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.
280 articles found
Counseling for Teens and Young Adults With an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis
For the early-career clinician, getting started in the world of therapy in either private practice or an outpatient clinic can be both overwhelming and exciting. After graduation, many of us are in this state of transition out of student mode and into professional mode. Developing confidence as a young professional, while also building a caseload, […]
Beth Trammell, Ph.D., HSPP + 1 more
December 12, 2018
Personality Disorder & A Missed Clinical Turning Point
The interpersonal difficulties experienced by patients diagnosed with a personality disorder (PD) tend to pose great difficulty in negotiating a strong therapeutic alliance between patient and therapist (Muran, Segal, Samstag, & Crawford, 1994; Stern, 1938; Vaillant, 1992; Waldinger & Gunderson, 1984). Patients with PDs often generate intense and uncomfortable reactions in their therapists, sometimes producing […]
Lauren M. Lipner, Ph.D. + 1 more
December 12, 2018
Rupture-Resolution Processes in Early Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder
The quality of the therapeutic alliance is a robust predictor of psychotherapy outcomes (Horvath, Del Re, Flückinger, & Symonds, 2011). Recent studies have shown that some therapists are consistently better at developing and maintaining alliances with their patients than others (Baldwin, Wampold, & Imel, 2007; Dinger, Strack, Leichsenring, Wilmers, & Schauenburg, 2008; Zuroff, Kelly, Leybman, […]
Tali Z. Boritz, Ph.D.
December 12, 2018
Paging Dr. House
Primary care physicians and pediatricians are often the first ones to provide a mental health diagnoses and prescribe psychotropic medications. In fact, one study found the proportion of primary care visits at which antidepressants were prescribed, but no psychiatric diagnosis was noted in the record, increased from 59.5% to 72.7% from 1996 to 2007 (Mojtabai […]
Apryl Alexander, Psy.D.
December 12, 2018
Did I Make a Difference with My Client?
Professional practice is about making a difference with our clients—we want to help our clients reach their goals, and, we want our contribution to count. This is true in many professional settings, whether we offer treatment, counseling, training, education, or conduct applied research. But, how can we tell whether we actually have made a difference […]
Tomas F. Langkaas + 2 more
December 9, 2018
Recursive and Emerging Themes in Psychotherapy
Simeon woke from the nightmare, sweaty and frightened. He groped for his Calm Now (CN) program, plugging it into his ear-port. He didn’t just hear soothing music, he felt it; his breathing slowed, his forehead relaxed. The gentle instructions, in the voice he’d chosen, brought calmness and tranquility. Thanks to an activated parasympathetic nervous system, […]
John Sommers-Flanagan, Ph.D. + 1 more
December 7, 2018
Does Having Clients and Therapists Practice Mindfulness Together Have a Positive Impact on Psychotherapy Sessions?
Over the past decade, the practice of mindfulness has received a significant amount of attention in the psychotherapy research literature. The existing research on mindfulness has demonstrated that it can produce positive health and mental health benefits for psychotherapy clients (Davis & Hayes, 2011). A smaller body of research has also demonstrated that the practice […]
Joshua K. Swift, Ph.D. + 1 more
December 6, 2018
Uncovering Trainable Therapist Effects
There is mounting evidence that individual psychotherapists have a notable impact on patient outcomes (whether measured globally or as specific outcome domains), accounting for about 3-7% of such variance across controlled trials and naturalistic settings (Baldwin & Imel, 2013). Moreover, most therapists possess relative strengths and weaknesses within their caseloads in terms of their domain-specific […]
Alice E. Coyne, PhD + 4 more
November 25, 2018
Closing a Private Practice
Introduction Although I’m a good ten years away from retirement (I hope), I’ve had occasion to talk with and listen to several colleagues who are facing this developmental milestone in the more near future. I’ve pulled together some information for psychologists to consider as they plan for the closing of their practice, whether because of […]
Marianne O'Leary, Ph.D.
October 17, 2018
Reflections From 50 Years of Integrative Psychotherapy Emphasizing Practiced-Based Evidence and Effectiveness
This article, focusing on integrative practiced-based evidence and effectiveness, was inspired by three articles in the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy’s Psychotherapy Bulletin (Jacobsen, 2018; Lambert, 2016; and Savela, 2015), plus an online course by Daryl Chow on “Reigniting Clinical Supervision” (2018) and Paul Clement’s classic article on “Practice Based Evidence: 45 Years of […]
Philip H. Friedman, Ph.D.
October 12, 2018
Excerpt From Reflections on 50 Years of Integrative Psychotherapy Emphasizing Practiced-Based Evidence and Effectiveness
This article, focusing on integrative practiced-based evidence and effectiveness, was inspired by three articles in the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy’s Psychotherapy Bulletin (Jacobsen, 2018; Lambert, 2016; and Savela, 2015), plus an online course by Daryl Chow on “Reigniting Clinical Supervision” (2018) and Paul Clement’s classic article on “Practice Based Evidence: 45 Years of […]
Philip H. Friedman, Ph.D.
October 12, 2018
Practice Recommendations for Psychotherapy With Gender Diverse Clients
Recently, the population of people who identify as transgender or gender diverse has become more visible in U.S. society. Likewise, there have been calls by psychologists and counselors for more research and scholarship related to gender identity and issues that people who identify as gender diverse might face or present with in therapy. Psychotherapists have […]
Julie M. Koch, Ph.D. + 1 more
August 18, 2018