Abstract This article examined patients’ change in outcome expectation across cognitive-behavior therapy for generalized anxiety disorder, as well as participant factors that are associated with both pretreatment outcome expectation and expectation change. Findings: On average, patients’ outcome expectation becomes more positive over time. Moreover, the degree of such change is influenced by several baseline and early treatment patient factors […]
One of the advantages of serving on the U.S. Senate staff or the APA Board of Directors (especially as President) is that one is systematically exposed to evolving trends within our nation’s healthcare environment and the field of psychology. The position essentially forces one to think creatively beyond personal agendas and previous “comfort” levels. One’s […]
We know that psychotherapy outcome research cannot imitate randomized clinical trials for diseases because, for one among many reasons, the person of the therapist cannot be abstracted from the provision of treatment. The therapist is the treatment. What are the implications for training and lifelong learning? Over the course of a psychotherapy career, we will […]
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 […]
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 […]
One of the main components of my job as a psychotherapist is helping my clients navigate transitions in their lives, such as relocating, marriage, death, and starting new jobs. Whether expected or not, life transitions are often seen as opportunities for mental and emotional stress as worry, insecurities, and fear can develop in that empty […]
The past 100 years of psychotherapy research has sought not only to examine the efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy, but also to identify the causal mechanisms and processes underlying therapeutic change (Lambert, 2013; Wampold & Imel, 2015). The existing research on psychotherapy processes has provided us with a rich understanding of several variables that are […]
A classic social psychological finding is that expectations shape people’s experiences, perceptions, and behaviors (e.g., Asch, 1946). Clinical psychologists have long been interested in how expectations specifically affect psychotherapy (e.g., Frank, 1968). After decades of theoretical and empirical attention, it appears safe to say that patient expectations are an important ingredient of psychotherapeutic change (e.g., Kirsch, […]