Practice Of Psychotherapy Research Articles

Staying in my lane: An exploration of counsellors' and psychotherapists' understanding and use of nutrition in the therapy room

AbstractIntroduction and AimsA significant body of research has found a positive association between a healthy diet and good mental health, and between an unhealthy diet and poorer mental health. Despite this, nutritional education and methods of intervention remain largely absent from psychotherapy training and practice, and mental health professionals worldwide report poor nutritional literacy. This study aims to explore how therapists understand and view diet and nutrition in the context of mental health, and whether, and how, they use this knowledge with clients.Methodology and MethodsThis qualitative study used an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach when collecting and analysing the data. Participants were from throughout Ireland, with recruitment taking place via an email call for participants. A brief pre‐interview conversation ensured respondents fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Six integrative/pluralistic psychotherapists were interviewed about their views and understanding of nutrition in relation to mental health and psychotherapy, as well as about their training, supervision and their use of diet‐related interventions with clients.FindingsFour master themes were identified: “therapist experiences and beliefs,” which relates to how participants experienced and viewed nutrition on personal and professional levels; “meanings associated with food and nutrition” by therapists, and their perception of the meanings their clients placed upon food; “boundaries and barriers” that therapists experienced or perceived when it came to discussing nutrition with clients; and “the silence around nutrition in psychotherapy,” in terms of its absence from training, supervision and peer discussions.Discussion and ConclusionsThe study highlights the importance and meaning that individuals place on nutrition for mental well‐being, while also highlighting its absence from training programmes, supervision sessions and discussions with peers and within the wider profession. The study further indicates potential boundary issues and ethical concerns as a result of the disparity between training/supervision and client needs/therapist practice.

The Many Reasons Why Not to Commit Suicide: The Case of "Maggie"

This case describes the treatment of Maggie, a first-year college student dealing with depression, trauma, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It illustrates a conceptualization and practice that takes place within a guiding conception positioned in the "unification pathway" to psychotherapy integration. Specifically, I have developed a foundational, meta-theoretical "big picture," science-based "Unified Theory of Knowledge" (UTOK) that frames the work. It is a model of the evolution of energy, matter, mind, and culture within our universe’s history—that is, from the "big bang" to the multicultural, complex, human societies that dominate the earth today. Within the UTOK metapsychology (Henriques, 2022a), I have described where the discipline of psychology and the theory and practice of psychotherapy are positioned—allowing psychology and psychotherapy to be potentially grounded in a coherent naturalistic ontology that does not reduce to physicalism or overly rely on a natural science empirical epistemology. UTOK shows how we can retranslate the standard biopsychosocial model into a model that defines the layers of existence in terms of life (the realm of living organisms), mind (the realm of minded animals), and culture (the realm of human persons). It uses this new big picture framework to reframe and realign the key insights from the four major approaches to individual psychotherapy—behavioral, experiential/humanistic, psychodynamic, and cognitive—since each school of thought captures crucial aspects of human behavior and experience, both in its flourishing and its entrenchment in maladaptive patterns. Because of the scope and complexity of UTOK, it is not possible to fully summarize it in the pages allotted to it in a PCSP case study. Rather, in the psychotherapy case study of Maggie below, the reader is offered a basic outline of UTOK’s overall structure to provide a sense of what it is all about, together with plentiful references to learn more details about UTOK (e.g., Henriques, 2011, 2022a). This outline is then followed by psychotherapy-specific concepts and a central therapeutic technique—CALM-MO—that logically follow from UTOK and were central in Maggie’s treatment, which is then presented in detail and discussed.

Psychedelics and neonihilism: connectedness in a meaningless world.

The resurgence of psychedelic research explicitly targets treating mental health conditions largely through psychedelics-assisted psychotherapy. Current theories about mechanisms of change in psychedelics-assisted psychotherapy focus on mystical experiences as the main driver of symptom improvement. During these mystical experiences, participants report an enhanced sense of salience, connectedness, and meaning. Simultaneously, a growing psychedelic culture is also cultivating the use of psychedelics as medicine for relieving symptoms of anxiety and depression and promoting cognitive functions. We argue that an integral part of the excitement around the resurgence in psychedelics is in response to a meaning and alienation crisis that correlates with rising rates of anxiety and depression. Framing the absence of meaning as neonihilism, a contemporary correlate to the 19th-century phenomenon with unique features present in a neoliberal cultural context, we explore whether psychedelics combined with group therapy can provide answers to modern experiences of meaninglessness. Based on this exploration, we suggest concrete next steps both in the theory and practice of psychedelic psychotherapy toward what we are calling neonihilistic psychedelic group psychotherapy.

Systemic Individual Therapy: Therapeutic Change from the Perspective of Clients and Therapists

ABSTRACT Therapeutic change is a well-studied construct in psychotherapy process and outcome studies, providing the basis for how psychotherapy practices are effective in individuals wellbeing. The current study explores the experiences of therapists and clients regarding how therapeutic change is experienced in systemic individual therapy. 12 therapists (1 men, 11 women) and 12 clients (2 men, 10 women) were recruited as participants from two training centers. Both therapists’ and clients’ experiences are investigated with semi-structured interviews using thematic analysis (TA). Results revealed three main themes for clients: “Sense-making the Problems Through Relational Awareness”, “Acceptance in Relationships”, and “Manifesting the Differentiated Self in Relationship.” Regarding therapists’ perspective, the results yielded three main themes: “Going Beyond One-to-one Relationship in Therapy”, “Increasing Relational Awareness”, “Shift in Clients’ Attitudes Towards Boundaries with Significant Others.”. The themes were discussed in the context of the systems theory literature, limitations, strengths, future research directions, and clinical implications.

Mindful-based Interventions for the Development of Leadership Success

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are a form of mindfulness-based psychotherapy practice that has been found to help reverse cognitive deficits arising from psychiatric disorders and foster positive mental health outcomes. This paper explores how MBIs could be embraced to cultivate emotional intelligence, cognitive dexterity, and proficiency to handle stressful situations and challenging circumstances among leaders by fostering positive psychological attitudes and perspectives about themselves. The paper is organized into several key sections, each serving an important purpose. These sections are the introduction which includes the background information on MBIs, a literature review, a research methodology, findings, and a discussion section. The paper affirms that MBIs are instrumental in fostering positive psychological well-being, which is key to optimal mental functioning. As such, MBIs should be incorporated into programs meant to build and develop management capacity among persons in leadership positions and those being mentored into becoming leaders.

Editorial: Setting Standards, Shifting Paradigms

In arguably a watershed year for counselling, psychotherapy, and Indigenous healing practices in Australia, this issue of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia (PACJA) is the first since it moved to the Scholastica platform. The move is helping PACJA meet international standards for peer-reviewed journals, in terms of discoverability, design, device-friendly pages, and other features. It comes at a time when the Australian Government has announced funding for the development of national standards for psychotherapists and counsellors, and for two independent peak bodies representing people who live with mental ill health and their carers and kin. This editorial details the articles in Volume 11 (1) of PACJA which emphasise the paradigm shifts accompanying these announcements.

Tele-psychotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mini-review.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed psychotherapy practices. Psychotherapy around the world has shifted from predominantly face-to-face settings to overwhelmingly online settings since the beginning of the pandemic. Many studies have been published on this topic, but there has been no review of the literature focused on the experience of psychotherapists. Our goal was to identify the challenging issues of teletherapy, including the efficiency of online consultations and the extent to which they are accepted by therapists and patients. A PubMed literature search using the [("Teletherapy" OR "Telebehavioral health" OR "telepsychotherapy") AND ("COVID-19")] search string retrieved 46 studies focused on mental health professionals, as detailed in a PRISMA flow diagram. Two reviewers independently screened the abstracts and excluded those that were outside the scope of the review. The selection of articles kept for review was discussed by all three authors. Overall, the review contributes to the description and evaluation of tele mental health services, including teletherapy, online counseling, digital mental health tools, and remote monitoring.

An exploration of victim blaming in ‘medically unexplained symptoms’: Neoliberalism and the need to justify the self, group and the system

ABSTRACT Narratives within mainstream psy disciplines around ‘medically unexplained symptoms’ (MUS), as constructed through (bio)psychosocial theorising, have been charged with promoting victim blaming. Psychosocial discourse and practice within this field are also critiqued on grounds of inadequate empirical support and associated with patient harms, yet (bio)psychosocial hegemony persists. Understanding what drives current practice and attendant victim blaming in the field of MUS is therefore important in challenging dominant discourse and changing psychotherapy practice, thus precluding patient harm. In this article, practitioner psychology is explored through a critical lens, locating this within a context of organisational and biopolitical influences which likely reinforce mainstream theory and practice. It is argued that victim blaming tendencies within dominant discourse around MUS may serve relational, existential and epistemic needs for practitioners and social actors more broadly, alongside fulfilling a need to assert moral value in the face of social injustices that threaten the neoliberal ‘just world’ view. In other words, (bio)psychosocial constructions of MUS satisfy society’s need to create and ascribe to a shared reality, dominated by a belief in a just, meaningful and relatively predictable world that justifies the status quo. Critical reflexivity is emphasised as a starting point for transforming practice.

Positive Psychotherapy and Art

Art therapy and positive psychotherapy have common points of contact, but differ significantly in their respective theoretical and practical concepts. Both are independent therapeutic methods that require extensive training or further education. Art therapy works preferably with artistic media, whereby psychodynamic processes are integrated depending on the therapeutic orientation. Conversely, Positive Psychotherapy has related approaches in a distinct form to art therapy. This applies above all to the creative process of the procedure. Both methods overlap at the point where psychological conflicts are expressed through artistic means or stories. While artistic therapies focus on this process, Positive Psychotherapy is a psychotherapeutic procedure in its own right. In this article, the approach to art therapy is presented against the background of the resource-oriented practice and theoretical approaches of Positive Psychotherapy.

Primary Capacities as a Predictor of Perceived Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in the Pandemic Crisis of Covid-19

Fifty years of worldwide success of Positive Psychotherapy practice suggested that primary capacities, postulated by prof. Nossrat Peseschkian, are reliable criteria to diagnose the integration level of personal psychological functioning. If this assumption is correct, then the higher level of integration of primary capacities should correlate with better adaptability, and inversely the lower level of integration should correlate with a higher level of perceived stress, anxiety and depression under the pressure of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed internationally 1165 respondents, collecting data on emotional reactions and coping strategies engaging primary capacities of personality structure. As a result of this research, we discovered that a lower integration level of 4 out of 8 primary capacities, namely: ideal, trust, love, and time significantly correlate with a higher level of perceived depression, anxiety and stress. Those results support our initial hypothesis that the lower level of primary capacities would allow a higher level of depression and anxiety.

The Relational Revolution in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy By Steven Kuchuck. Confer Books, 2021. 198 pp.

The Relational Revolution in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy By Steven Kuchuck. Confer Books, 2021. 198 pp.Robin YoungRobin YoungRobin Young, PhD, is a senior member, training analyst, and instructor at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP); an assistant adjunct lecturer at New York University (NYU); and founder of an international Loewald reading group. Young has published research on the revised psychoanalytic theories of female development; studied the mother/infant dyad under Lousie Kaplan at NYU; made international and national psychoanalytic presentations; and undertaken private studies with Lew Aron and Jessica Benjamin. She is a member of the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, and has had a private practice of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy since 1980.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:June 2023https://doi.org/10.1521/prev.2023.110.2.229PDFPDF PLUS ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations AboutReferencesAron L. (2006). Analytic impasse and the third: Clinical implications of intersubjectivity theory. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 87, 349–368. Crossref Medline, Google ScholarBalsam R. H. (2008). The essence of Hans Loewald. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 56, 1117–1128. Crossref Medline, Google ScholarBenjamin J. (2004). Beyond doer and done to: An intersubjective view of thirdness. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 73(1), 5–46. Crossref Medline, Google ScholarFerenczi S. (1949). Confusion of tongues between adults and the child. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 30, 225–230. Google ScholarFreud S. (1912). Recommendations to physicians practicing psycho-analysis. In Strachey J. (Ed. & Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 12, pp. 109–120). London: Hogarth Press, 1957–1974. Google ScholarKuhn T. (1949). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Google ScholarLoewald H. (1951). Ego and reality. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 32, 10–18. Google ScholarMaroda K. J. (2005). Legitimate gratification of the analysts’ needs. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 41, 371–388. Crossref, Google ScholarRenik O. (1999). Playing one's cards face up in analysis: An approach to the problem of self-disclosure. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 68(4), 521–539. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2167-4086.1999.tb00546.x Crossref Medline, Google Scholar Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 110Issue 2Jun 2023 Information© 2023 N.P.A.P.PDF download

Consensus on the perceived presence of transtheoretical principles of change in routine psychotherapy practice: A survey of clinicians and researchers.

Goldfried (1982) hypothesized that there are five transtheoretical principles of change that guide routine psychotherapy practice. This survey investigated if there is consensus on the perceived presence of these principles in the approaches of a professionally diverse pool of psychotherapy clinicians and researchers. One thousand nine hundred ninety-eight participants, aged 21-85 years (M = 50.4 years, SD = 15.59) and representing a wide variety of theoretical orientations, completed an online survey. For consensus to be indicated, 95% confidence intervals of mean agreement scores had to be above 4.0 (out of 5). Mean agreement levels in response to "the extent to which you agree that the following principles are present in your own approach to psychotherapy" indicated consensus for all five principles: (a) fostering hope, positive expectations, and motivation (M = 4.58; 95% CI [4.53, 4.62]); (b) facilitating the therapeutic alliance (M = 4.76; 95% CI [4.73, 4.80]); (c) increasing awareness and insight (M = 4.66; 95% CI [4.63, 4.70]); (d) encouraging corrective experiences (M = 4.44; 95% CI [4.39, 4.48]); (e) emphasizing ongoing reality testing (M = 4.15; 95% CI [4.09, 4.20]). These findings were unaffected by age, gender, working patterns, practice (clinician or researcher), and years of experience; however, consensus on the final two principles was not indicated for both psychodynamic and experiential psychotherapists. The demonstrated consensus surrounding the transtheoretical principles of change corresponds with their consistently yielded outcome associations in previous research. The combination of these evidence sources points to the importance of the principles in routine psychotherapy practice, which warrants further investigation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Komunikasi Terapeutik Pada Pasien Dengan Gangguan Mental

Therapeutic communication plays an important role in the interaction between psychotherapists and patients with mental disorders. An in-depth understanding of effective communication strategies can improve the quality of therapy and treatment outcomes. This study aimed to explore the communication techniques and approaches used by psychotherapists in treating patients with mental disorders.This study used a qualitative approach with a case study method. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 10 psychotherapists practicing in Bandung City. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis techniques to identify key themes related to effective therapeutic communication strategies. The results revealed several key themes in therapeutic communication, including: (1) The use of empathy and emotional validation to build a relationship of trust; (2) The application of nonverbal communication techniques, such as eye contact and supportive body language; (3) The adaptation of language and terminology according to the patient's condition and needs; (4) A collaborative approach in setting therapy goals and action plans; and (5) The importance of openness and transparency in communication to increase patient involvement in the therapy process. The study concluded that effective therapeutic communication requires a combination of empathy, appropriate nonverbal communication techniques, language adaptation, collaborative approach and openness. Psychotherapists who successfully implement these strategies can create a supportive therapeutic environment and improve the effectiveness of treatment for patients with mental disorders. These findings provide important insights for psychotherapy practice and professional training in the mental health field.

Counselling without boundaries

Hestia’s Overnight Hotel Counselling Service for survivors of the Grenfell fire was set up in response to a disaster and therefore most of the ‘normal rules’ of counselling boundaries could not apply. There is a gap in the literature regarding counselling in times of disasters and the ethical dilemmas that come with it. The deficit on this issue is especially great in the UK.
 Using a thematic analysis, this study explores how nine counsellors experienced working within unconventional counselling boundaries in this service.
 Findings indicate that the challenges encountered, and outcomes experienced, fostered a questioning of many of the rules assumed about counselling and psychotherapy especially regarding boundaries. Furthermore, they seem to validate the common factors’ view on the importance of the therapeutic relationship for successful outcomes, even within an unconventional framework.
 The study raises some questions for counselling and psychotherapy practice, training, and research such as preparedness for disaster counselling, diversity in service provision, and developing further the concept of community counselling by a community of counsellors with a community of clients in community settings.

Metaphoric synchrony in the development of an outdoor dance movement psychotherapy practice

This paper discusses the development, and frame of reference, for an intersubjective outdoor dance movement psychotherapy practice. Developing outdoor practice has raised my awareness, skills, understanding and application of nature-based interventions that support one-to-one DMP sessions with thriving human and more than-human ecological relationships. Key themes discussed as elements of practice are symbiotic relationships, cross-fertilisation of ideologies, sentient and animate reciprocity, earthly ethics, and metaphorical processes. The benefits of nature-based experiences for the embodied processes are exemplified in the therapeutic synchrony and outcomes of an allegorical client’s process. An additional positive outcome for clients is the significance of the outdoor safe space being a resource the client can return to without the therapist.

Fostering practice-based evidence through routine outcome monitoring in a university psychotherapy service for common mental health problems: a protocol for a naturalistic, observational study

IntroductionData-informed psychotherapy and routine outcome monitoring are growing as referents in psychotherapy research and practice. In Ecuador, standardised web-based routine outcome monitoring systems have not been used yet, precluding data-driven...

Multiple psychotherapeutic approaches and perspectives on eco-anxiety.

In highly diverse psychotherapy practices, psychotherapists with their individual schemas and personalities treat patients who are just as individual, each with his/her own partially dysfunctional schema, personality, worldview, and life situation. Intuition gained through experience is often applied, and a wide range of perspectives, techniques, and treatment options appropriate to the specific situation and psychotherapist-patient relationship are required for successful treatment of eco-anxiety manifestations. Several examples will be used to present the approaches of different psychotherapeutic approaches to eco-anxiety such as analytical psychology, logotherapy and existential analysis, psychodrama, and Morita-therapy. The treatment-possibilities-expanding psychotherapy science is presented, which helps psychotherapists to look beyond their original learned approach and learn about new perspectives and treatment methods in a methodologically sound way, which they already do intuitively.

Remembering Robert W. Resnick, PhD: From NYC Taxi Driver to APA Award Winner

Remembering Robert W. Resnick, PhD: From NYC Taxi Driver to APA Award Winner

Transracial adoption: art therapists’ views on facilitating children's racial and adoptive identity

ABSTRACT Background There is an absence of research on working with transracially adopted children in the UK. This suggests the need to provide insight into how art psychotherapy practice can be used to explore the transracially adopted child's lived experience of navigating their racial and adoptive identity. The theory of intersectionality highlights the importance of recognising marginalised categories of identity. Without such, these children may only integrate partial knowledge of themselves, which inevitably undermines their voice and ability to hold power in a racialised and oppressive socio-political system. Aims The study aimed to explore: how art therapists work with transracially adopted children to help them find a coherent sense of self; what therapists themselves consider the benefits and limitations of the art psychotherapy practice; intersectional thinking as a way to avoid examining identity differences in silos. Methods This study used semi-structured interviews to gather the views of four art psychotherapists. Thematic analysis was then used to analyse the data collected. Results Evolved as three themes: the containing role of art psychotherapists, primary caregivers and wider care system; a child-led approach; the challenge of integrating cultural humility into the art psychotherapy profession. Conclusion Findings highlighted a systemic approach to processing trauma, including the use of shared, joined-up and non-verbal language could be key in helping transracial adoptees explore their identity using culturally relevant approaches in art psychotherapy. Implications for practice and future research The researcher recommends that access to cultural humility training is formalised for art psychotherapists in order to establish anti-oppressive frameworks. Plain-language summary This article outlines a research project, which examined how art psychotherapy can be used to explore the identity of children and young people who have been adopted transracially. Within this context, it sought to gain a better understanding of how art psychotherapists currently use artmaking and creativity in the therapeutic relationship with these children. It is recognised that for a transracially adopted child's placement to be successful their sense of identity and belonging needs to be supported. In some areas of the UK, post-adoption support exists, which includes access to art psychotherapy. For this research project, four qualified UK based art psychotherapists were interviewed in the hope of revealing what these participants considered to be the benefits and the limitations of art psychotherapy practice when working with this client group. Additionally, the researcher examined the art psychotherapists’ motivations for engaging in this specific subject area. Participants were further asked if any personal challenges, such as their own racial background and/or unconscious biases arose when navigating a transracially adopted child's racial and adoptive identity. From the findings, the researcher provided recommendations that recognise the need for the formal integration of cultural humility for both trainee and qualified art psychotherapists. This small study highlighted three themes: the containing role of art psychotherapists, primary caregivers and the wider care system; a child-led approach; and the challenge of integrating cultural humility into the art psychotherapy profession.

Sooner or Later you are no Longer Needed - Even as a Psychotherapist?+A Systematic Literature Review on how Psychotherapists Deal with their Own Aging Process

Up to now, there is little bundled knowledge about how psychotherapists deal with their own aging. The aim of the present study was a systematic review of the existing literature on the topic of psychotherapists' aging. In a systematic literature search, which was primarily conducted via electronic databases, 55 relevant hits (empirical studies, literature-based texts, books and book contributions, and free text forms) were identified, whose relevant contents were systematically compiled. The literature search revealed a lack of empirical research on the question of how psychotherapists deal with their own aging. Within the systematic review, key findings were presented in areas of 1. age-related issues and challenges among older psychotherapists, 2. resources and sources of experience among older psychotherapists, and 3. engagement with aging and exit from psychotherapy practice. The systematic review illustrates the comprehensiveness of the topics that are relevant in the context of psychotherapists' aging. Dealing with aging also includes the discussion of one's own retirement, whereby the literature suggests a high propensity to work among older psychotherapists, who highly value their status and their individual professional freedoms in old age. It was shown that one's own aging is associated with diverse effects on professional identity and psychotherapeutic work. Future empirical research should address age-related changes in the context of psychotherapeutic work and inquire about attitudes of psychotherapists towards age-related issues. Interests and plans of (older) psychotherapists should be heard and their resources should be used.