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.
257 articles found
Parallel Process in Multicultural Supervision
One of my best friends is a skilled storyteller. During our internship year, she would regale the staff of the counseling center with tales of suspicious occurrences surrounding Area 51, the “secret” government location where UFOs are purportedly stored and studied. She would wax on about mysterious sightings and disappearances with oratory inflections akin to […]
Heidi A. Zetzer, Ph.D.
October 28, 2015
Clients’ Perspectives on Treatment Failure
Despite our best efforts as therapists or supervisors, some clients will fail to improve while in treatment. A significant amount of research has been conducting seeking to identify the client, therapist, treatment, and process variables associated with client change. A number of methods have been developed to decrease the number of clients who stay the […]
Joshua K. Swift, Ph.D.
October 25, 2015
Reflections on Authenticity in Psychotherapy
Lately I’ve been thinking about therapist authenticity. Since moving to private practice three years ago I have worked primarily with adult survivors of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Due to years of chronic violence during developmentally important periods, clients’ life experiences are typically characterized by an insecure (often disorganized) attachment style, a chronically activated […]
Suzanne Friedman, Ph.D.
October 13, 2015
Using Imagination and Literature to Enhance Therapeutic Abilities
Jeremy Holmes (2014) offers here a book, rich with the wisdom of an experienced clinician, that celebrates the imagination as an essential component of the psychotherapeutic process, using examples from literature to provide insight into important aspects of clinical work. He argues that literature and psychodynamic therapy share an “aesthetics” based upon a “paradoxical combination […]
David H. Thurn, Ph.D., LCSW-R
September 28, 2015
That Day in the Empty Play Therapy Room
As the family play therapy session drew to a close, my young patient, Madison*, began to begrudgingly return the dollhouse to its usual orderly state and place the simplistic wooden figures back into their bedrooms with care. I remember smiling and playfully nudging Madison to action while patiently listening to a brief, but passionate, protest […]
Jonathan Jenkins, Psy.D.
September 17, 2015
Critical Considerations in Writing Letters for Trans Clients
Consider the following scenario: a client you have been working with for over a year comes into your office and says “I have something to tell you—I’ve been waiting to let you know for a long time. I am a trans man and I would like your help to transition.” Of course, first reactions from […]
Stephanie L. Budge, Ph.D.
September 13, 2015
Psychotherapists as Gatekeepers
Abstract In order to receive medically necessary gender-affirming treatments, transgender individuals are required to provide evidence of their readiness for gender transitioning. Most often, this evidence includes 1 letter for hormone therapy and 2 letters for surgery. According to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care (SOC), psychotherapists or other eligible […]
Stephanie L. Budge, Ph.D.
August 30, 2015
Trainee Therapist Characteristics Related to Therapeutic Alliance and Technique
Ample research suggests that therapists differ in their level of effectiveness (Baldwin & Imel, 2013; Blow, Sprenkle, & Davis, 2007; Wampold, 2001). Even more striking is that therapist effects appear to be larger than treatment effects (Kim, Wampold, & Bolt, 2006; Lindgren, Folkesson, & Almiqvist, 2010). Moreover, therapist training, experience, and theoretical orientation do not […]
Jenelle Slavin-Mulford, Ph.D. + 4 more
August 26, 2015
5 Lessons Learned Monitoring Psychotherapy Process and Outcomes
A recent body of psychotherapy research is converging on the benefits of using client process and outcome feedback in clinical practice (Lambert & Shimokawa, 2011). Continual client feedback, also known as “routine outcomes monitoring,” “progress monitoring,” or “practice-based evidence,” refers to the collection of self-report data (e.g., symptoms, well-being, and the therapeutic alliance) from clients […]
Alexandra Savela, M.S.
August 16, 2015
Improving Expertise in Psychotherapy
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Terence J. G. Tracey, Ph.D., ABPP + 3 more
July 8, 2015
Clinicians’ Emotional Responses and Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual Adult Personality Disorders
Abstract The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between level of personality organization and type of personality disorder as assessed with the categories in the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM; PDM Task Force, 2006) and the emotional responses of treating clinicians. We asked 148 Italian clinicians to assess 1 of their adult patients […]
Francesco Gazzillo + 6 more
June 7, 2015
Attachment Theory and the Psychotherapy Relationship
In 1988 John Bowlby published a groundbreaking collection of his lectures and essays. He inspired a generation of researchers by asserting that the therapist-client relationship has key features in common with parent-child attachments. Roughly coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Bowlby’s book, four meta-analyses have recently been published. These articles and other summaries take stock […]
Brent Mallinckrodt, Ph.D.
May 31, 2015