Clinician Interventions and Participant Characteristics That Foster Adaptive Patient Expectations for Psychotherapy and Psychotherapeutic Change
Michael J. Constantino, Ph.D. & 2 others
June 7, 2014
Abstract
Patients’ expectations about the efficacy and nature of psychotherapy have long been considered important common treatment factors, and the empirical literature has largely supported this perspective. In this practice-oriented review, we examine the research on the association between patients’ psycho- therapy expectations and both adaptive treatment processes and outcomes. We also examine the research on specific psychotherapist interventions and patient and psychotherapist characteristics that influence the development of positive expectations for psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic change. The primary function of this review is to derive applied clinical strategies from the extant empirical literature in order to help clinicians in their attempts to address and influence their patients’ psychotherapy-related expectations. Although the literature is not yet conclusive in supporting such strategies, we place the results in theoretical, clinical, and empirical contexts to suggest the most likely best practices at this time, and to stimulate further research on the expectation construct.
Keywords: patient outcome expectations, patient treatment expectations, practice review, common factors
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About the Authors
Michael J. Constantino, Ph.D.
Dr. Michael J. Constantino received his BA in Psychology from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, and his MS and PhD from the Pennsylvania State University. He completed a predoctoral clinical internship at SUNY Upstate Medical University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Stanford University Medical Center. He then joined the Clinical Psychology faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass), where is a Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences (PBS). At UMass, he directs the Psychotherapy Research Lab, teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on psychotherapy, supervises clinicians-in-training, and is the PBS Graduate Program Director. Among other professional positions, Dr. Constantino is Past- President of the North American Society for Psychotherapy Research and APA Division 29 (Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy). Dr. Constantino’s professional and research interests center on patient, therapist, and dyadic characteristics/processes influencing psychosocial treatments; pantheoretical principles of clinical change (i.e., common factors); and measurement-based care.President of the North American Society for Psychotherapy Research, and current President of APA Division 29 (Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy). Dr. Constantino’s professional and research interests center on patient, therapist, and dyadic characteristics/processes influencing psychosocial treatments; pantheoretical principles of clinical change (i.e., common factors); and measurement-based care.http://www.umass.edu/pbs/people/michael-constantino https://sites.google.com/site/constantinotherapyresearchlab/home
Rebecca M. Ametrano, Ph.D.
Dr. Ametrano received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at VA Boston Healthcare System where she currently serves as a clinical psychologist and Health Behavior Coordinator. Dr. Ametrano educates and consults with staff across the medical center to increase use of patient-centered interventions to facilitate health behavior change. She also supervises clinicians-in-training and teaches psychotherapy courses. Her research has focused broadly on patient and therapist factors that predict psychotherapeutic change, with attention to the influence of patient expectations on treatment process and outcome. She has particular interest in how these factors influence behavior change in integrated medical settings.
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