Assessment & Treatment
Focused on the critical aspects of assessment and treatment in psychotherapy, this section offers resources, guidelines, and discussions on effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to improve client outcomes.
283 articles found
When Love Hurts: Acute and Post-Traumatic Attachment Activation
Adults frequently present for psychotherapy in acute distress following the actual or threatened loss of a romantic partner. For some, betrayal, rejection, infidelity, breakup, or divorce can destabilize a significant relationship, along with one’s source of coregulation and sense of self. Unlike bereavement, these losses involve withdrawal by a still-living attachment figure, which sustains hope, […]
Shannon L. McIntyre, Ph.D.
August 11, 2026
Artificial Intelligence in Psychotherapy: Enhancing Clinical Practice While Preserving the Human Element
Introduction Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is transforming psychotherapy and is playing an increasingly significant role in mental health, its primary area of application to date (Cruz González et al., 2025). While AI undoubtedly offers substantial benefits –such as expanding access or supporting personalization of care (Oo et al., 2026)-, it also entails important risks and […]
Fernanda Longo Elia, BSC + 4 more
July 29, 2026
The Integration of Traditional and Collaborative Approaches to Psychological Assessment: Recommendations for Graduate Training
Psychological Assessment in Clinical Psychology Psychological assessment has long been one of the foundational responsibilities of clinical psychologists. Reviewing the history of psychological assessment, Weiner (2013) noted that it always has and always will have a place in the field of clinical psychology. As such, it stands as a pillar of clinical training. Looking ahead, […]
Michael Pica, PsyD
July 27, 2026
Practice Committee Office Hours Update: Do You Have to Sacrifice Your Values to Maintain Financial Stability in Private Practice?
The Practice Committee has been hosting “Office Hours” to debunk some of the most common myths about private practice. Our most recent talk was centered around the dichotomy between the financial piece of private practice and concerns of sacrificing values as practitioners in order to make a living in private practice. Private practice can be […]
Wilson T. Trusty, Ph.D + 3 more
June 24, 2026
Advancing Precision Mental Health Across Cultures: A Multimodal Ecological Momentary Assessment Study
Improving the Prediction of Early Treatment Responses, Dropout, and Outcome using Daily-Life Data Psychotherapeutic approaches have repeatedly been shown to be effective, with effects comparable to those of pharmacological treatment and, in some cases, showing greater durability over time (e.g., Cuijpers et al., 2023). At the same time, overall treatment success remains modest, with more […]
Fabienne Mink, M.Sc. + 11 more
June 22, 2026
The Double Identity Crisis in Transgender Adolescent Development
Introduction The literature on transgender youth has primarily focused on neuroscientific and biological, etiological factors (Ghiasi et al., 2024; Levin et al., 2022), violence and victimization (Lombardi et al., 2002; Norris & Orchowski, 2022), gender identity models (Boskey, 2014; Doyle, 2022; Katz-Wise et al., 2017; Pleak, 2009; Spencer et al., 2021), hormonal treatment (Chen et […]
Michael Pica, PsyD
June 3, 2026
Integrating Mindfulness into Psychotherapeutic Practice
A client once described conflict at work “came out of nowhere.” Meetings would escalate quickly, leaving them feeling overwhelmed and reactive. When we slowed the moment down in session, something different emerged. As the client spoke about a recent disagreement, my favorite question to ask clients is: “What do you notice in your body right […]
Anne Bello, PhD
May 13, 2026
Beyond Symptom Management: Existential/Humanistic Treatment for Combat Veterans
One observation of military veterans who served in Beirut, Afghanistan, and Iraq is their presentation and experience of persistent hypervigilance, avoidance, emotional constriction, and transitional forms of disillusionment. These symptoms may be part of a larger trauma response and mask unresolved affective states that should be addressed as a regular component of treatment. The recommended […]
Michael Pica, PsyD
May 8, 2026
The Projective Assessment Integration System (PAIS): A Guide for Student Clinicians in Training
When administered, scored, and interpreted correctly, projective assessments remain pivotal in assessing emotional functioning, problem-solving, interpersonal style, and linearity of thought. Critics of projective testing point to problems with validity, inter-rater reliability, and subjective preconceptions that may limit the generalizability of the results (Lilienfeld et al., 2000). However, there are a plethora of valid and […]
Michael Pica, PsyD
May 8, 2026
Why the Health of Americans Will Decline and What Psychotherapists Should Do About It
Compared to Peer Countries, Americans Are Sicker One metric of a country’s overall health is its citizens’ life expectancy from birth. Life expectancy in the United States peaked at 79.3 years in 2024, with only negligible increases in recent decades. In contrast, life expectancy in other high-income countries has increased significantly over the same period […]
Samuel Knapp, Ed.D., ABPP
May 6, 2026
Social Nutrition or Social Malnutrition: Addressing Loneliness in Ourselves and Others
As social animals, we all require social nutrition, which involves regular and meaningful interactions with others (Kornblith et al., 2022). The absence of this vital nourishment can lead to social malnutrition or loneliness, a profoundly personal experience that arises from the gap between our desired and actual social connections. Loneliness is not the same as […]
Samuel Knapp, Ed.D., ABPP + 2 more
May 5, 2026
Partner-Involved Approaches to Insomnia and Sleep Apnea: Integrating Sleep Science into Psychotherapy with Individuals and Couples
Sleep complaints are among the most common issues that present in psychotherapy with growing evidence demonstrating that insufficient or disrupted sleep contributes to a broad range of physical, psychological, and public-health concerns. Further, epidemiologic and meta-analytic findings show that insomnia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes even when […]
Bruce D. Forman, PhD
May 5, 2026