs about and compliance with ethical principles. Furthermore, we know little about which resources are valued as effective in guiding appropriate behavior. Survey data were collected from 456 APA Division 29 members regarding the degree to which they engaged in each of 83 behaviors and the degree to which they considered each behavior to be ethical. These data were categorized and examined in terms of five principles derived from the Hippocratic oath (avoiding harm, competence, avoiding exploitation, respect, and confidentiality) as well as two additional principles (informed consent; social equity and justice). Twelve of the behaviors were very difficult for participants to evaluate on the basis of ethics. Seven of the 83 behaviors were practiced by over 90% of the participants; 16 by fewer than 10%. Colleagues, the APA Ethical Principles, and internship training were rated as the most helpful resources in guiding behavior; state and federal laws, published research, and local ethics committees were rated least helpful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in supervision as counselors and therapists gain experience: A review.

Considerable research relevant to counselor and therapist development has been done since E. L. Worthington's (see record 1988-21517-001) review. Additional support has surfaced for Worthington's conclusions: There is support for general developmental models, perceptions of supervisors and supervisees are consistent with developmental theories, the behaviors of supervisors change as counselors gain experience, and the supervision relationship changes as counselors gain experience. Although the types of research used and the sophistication of data analysis have improved somewhat, too few studies directly address changes over time for trainees in supervision. Suggestions are given for future research in supervision to reflect the level of specificity necessary to investigate developmental models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Limit setting practices of play therapists in training and experienced play therapists.

This study evaluated the effect of play therapy training on graduate students' limit-setting choices in play therapy and compared their reported choice of limits with the reported choice of limits of experienced play therapists. The results indicated a significant difference between pre-training and posttraining limit-setting choices of graduate students, with more limits being chosen after training. The limits selected by students after play therapy training were similar to those chosen by experienced therapists in past studies. After training, students selected limits most frequently in the areas of physical aggression against the therapist, physical aggression against equipment, and on behaviors which endangered the child's health and safety. After training, students chose the fewest limits in the area of socially unacceptable behavior, particularly in the expression of obscenity in the playroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"A" therapists as creative and personally involved with other people.

Administered the MMPI, Campbell-Strong Vocational Interest Blank, and A-B Therapist scale to college males. A subgroup of freshmen was also given 12 tests of creative potential. Results support the hypotheses that A-type therapists would show greater creativity, personal involvement with people in general, femininity, and verbal orientation than B-type therapists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Status of sexuality in contemporary psychoanalytic psychotherapy as reported by therapists.

Contemporary psychoanalytic literature places less emphasis than its classical counterpart on sexuality in explaining human motivation. However, up until now no methodical research has been done on the status of sexuality in clinical work. We report on a qualitative interview study that examined the status of sexuality in psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy (n = 10). We studied the extent to which therapists used sexual factors to explain patient behavior: To what extent were sexual themes dominant in the treatment, what importance did therapists attach to them, and what factors affected their place in therapy? The data gathered from the investigation were related to theoretical thinking on the marginalization of sexuality in psychoanalytic theory and practice. On the basis of the investigation, we describe four factors that affect the status of sexual themes in therapy: the extent of the belief in the centrality of sexuality in human motivation, the level of expressiveness of therapy, the narrowing of the concept of sexuality and the separation between sexuality and intimacy, and the tendency to avoid sexual issues because of the discomfort their discussion causes to patient or therapist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The education of therapists.

At a conference for female therapists in Canada, participants answered a questionnaire on issues and skills of therapists. Results indicate that the Ss were interested in (1) understanding themselves, their careers, and women's roles in society, and (2) a feminist approach to therapy. The responses suggest that the Ss' training as therapists was inadequate to the extent that it failed to address their own reality and that of women clients. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preferences for therapists and related expectancies.

60 male and 60 female undergraduates were shown slides of the faces of potential therapists, older males, younger males, older females, and younger females. Ss indicated how much they would like to talk to each individual if they had a personal or vocational problem. They also indicated how they thought each therapist would act in a discussion and what each was like as a person. Older males were the preferred therapists in all cases except for women with personal problems who tended to prefer older women. Preferences seemed to be related to high expectancies on therapy relevant variables, especially understanding, rather than to similarity to the students. Students' social classes and parent-child relationships were not related to preferences. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-talk of group therapists.

To identify group leader cognitions and the role experience may play in leader cognitive schemas, 60 participants were placed in 1 of 3 groups on the basis of group-leading experience and were exposed to a 20-min videotape of a group session, during which they completed a thought-listing instrument. Two judges free sorted the 1,299 collected thoughts and identified and defined 17 distinct thought categories. Three trained judges then placed 1,271 (97.8%) of the thoughts into these categories. Differences among experience levels were also explored through correlation and stepwise multiple regression analyses. Two thoughts, interpretation of group process and internal question regarding member, were found to account for 56% of the variance in experience level. Findings are discussed in terms of group leader cognitive processing, and suggestions for future research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapists as patients: A national survey of psychologists' experiences, problems, and beliefs.

A survey of 800 psychologists (return rate?=?59.5%) found that of 84% who had been in therapy, only 2 described therapy as unhelpful, 22% found it harmful, 61% reported clinical depression, 29% reported suicidal feelings, 4% reported attempting suicide, 26% reported being cradled by a therapist, 20% reported withholding important (mostly sexual) information, and 10% reported violations of confidentiality. Women were more likely than men to report sexual material in therapy; psychodynamically oriented respondents were more likely to report sexual material. Of those who had terminated, 63% reported recent consideration of resuming therapy. Most believed that therapy should be a requirement of graduate programs and licensure, but only about a third believed therapy mandated by licensing boards for resuming practice after violations of professional standards to be clearly or even likely effective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epistemological commitments of behavioral and psychoanalytic therapists.

Administered the Psycho-Epistemological Profile—Experimental Form VI to 53 behavioral therapists (mean age 41.8 yrs) and 66 psychoanalysts (mean age 54.7 yrs) in order to determine the epistemological differences underlying the philosophy of each therapy. Ss also provided information about their orientation and amount of time devoted to service vs research activities. Results support the hypothesis that basic visions of reality, operationalized as epistemic styles, are possible barriers to therapeutic integration. However, simply demonstrating a difference does not prove incompatibility, even if the finding is specifically predicted by theories that claim that such differences are a direct cause of therapeutic incompatibility. Findings provide empirical verification of a theoretically predicted phenomenon. Virtually all the observed differences between the behavioral therapists and psychoanalysts appear attributable to the extreme homogeneity of the psychoanalytic therapists. It is suggested that, since behavioral therapists and psychoanalytic therapists are characterized by distinctive epistemological commitments, the differences can be ascribed to Ss as individual persons. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidental encounters between therapists and their clients.

Data about incidental encounters with clients in public settings were provided by 573 college therapists (return rate?=?32%), using J. C. Flanagan's (1954) critical incident technique. Results indicated that many therapists experience feelings of surprise, uncertainty, and discomfort, as well as concern about possible violation of confidentiality and therapeutic boundaries during such encounters. Implications for future research are discussed in light of these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sustained and sustaining continuing education for therapists.

Thirty-eight therapists who completed a 2-year continuing education program evaluated the effect of that program on how they conducted therapy and on themselves as individuals. The program differed from most continuing education offerings both in its ongoing nature and its emphasis on an interactive and dynamic use of material rather than on a purely didactic presentation. Participants described changes that they felt improved the quality of the therapeutic alliance, increased their ability to work effectively with difficult patients, and increased their self-awareness. This evaluation of the experience of a mature (over 10 years in operation) program is significant at a point when American Psychological Association (APA) is considering a broader conceptualization of continuing education models. These results also illustrate the importance of thoroughly evaluating the effect of continuing education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical dilemmas: therapists treating therapists

Psychotherapists who treat therapist-patients confront a range of intense, often unexpected, countertransferential feelings that threaten to intrude on the course of treatment. The experience of the treating therapist is examined and discussed with particular attention to implications for clinical practice.     

Recommendations for supervising play therapists.

Although a number of articles have been published on the effectiveness of training play therapists, little has been developed on specific aspects that may facilitate the supervisory process in guiding the professional development of play therapists. Recommendations about effective approaches and strategies are offered to those involved in training and supervising play therapists. These recommendations evolved from the experience of a licensed clinical psychologist who teaches play therapy classes and has been involved in the practice of play therapy for over twenty years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward the Training of Broad-Range Family Therapists.

Psychologists as a profession have been relatively underrepresented in the field of family therapy. This is true when we consider the people who have shaped the field of family therapy and when we look at the program of the American Psychological Association (APA). It is even true when we look at the trainees and students at the Ackerman Institute, whose training program is the basis for these remarks. Among the mental health disciplines, psychology is the most rigorous in stressing critical and evaluative thinking, conceptualizing, and intellectual learning. Basic training in experimental methodology cultivates a preference for reductionist thinking. Family therapy, on the other hand, deals with themes, patterns, complexities, and data overload and necessitates learning that is affective and experiential as well as intellectual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impossible roles therapists must play.

Contends that there are roles that therapists must play as a function of a basic canon underlying the field of psychotherapy, and that these roles are ingrained in the profession itself, the various therapeutic approaches, and the personalities of psychotherapists. However, some of these roles are impossible. Six of these impossible roles (e.g., the "divine being," objective observer, and maker of impossible promises) are described, together with the therapeutic problems with which they are yoked. (French abstract) (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapeutic outcome as rated by patients, therapists, and judges

The authors examined the available data for 10 adolescents who had been charged with parricide and compared these with data for matched groups of 10 adolescents charged with murdering another relative or a close acquaintance and 10 charged with murdering a stranger. They found significant differences between parricidal adolescents and other homicidal adolescents on personality, family, social, and follow-up adjustment variables.