Psychotherapy research often focuses on the client and the psychotherapist, but rarely on other stakeholders. This is reasonable given that the client and the psychotherapist are the sole players in a psychotherapy session; understanding how they each contribute to the session will illuminate a significant part of the process and outcome of psychotherapy. However, one […]
Abstract The therapeutic alliance predicts dropout from psychological therapy, and ruptures in the therapeutic alliance may also predict dropout, yet there is a dearth of research with adolescents. This study investigated whether markers of rupture–repair in the alliance were indicative of different types of treatment ending in adolescents receiving psychological treatment for depression. Data were from the IMPACT study, […]
From Freud to present, clinicians and researchers have consistently viewed honest disclosure as an essential component of a patient’s therapeutic process (Baumann & Hill, 2016; Farber, 2003). However, despite practitioners’ best efforts to emphasize the importance of honest dialogue, client concealment has been found to be a common occurrence (Baumann & Hill, 2016; Farber, 2003; […]
Play and games have different meanings in play therapy literature (Schaefer and Reid, 1986). Play is usually spontaneous, has no particular purpose, and is motivated by a desire to have fun (Csikszentmihalzi, 1976; Erickson, 1950; Garvey, 1977). Play has an unrestricted, unstructured quality, whereas games are formal and have more restrictive rules for how the […]
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) was developed by Drs. Anthony Mannarino, Judith Cohen and Esther Deblinger. TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment that has been evaluated and refined during the past 25 years to help children and adolescents recover after exposure to traumatic life events. TF-CBT is both a phase-based and components-based intervention. The initial focus […]
Abstract Literature has shown the importance of mentalizing techniques in symptom remission and emotional understanding; however, no study to date has looked at the dynamic relations between mental state talk and affect regulation in the psychotherapy process. From a psychodynamic perspective, the emergence of the child’s capacity to regulate affect through the therapist’s reflection on […]
Childhood trauma is a national concern as approximately one-half of children in the United States experience at least one traumatic event (National Survey of Children’s Health, 2012). Although staggering, help in the form of evidence-based treatments is available for pre-school-aged children exposed to trauma. Recommended treatments include Alternatives for Families: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT), Trauma-Focused […]
Henry Kronengold (2017) invites readers to experience with him a “curious space” of relational connections, playfulness, symbols, and metaphors that characterize psychotherapy with children and adolescents. What is it like for both client and therapist as they tentatively begin a therapeutic relationship, find common channels of communication, solve problems, and make sense of life’s experiences? […]
Child therapy presents the unique opportunity for creativity amongst therapists and psychiatrists due to the limited knowledge children possess about the therapeutic process, emotions, medications, and a variety of other aspects of psychotherapy. It is a tremendous responsibility for a child’s therapist to utilize age-appropriate communication to educate a child regarding his or her diagnosis, […]
While lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth are at high risk for emotional and behavioral problems, research has documented that family rejection increases these risks and family acceptance decreases them (Ryan, Russell, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2010). In this article, I will apply concepts from family systems theory to work with families who are struggling […]