Review of Expressing emotion: Myths, realities, and therapeutic strategies.

Reviews the book, Expressing emotion: Myths, realities, and therapeutic strategies by Eileen Kennedy-Moore and Jeanne C. Watson (see record 1999-02735-000). This book is a timely exposition of the theory, research, and clinical techniques associated with emotion and the expression of emotion. It is a particularly relevant text for clinical psychology in the context of recent discussions of emotional intelligence and the limitations of purely behavioural or cognitive perspectives on human functioning and therapeutic change. It deals with the myths about emotional expression that have permeated the field, such as that emotion is dangerous and to be avoided in therapy, or that the cathartic ventilation of emotion drains negativity much like lancing a wound. This book provides a rich contrast to such simplistic, all or nothing positions on emotion that have so often dominated psychological thinking, especially in the literature on psychotherapy. One of the strengths of the treatment-oriented part of the book is that it is integrative. A second strength of this volume is that it is well written. This book addresses a very complex and intriguing topic in a stimulating, readable manner. It is pragmatic enough for the practicing therapist and stimulating enough for the theoretically oriented reader. It will find a treasured place in many a clinician's and teacher's library. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religious and spiritual issues in psychotherapy practice: Training the trainer.

Psychology's interest in religion and spirituality has greatly increased over the past few decades, and it has inspired the development of substantial scholarship in these areas. However, there continues to be a paucity of efforts to integrate this emerging scholarship into training programs. The author explores the historical and ideological context of psychotherapists' reluctance to address religious and spiritual issues in their academic programs and clinical practices. The article also offers seasoned psychotherapists concrete suggestions regarding how to enhance their religious and spiritual competencies with the aim of facilitating both the training of emerging psychotherapists and the treatment of religious and spiritual clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Untangling the alliance-outcome correlation: Exploring the relative importance of therapist and patient variability in the alliance.

Although the therapeutic alliance is a consistent predictor of psychotherapy outcomes, research has not distinguished between the roles of patient and therapist variability in the alliance. Multilevel models were used to explore the relative importance of patient and therapist variability in the alliance as they relate to outcome among 331 patients seen by 80 therapists (therapist average caseload was 4.1). Patients rated both the alliance and outcome and all models adjusted for baseline psychological functioning. The results indicated that therapist variability in the alliance predicted outcome, whereas patient variability in the alliance was unrelated to outcome. Reasons why therapist variability as opposed to patient variability predicted outcome are discussed. Clinical implications include therapists monitoring their contribution to the alliance, clinics providing feedback to therapists about their alliances, and therapists receiving training to develop and maintain strong alliances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In memoriam: Hans H. Strupp (1921-2006).

Hans Hermann Strupp, who deeply influenced the field of psychotherapy research for 50 years, died on October 5, 2006, of Parkinson's disease. He was 85 years old. Hans entered the field when psychotherapy research largely focused on straightforward questions of general efficacy. Beginning with the publication of his dissertation in 1955, Hans demonstrated a keen ability of systematically applying rigorous scientific methods to phenomena that were close to the hearts of practicing therapists. Hans was an early advocate of the need for audio and video recording of therapy sessions for research purposes. The scientific study of the therapeutic process was a central focus of his research. Equal to his empirical contributions was Hans's talent as a writer and what many regard as his uncanny rhetorical abilities. This balance allowed him to engage in discussions with many scientists from radically different schools, which contributed to the foundation of the movement of psychotherapy integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Benchmarks for psychotherapy efficacy in adult major depression.

This study estimates pretreatment-posttreatment effect size benchmarks for the treatment of major depression in adults that may be useful in evaluating psychotherapy effectiveness in clinical practice. Treatment efficacy benchmarks for major depression were derived for 3 different types of outcome measures: the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (M. A. Hamilton, 1960, 1967), the Beck Depression Inventory (A. T. Beck, 1978; A. T. Beck & R. A. Steer, 1987), and an aggregation of low reactivity-low specificity measures. These benchmarks were further refined for 3 conditions: treatment completers, intent-to-treat samples, and natural history (wait-list) conditions. The study confirmed significant effects of outcome measure reactivity and specificity on the pretreatment-posttreatment effect sizes. The authors provide practical guidance in using these benchmarks to assess treatment effectiveness in clinical settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The postherapy period.

18 mo. after psychotherapy, a variety of tests were read-ministered to 69 available Ss constituting a biased subgroup from 93 tested previously at the beginning and at the termination of therapy. While the group as a whole showed no reliable movement after therapy, individuals made reliable and correlated changes. Only the Ss' direct report of such change was found to be predictable from several earlier measures. Less favorable movement was found on some measures for the 16 Ss who had additional therapy. While status at termination of therapy appears to be an adequate index of group effects associated with therapy, individuals show systematic trends in the subsequent 18 mo. (26 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of psychotherapy on the productivity of psychologists.

To investigate (a) the effects of psychotherapy on the scientific publications of American psychologists and (b) the extent to which this group had received psychotherapy, questionnaires were sent to all APA members receiving PhDs 1945-1951 to obtain information about their therapy. A number of publications was obtained from the Psychological Abstracts. There were no significant differences in number of publications between therapy and matched nontherapy control samples. Of 966 male psychologists responding, ? had received psychotherapy, with clinicians disproportionately represented. Of this ?, 13% had 3 or more therapeutic experiences. There was a high positive correlation between duration of therapy and therapy satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The current status of psychotherapy integration in Germany and Switzerland.

The questions raised by Paul Wachtel are addressed in what follows. Some details have needed to be simplified, as what follows tries to describe the situation in two countries. Moreover, in one of them, Switzerland, the situation varies considerably from canton to canton (corresponding to U.S. states), reminding one of the joke in which a child asks his father where babies come from, and the father answers: This all depends on the canton. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working with dreams in psychotherapy: What do psychoanalytic therapists report that they do?

Forty-seven psychoanalytic therapists completed a questionnaire about dream work. Overall, results indicated that therapists had very positive attitudes toward dreams, worked with their own dreams, sought out dream training, and felt competent working with dreams. Therapists estimated that they worked with dreams with about half of their clients about half of the time in psychotherapy. They were most willing to work with dreams when clients had recurrent or troubling dreams or nightmares, were psychologically minded, were seeking growth, were interested in dreams, and were willing to work with dreams. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapists' helpful and unhelpful situations with LGBT clients: An exploratory study.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify a broad range of variables that characterize psychotherapists' perceptions of helpful and unhelpful therapy experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of 14 psychotherapists to identify such variables and patterns among them. Results suggest that a wide range of variables, including the therapeutic relationship, therapist response to the client's sexual orientation/gender identity, type of presenting concern, and the therapy environment, may affect the therapy experiences of this population. The data also suggest that factors such as ethnicity, gender identity, therapy needs, and socioeconomic status should be considered when providing mental health services to this population. Clients dealing with multiple types of marginalization may be particularly challenging for practitioners. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)