Psychotherapy Process
Explore the dynamics and stages of the psychotherapy process, from the initial client assessment to the therapeutic interventions that promote healing. This section provides insights into the complexities of therapeutic relationships and strategies to enhance treatment effectiveness.
262 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
Psychotherapy Snippet
I’m not sure how I got myself entangled in these ropes. He beckons me with kindness in his eyes, maintains respectful distance. No doubt it’s a ploy. I creep ahead, both gloves raised. He waits barehanded, one elbow on the turnbuckle. Still compelled, my next foray is simple desperation. Clinching smoke, I jab in vain. […]
Christopher Scribner, PhD, MFA
August 7, 2026
Danger, Not Damage: Attachment, Emotion, and the Somatic Language of Relational Threat
Bowlby’s insight was somatic before it was interpersonal: the attachment system is fundamentally a threat-regulation system. The infant’s nervous system is organized around a question it continues to ask throughout life: am I safe, and is help available (Bowlby, 1969/1982)? Viewed this way, attachment does not simply shape how clients relate to others. It also […]
Joel Jin, PhD
July 28, 2026
The Illusion of Competence: How AI Tools Can Mask the Erosion of Clinical Judgment
Providing psychotherapy and conducting psychological assessments are among the most cognitively and emotionally demanding activities in professional practice. A psychologist must hold a client’s history, attend to what is said and what is not, monitor the relational moment, integrate theoretical frameworks, and make real-time clinical judgments, often under conditions of genuine uncertainty. This work is […]
John Gavazzi, PsyD, ABPP
July 16, 2026
Living with Mental Illness as a Therapist: Ethical Challenges in Psychotherapeutic Practice
Introduction Psychotherapy centres on the healing relationship between the patient and the therapist, with the goals of every interaction remaining identifying, working through, and ultimately alleviating the patient’s distress (Flückiger et al., 2018). However, the focus of the professional relationship and therapeutic process extends beyond the patient, as it also encompasses the therapist’s mental health […]
Sanyukta Golaya, M.A.
July 16, 2026
Psychosocial Stage Theory as a Model for Treating Homeless Veterans
Introduction Erikson (1950) outlined eight stages of psychosocial development across the developmental lifespan. Within each stage arose a “crisis” that the individual needed to resolve before proceeding cleanly into the next. Unresolved resolution at any stage led to a psychological arrest that hindered the negotiation of the following stages: trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame, […]
Michael Pica, PsyD
June 22, 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
Practical Tips for Using Social Media to Promote Your Professional Practice
Creating professional social media accounts across multiple platforms can increase both business traction and community outreach and contact. By using your professional knowledge to inform the public about your mental health expertise and areas of specialty, you can help strengthen the relationship between mental health care and the communities it serves; destigmatizing various facets of […]
Amanda Conway, MS
May 6, 2026