Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy (J Contemp Psychother)

Publications in this journal

• Article: Progress in Assimilation of Problematic Experience in Group Therapy for Social Phobia: A Subgroup Analysis

  Henna Penttinen, Jarl Wahlström
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  ABSTRACT: This study examined the progress of assimilation of problematic experience during group psychotherapy of seventeen clients presenting with social phobia. The data comprised of videotaped and verbatim transcribed sessions from two therapy groups (n = 10 and 7) of time-limited cognitive-constructive psychotherapy, and was examined using qualitative assimilation analysis. The clients were divided into three subgroups on the basis of their self-descriptions as reported in an earlier study: (1) the other-oriented, (2) the isolated and (3) the self-demanding. The aim of the study was to discover possible similarities within these subgroups and differences between them with respect to their assimilation process. The results showed that all clients progressed in their assimilation process but to different degrees. Some similarities and some differences between the subgroups could be noted. Clients from the self-demanding subgroup reached the highest assimilation levels and this group was the most homogeneous in the progress of assimilation. The groups of the other-oriented and the isolated were more heterogeneous, with some clients in these groups advancing less and some further in their assimilation processes.
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 11/2012;
• Article: Psychotherapy Supervision in the New Millennium: Competency-Based, Evidence-Based, Particularized, and Energized

  C. Edward Watkins
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  ABSTRACT: Psychotherapy supervision has increasingly become or is on the fast track to becoming competency-based, evidence-based, particularized, and accountable. In this paper, I explore how that appears to be so by: (1) briefly considering the concepts of “competencies” and “evidence-based practice” as preeminent guides for psychotherapy supervision practice and training; and (2) briefly reviewing the current status, pressing needs, and future possibilities of psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic-existential, and integrative psychotherapy supervision. Based on my examination, the following conclusions are proposed: (1) the supervision relationship, individualization, developmental differentiation, and self-reflection (for supervisee and supervisor) appear to be crucial cornerstones for the conceptualization and actuation of supervision process and practice across psychotherapy-based supervision approaches; (2) all indications suggest that three emphases—competency-based supervision, evidence-based practice, and accountability—will continue to substantially influence, affect, and inform psychotherapy supervision practice for its near and distant future; (3) psychotherapy-based supervision approaches will need to be and indeed appear to now be in the process of becoming increasingly particularized in how each of their respective approach-specific competencies are defined and explicated; and (4) psychotherapy supervision has come to be increasingly viewed as an educational process and practice that is best facilitated by: (a) a rich and enriching supervision training environment that vigorously addresses and attempts to meaningfully integrate declarative, procedural, and reflective knowledge bases throughout the supervisory endeavor; and (b) the considered and deliberate utilization of facilitative technology that has the potential to substantially enhance and expand the value of the supervisee’s training/supervision experiences. Some discussion is provided about those four conclusions, and a retrofitted psychotherapy supervision for the new millennium is considered. KeywordsPsychotherapy supervision–Competency-based supervision–Evidence-based supervision–Psychotherapy-based supervision approaches–Clinical supervision
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 05/2012;
• Article: Supervising Integrative Psychotherapy in the 21st Century: Pressing Needs, Impressing Possibilities

  Douglas J. Scaturo
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  ABSTRACT: Supervisors and teachers who are interested in advancing integrative psychotherapy in the 21st century have the dual task of surveying the range of treatment approaches that have been developed and distilling these approaches down to a manageable number of influences that have been found to have the greatest impact on clinical practice over time. It has been proposed that there are four bona fide schools of psychotherapy that would be most useful for comprehensive training and supervision that would contribute to either (a) case conceptualization or (b) the process of clinical interviewing: psychodynamic psychotherapy; cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy; family systems therapy; and, humanistic/client-centered therapy. The goal for such broadly based clinical instruction would be for students, trainees, and interns to have an ability to provide a multi-level case conceptualization for any of the psychotherapy cases for which they are providing treatment. Thorough instruction in clinical reasoning and decision-making in this type of multi-level case formulation can provide some of the most valuable tools for novice and experienced clinicians alike. KeywordsPsychotherapy–Integrative psychotherapy–Psychotherapy supervision–Case–Formulation
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 05/2012;
• Article: What Does the Alliance Predict in Group Interventions for Early Psychosis?

  Tania Lecomte, Marie-Christine Laferrière-Simard, Claude Leclerc
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  ABSTRACT: The therapeutic alliance is considered an essential component of any clinical or psychological intervention. The therapeutic alliance can however change over time, and therefore it is relevant to determine if the alliance and its variations are related to clinical outcomes. The present study had three objectives: (1) determine the impact of the alliance measured by the client and the therapist, on clinical and psychosocial outcomes of individuals with early psychosis receiving group interventions; (2) measure the concordance between the client and the therapists’ ratings of the alliance; and (3) determine the best predictor of the client’s alliance in our sample. A total of 36 individuals with early psychosis who participated in group interventions for symptom management answered the WAI three times, and so did the group therapists. Outcomes included measures of insight, symptoms (total, positive and negative), and self-esteem. Attendance and group participation were also measured. Results suggest that the overall client’s alliance predicted total symptoms and self-esteem at post-therapy, whereas both clients’ and therapists’ ratings predicted group attendance and participation. Greater variations in the alliance overtime for the clients were somewhat linked to worse negative symptoms at post-therapy. Alliance ratings were generally high and fairly concordant between therapists and clients. Only the baseline measure of capacity for attachment, predicted the client’s overall alliance scores. Clinical implications are discussed. KeywordsTherapeutic alliance–Early psychosis–Group therapy
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 05/2012; 42(2):55-61.
• Article: Culturally Sensitive Therapy with Low-Income Ethnic Minority Clients: An Empowering Intervention

  Priscilla Dass-Brailsford
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  ABSTRACT: In this article the author discusses how to engage low-income ethnic minority clients in psychotherapy. She proposes the empowering model of clinical intervention, which views clients and their difficulties in the context of their cultural identities, and social backgrounds and intervenes within a framework that is ecological and empowering. Further, clinicians need to clearly identify clients’ abilities and cultural needs in order to accurately assess and utilize their strengths and resources. The empowering model of clinical intervention is described as culturally sensitive and ecologically valid. The model provides a structured and predictable format that maintains client safety and control while addressing the challenges of race, class, sexual orientation, and other client differences. KeywordsCultural sensitivity–Low-income–Psychotherapy–Multicultural–Ecological–Contextual–Empathic understanding–Diversity–Mental health intervention–Empowering
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 05/2012; 42(1):37-44.
• Article: Alvin R. Mahrer: What is Psychotherapy For? An Alternative to the Profession of Psychotherapy

  Julia M. DiFilippo
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 05/2012; 41(2):123-124.
• Article: Ernesto Spinelli, Practising Existential Psychotherapy: The Relational World

  Edwin L. Hersch
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 05/2012; 39(3):211-212.
• Article: The Attention Training Technique as an Attempt to Decrease Intrusive Thoughts in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD): From Cognitive Theory to Practice and Back

  Steffen Moritz, Nathalie Wess, András Treszl, Lena Jelinek
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  ABSTRACT: The attention training technique (ATT) is a cognitive treatment method that is aimed at ameliorating intrusive thoughts in anxiety disorders. To the best of our knowledge, no randomized controlled study has yet been conducted on individuals with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). For the present study, we recruited 80 participants with OCD over the internet and allocated them to an experimental (ATT implemented as bibliotherapy) or a wait-list condition. Assessments were made at baseline and four weeks later. Groups performed similar at both time points on the self-report version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-revised (OCI-R). The present study speaks against the effectiveness of ATT as a stand-alone bibliotherapeutical approach for OCD. From our data and increasing evidence that OCD patients do not suffer from severe attention or executive deficits we consider an approach targeting attentional biases for certain OCD-related events more useful than a generic (i.e., OCD-unspecific) cognitive remediation approach. KeywordsObsessive–compulsive disorder–Attention training–Cognition–Controlled trial
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 41(3):135-143.
• Article: Overcoming Problems of Relativism in Postmodern Psychotherapy

  Henrik Skovlund
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  ABSTRACT: Relativism as an ideal of postmodern informed therapy remains a topic of debate. The thesis that no truth in conversation is privileged over and above another appears to leave the impression that a narrator can shape any preferred version of reality. This has often led to accusations of ideological neglect of issues such as power abuse, and cultural or political discrimination. This paper proposes a step towards a solution to this problem, by challenging the postmodern notion that one can speak of historically and culturally situated contingencies of multiple realities, while also stating that no truth is privileged. It shall be argued that the idea of clients’ multiple realities implies that these must be treated as socially reproduced realities, in which many forms of truth may resist the freedom of narrative choice. Further, the different realities of the client call for both a nomothetic and ideographic concept of truth, and correspondingly both strictly scientific and pragmatic ideals within narrative therapy. These aspects shall be combined in an outline of a concept describing ‘Complex Social Realities’, which opens narrative therapy towards integrative and cooperative approaches to therapy. KeywordsRelativism–Postmodernism–Narrative therapy–Multiple realities–Neutrality–Anti-authoritarianism
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 41(3):187-198.
• Article: Reading, Writing, and Reviewing: Recommendations for Scholarly Manuscripts at the Graduate and Professional Level

  James C. Overholser
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  ABSTRACT: Scholarship plays a central role in clinical psychology. However, writing for publication and reviewing for journals both require a substantial investment of time and energy. Several recommendations are provided to improve the quality of manuscripts that are submitted for publication. First, prospective authors are encouraged to focus on their own novel and useful ideas that remain clearly focused on psychological issues. Second, authors should provide evidence to support the claims, remaining well integrated with the published literature in the area. Third, strong manuscripts remain as concise as possible. Fourth, authors are encouraged to use proper grammar and active phrasing throughout the text in order to increase the likelihood that their paper will be read by colleagues. Finally, most journal editors hope to publish papers that will be cited by others in the field, and potentially quoted in future publications. The recommendations for scholarly writing may be useful for prospective authors as well as journal reviewers, hoping to facilitate the ease of publishing and improving the quality of manuscripts. KeywordsScholarship–Publishing–Academia
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 41(2):115-122.
• Article: The Spectrum of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Spectrum of Needs, Services, and Challenges

  Vanessa K. Jensen, Sarah Cain Spannagel
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  ABSTRACT: The dramatic rise in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) has resulted in a significant explosion in visibility and a substantial increase in the understanding of this complex group of disorders. Over the last decade, what was once defined only as “autism” has become a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders, with variable presentations and levels of impairment that requires an equally broad continuum of care. A wealth of research has not discovered a single “cause” for ASDs, but rather has found a range of genetic/genomic variations that likely play a significant role in the etiology of these disorders. Routine screening for autism is becoming more common, allowing for more timely diagnosis, and hopefully for earlier entry into appropriate and effective treatment. Although there remains no single ‘‘cure’’, there are treatments available that can improve overall functioning and decrease problematic or interfering symptoms across the full spectrum of this disorder. The wide spectrum of ASD presentations complicates treatment planning, with overall ASD severity a factor in determining type, intensity, and duration of interventions and services. This article presents a two-dimensional model of “ASD severity” that considers both the level of specific ASD symptoms/deficits and the level of cognitive resources/limitations as a framework for understanding needs, challenges, and potentially effective interventions for individuals across the ASD spectrum. KeywordsAutism spectrum disorder–Autism–Asperger's Disorder
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 41(1):1-9.
• Article: Gerald J. Mozdzierz, Paul R. Peluso, and Joseph Lisiecki: Principles of Counseling and Psychotherapy: Learning the Essential Domains and Nonlinear Thinking of Master Practitioners

  Julia M. DiFilippo
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 40(3):183-184.
• Article: Systematic Review of the Effects of Religion-Accommodative Psychotherapy for Depression and Anxiety

  Amber L. Paukert, Laura L. Phillips, Jeffrey A. Cully, Catherine Romero, Melinda A. Stanley
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  ABSTRACT: Integrating religion into psychotherapy may improve treatment for depression and anxiety. This review systematically examines clinical trials of religion-accommodative psychotherapy for depression or anxiety. Results indicate that integrating religion into psychotherapy does not lead to significantly more improvements in depression or anxiety than equivalent therapy without religious components. However, when compared with less stringent control groups, such as supportive psychotherapy, religion-accommodative therapy may be more effective, at least immediately post-treatment. Results from the 11 studies reviewed indicate that psychotherapy integrating religion is at least as effective for treating depression and anxiety as other forms of psychotherapy. Conclusions were limited by lack of power, comparable control groups, focus on anxiety, and treatment manuals. KeywordsSpirituality–Religion–Depression–Anxiety–Therapy
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 41(2):99-108.
• Article: Bilingual Therapeutics: Integrating the Complementary Perspectives and Practices of Motivational Interviewing and Dialectical Behavior Therapy

  Cynthia J. Osborn
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  ABSTRACT: Informed by the practice of code-switching or style-switching in linguistics, “bilingual therapeutics” is proposed as the complementary integration of two evidence-based practices in psychotherapy: motivational interviewing (MI) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Unique features of MI and DBT are presented, current research of each practice is reviewed, and their similarities and distinctions are discussed. It is proposed that fluency in both “languages” of MI and DBT may usher in a new therapeutic perspective to enhance client case conceptualization, illuminate subtleties of the therapeutic process, and foster more intentional and deliberate practitioners. Specifically, MI and DBT code-switching may help recruit and retain clients in formal treatment (e.g.,”speaking” MI more prominently to prepare clients for 12-month standard DBT) and promote consultation among therapists. The complementary integration of MI and DBT also suggests the emergence of a linguistic “third space,” including “spirit as synthesis” and “improvisational dance.” KeywordsMotivational interviewing–Dialectical behavior therapy–Evidence-based practice–Psychotherapy integration–Code-switching
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 41(2):81-90.
• Article: Psychotherapy for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

  Kathleen Koenig, Michelle Levine
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  ABSTRACT: Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) present unique challenges for psychotherapists. Those with autism, Asperger’s Disorder and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) show impairments in social communication and social relationships as well as unusual behavioral features that set them apart from peers. Further, individuals affected with autism spectrum disorders may experience anxiety, depression, obsessive–compulsive disorder and other psychiatric symptoms that can be distressing and, at times, disabling. At present, there is limited information regarding evidence-based approaches for addressing either core impairments of ASDs or associated conditions in a psychotherapy setting. Nevertheless, information about how persons with ASD experience their world and learn can provide clues about what interventions might be useful to assist them such that they can reach their fullest potential. From this standpoint, new or modified approaches to therapy can be tested and further refined to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the psychotherapeutic challenges and the most efficacious therapeutic approach to maximize functioning in this population. KeywordsAutism–Asperger’s disorder–Autism spectrum disorder–Psychotherapy–Depression
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 41(1):29-36.
• Article: A Multi-Theoretical, Evidence-Based Approach for Understanding and Managing Adolescent Resistance to Psychotherapy

  John Sommers-Flanagan, Brent G. Richardson, Rita Sommers-Flanagan
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  ABSTRACT: Adolescents are often labeled as “resistant” to psychotherapy. Rather than blaming adolescent clients or psychotherapists, this article conceptualizes adolescent resistance as normal behavior emanating from a challenging situation. Based on a developmentally sensitive foundation and drawing from person-centered, motivational, solution-focused, choice theory, cognitive-behavioral, and multicultural perspectives, several practical and evidence-based strategies for managing, reducing, or eliminating resistance are provided. Case vignettes are used to illustrate specific strategies. Successful psychotherapy with adolescents requires flexibility and openness, integration of diverse theoretical perspectives with contemporary empirical knowledge, and an attitude of respect for adolescent autonomy. KeywordsAdolescents–Psychotherapy–Resistance–Integration
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 41(2):69-80.
• Article: Supervising Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy: Needs, Possibilities

  Eugene W. Farber
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  ABSTRACT: The competency movement within professional psychology, evidence-based practice concepts, and the trend toward incorporating psychological services as a component of an integrated care approach within health care settings are major developments in the changing landscape of psychotherapy practice that have important implications for psychotherapy supervision. This article examines each of these developments as they relate to conducting psychotherapy supervision from a humanistic-existential perspective. The current status of supervision guided by a humanistic-existential framework is described, followed by exploration of needs and possibilities for the future evolution of the supervision approach in light of developments in the field. KeywordsPsychotherapy–Supervision–Humanistic–Existential
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012;
• Article: Examining Factors Associated with Primary Care and Continuity of Care Among Adults with Severe Mental Illness

  Carolyn S. Dewa, Lorne Tugg, Vicky Stergiopoulos, Abbas Ghavam-Rassoul, Wayne K. deRuiter
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  ABSTRACT: A number of studies have consistently reported that there is a greater prevalence of mental illness among the most socioeconomically disadvantaged. At the same time, there is evidence that services are not optimally accessed by the most socioeconomically disadvantaged; the most in need of care are also the most likely to have unmet healthcare needs. Of people with mental illnesses, those with severe mental illnesses (SMI) are the most at risk of poverty and the least likely to have optimal care. In the past, specialized community mental health services have been identified as the primary provider for people with SMI. However, there is growing interest in using the primary care setting as the main source of mental health care where both medical treatment and psychotherapy can be accessed. In this paper, we examine factors related to primary care use (and in turn, pharmacologic and psychotherapies) for people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and who have a SMI. KeywordsSevere mental illness–Continuity of care–Schizophrenia–Socioeconomic disadvantage
  Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 04/2012; 42(1):45-54.