Author
Barbara J. Thompson, Ph.D.
12 articles
Psychotherapy Practice over the Lifespan
As members of the Professional Practice Committee of the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, we are tasked with meeting the needs of private practitioners. In our monthly meetings, we noted how the needs and experiences of practitioners change as one matures into the role of a psychotherapist. Since our committee has a diverse combination […]
Genée D. Jackson, PhD + 3 more
November 22, 2023
Psychotherapy and Climate Change
We were just teenagers when Earth Day first came about on April 22, 1970. We remember the special celebrations and visions of hope. Fast forwarding to over 50 years later in April 2023, the frightening climate-related nightmares envisioned in the 1970’s, have become our current reality. In most countries, factories are no longer allowed to […]
Barbara J. Thompson, Ph.D. + 2 more
April 18, 2023
Time to Take a Closer Look
In March of 2020, therapists faced an unprecedented challenge and, in many ways, a glorious opportunity. COVID-19 and lockdowns meant that it was no longer possible or safe to provide psychotherapy in a “business as usual” way. Video psychotherapy, or telemental health, which had been considered by many as the lesser cousin of in-person therapy, […]
Barbara J. Thompson, Ph.D. + 3 more
December 2, 2021
Meeting the Need to Connect
In these times of the pandemic, the way we live our lives has changed drastically. As therapists, the interpersonal connections that we need beyond seeing our clients, such as chatting with our suite mates a few times a day or attending a day long training or a multi-day conference, are not as available to us. […]
Barbara J. Thompson, Ph.D.
August 2, 2020
An Independent Practice Does Not Need to Be an Isolated Practice
Recently we have heard a lot about the importance of therapist self-care. Jeffrey Barnett (2014) made a strong case that self-care is an ethical imperative based on the APA Ethics Code principles of beneficence and maleficence, as well as the guidelines related to competence, managing personal problems and conflicts, and avoiding harm. Self-care has […]
Barbara J. Thompson, Ph.D. + 1 more
April 21, 2020
Why We Joined Division 29, the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (SAP)
In the coming months, SAP will be surveying members of the Division to find out more about why individuals have chosen to join, what keeps them involved, and what member benefits would increase their commitment to and satisfaction with the Division. In anticipation of this, the Membership Domain Representative, Committee Chair, and Committee Member reflected […]
Jean Birbilis, Ph.D. + 2 more
April 15, 2019
Navigating the Minefield of Politics in the Therapy Session
If, indeed, the personal is political and the political is personal, where does that leave psychotherapists—whose profession is intensely personal—when clients voice strong political views counter to ours or when their political stress resonates with our own sense of a rending of the civic and cultural fabric of the country? In the aftermath of one […]
Patricia T. Spangler, Ph.D. + 3 more
December 30, 2017
Understanding the APA Practice Organization (APAPO)
Many practicing psychologists received a check early this year from the APA Practice Organization (previously called the Practice Directorate). This was part of a class action suit filed against APA for implying that psychologists in private practice were required to pay the Practice Assessment. The suit resulted in APAPO dues now being optional; however, choosing […]
Jean Carter, Ph.D. + 2 more
July 23, 2017
Working with Transfer Clients
It is ironic that while most therapists champion the role of the therapeutic relationship in the success of therapy, there has been little research on how the transfer process and prior therapy relationships may have an impact on the therapeutic relationship. Clients are often transferred from one therapist to another in clinics when therapists-in-training leave […]
Barbara J. Thompson, Ph.D. + 1 more
December 31, 2016
What Do Psychotherapists Want?
As Sigmund Freud asked, “The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is ‘What does a woman want?’” (Jones, 1955, p. 421). Psychotherapy researchers may wonder the same thing about psychotherapists. More than 50 years […]
Barbara L. Vivino, Ph.D. + 3 more
December 30, 2016
Am I a Person-Centered Therapist?
I was recently asked to be part of panel of psychotherapists who use the theories of Carl Rogers in their practice. I had to take a few minutes to really think about it. Am I a person-centered therapist? Upon reflection, I realized that some of the best ways I am a therapist, I am a […]
Barbara J. Thompson, Ph.D. + 1 more
February 2, 2015
Musings from the Psychotherapy Office
Rick Hanson’s recent book, Hardwiring Happiness (2013), provides a wonderful resource for understanding human beings’ tendency to focus on the negative and ignore or minimize the positive. As therapists, we are often challenged to be cheerleaders for the latter – reminding clients of their accomplishments and successes, encouraging them to reframe how they are thinking, […]
Barbara L. Vivino, Ph.D. + 1 more
July 16, 2014