Affect at the different phases of cognitive behavioral therapy: An evaluation of psychotherapy provided by candidates

The purpose of this study was to investigate the affect, as measured by “Positive and Negative Affect Schedule” (PANAS), its influence on psychopathology, and to examine the effect of changing affect during cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The study was carried out at the psychotherapy training center, Karlstad University. The hypothesis was whether clients with mental disorders have a self‐destructive affective personality (low PA and high NA) and healthy individuals have a self‐actualizing personality (high PA and low NA). Thirty‐two healthy participants and 44 clients participated in the study. The clients were asked to fill in the PANAS once throughout CBT, either during evaluation, treatment or finishing phase, accordingly there were three different groups at different therapy phases. The healthy subjects were also asked to fill in the self‐report scale once. The comparison of the three phases of therapy and the four affective personality types showed a significant difference between the phases of therapy and the four affective personality types: totally 16 (of 22) and eight (of nine) clients measured at the evaluation and treatment phases, respectively, had a self‐destructive personality. However, at the end of therapy five (of 13) clients had a self‐actualizing personality characteristics, while only three of them were self‐destructive. Furthermore, the results indicate that affective personality does not seem to be a basic and stable personality trait, which could be altered by therapy. The affections measured by PANAS may be influenced by psychopathology and CBT, when conducted by candidate therapists it can be effective in terms of affect changes.     

Predicting Dropout in Counseling Using Affect Coding of the Therapeutic Relationship: An Empirical Analysis

This study used an observational research method to examine affective counselor–client exchanges during the initial session of counseling for clients who dropped out of counseling and clients who remained in counseling. Results confirmed significant differences in the affect codes of clients and counselors between the 2 groups. Discriminant function analyses classified 77% of counselors and clients in the correct groups and correctly classified over 94% of clients who returned for 4 or more sessions.     

Authenticity: a mediator in the relationship between attachment style and affective functioning

Attachment has been show to exhibit a strong effect on emotional well-being throughout an individual’s lifetime. This study examined individuals’ authenticity as a potential mediating variable in the relationship between insecure attachment and affective functioning. Authenticity was examined from multiple perspectives to better define its role as a mediating variable. Results showed that avoidant attachment is a predictor of affective functioning, and that authenticity acts as a mediating variable in this relationship. Anxious attachment showed no direct relationship with affective functioning, yet evidence was found for an indirect pathway from anxious attachment through authenticity on affective functioning. The differing results by attachment style support Mikulincer, Shaver, and Pereg’s theory suggesting a two-part model of emotional response style, wherein individuals with avoidant attachment deactivate emotion and individuals with anxious attachment show hyper-activation when coping with emotion. The study examines the construct of authenticity and its importance in affective functioning. Implications for therapists working with clients are made that highlight the importance of authentic relationships in therapy and life.     

Emotional stylists: Strategies of expressive management among trainee hairdressers

Abstract

This study is concerned with the strategies of expressive control and interaction styles reported by trainee hairdressers. Thirty-nine young women on a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) hairdressing scheme were interviewed about their experiences of dealing with clients and asked to fill out a series of standardised personality questionnaires. Relationships between measures of expressive control, affective communication, self-consciousness, empathy, and affective intensity were investigated, and the influence of these variables on job satisfaction, general well-being, and reported level of tips was assessed using correlational analyses. Ratings of job satisfaction and general well-being were found to be significantly related to low levels of self-monitoring, and more specifically to the absence of a socially deceptive strategy of impression management. Self-ratings of emotional expressive ability and scores on a self-report cognitive/affective index of “open” interaction style together accounted for about half the variance in reported tips. These results are discussed in the context of the discourses of “putting on an act” and “opening up” which frequently arose in conversation with interviewees. Trainees apparently learn to identify with their interpersonal role during encounters with clients and come to experience the associated emotional display as “spontaneous” and “natural”. Successful adjustment to the work-role implies specific strategies of emotional involvement and control.     

A gift from the ghetto

Counselors and their clients must communicate effectively. Because the trained counselor is not always able to relate to the problems of his clients who are both black and poor, this article examines the significant role that paraprofessionals, or indigenous counselors, can play in the ghetto.     

The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child,Volume VI Edited by Ruth S. Eissler,Anna Freud,Heinz Hartmann,Ernst Kris

Abstract

The effect of affective group bibliotherapy (GB) was compared to affective group therapy (GT) on patients’ functioning in therapy and their session impression. Three small groups totaling twenty–five in–patients in a hospital in Israel participated in the study. Clients concurrently participated in both group types, undergoing three sessions in each condition. In–therapy behaviors were assessed through the Client Behavior System (CBS; Hill &; O’Brien, 1999). Results indicated that in the GB condition compared to the GT condition, clients showed less resistance, used simple responses less frequently, and expressed greater affective exploration. The Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ; Stiles et al., 1994) was used to measure clients’ impressions of the sessions. Results indicated that patients evaluated the two treatment conditions equally. Overall, the results support earlier findings, suggesting that affective bibliotherapy can be an effective method of treatment.     

The influence of role definition and affect in LMX: A process perspective on the personality – LMX relationship

While leader–member exchange (LMX) theorists have argued that role definition and affective processes play a central role in LMX development, research has yet to examine their relative influence. Likewise, few studies have investigated how the personality of leader and follower play out in these processes. Drawing on a sample of 161 managers and their respective leaders, we develop and offer empirical support for a model in which leader and subordinate agreeableness and core self‐evaluations wield their respective influence through the affective and role definition processes underlying LMX. Implications of these findings for the theory and practice of LMX are discussed.     

The direction of affective priming as a function of trait anxiety when naming target words with regular and irregular pronunciation

Results from an affective priming experiment confirm the previously reported influence of trait anxiety on the direction of affective priming in the naming task (Maier, Berner, & Pekrun, 2003): On trials in which extremely valenced primes appeared, positive affective priming reversed into negative affective priming with increasing levels of trait anxiety. Using valenced target words with irregular pronunciation did not have the expected effect of increasing the extent to which semantic processes play a role in naming, as affective priming effects were not stronger for irregular targets than for regular targets. This suggests the predominant operation of a whole-word nonsemantic pathway in reading aloud in German. Data from neutral priming trials hint at the possibility that negative affective priming in participants high in trait anxiety is due to inhibition of congruent targets.     

Affective Constellations for Countertransference Awareness Following a Client's Suicide Attempt

Effective counseling with suicidal clients requires the development and maintenance of a strong therapeutic alliance. However, unmanaged countertransference (CT) can inhibit the alliance. This article provides strategies for enhancing CT awareness in counselors to support alliance building with clients after a client suicide attempt. The authors define CT in the context of suicide, introduce affective constellations as a method for CT awareness, and apply the method to a case vignette. A figure for self‐reflection and supervision is provided.     

Stress and affective experiences: The importance of dark personality features

Personality has been shown to play an important role in the negative outcomes associated with stress. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether Dark Triad personality features (i.e., psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism) moderated the associations between stress and affective experiences. This was accomplished using a sample of 193 Israeli community participants who completed measures concerning dark personality features and affective expectations for their vacation prior to checking-into exclusive hotels in a resort city in southern Israel. Follow-up assessments concerning affective experiences and stress during vacation were completed by participants before checking-out. Results showed that psychopathy moderated the associations between stress and affective experiences such that individuals with high levels of psychopathy were more reactive to stress.     

Evidence for attenuated affective processing in obesity

Attenuated affective processing is hypothesized to play a role in the development and maintenance of obesity. Using an affective priming task measuring automatic affective processing of verbal stimuli, a group of 30 obese participants in a weight-loss program at the Psychosomatic University Clinic Bonn (M age = 48.3, SD = 10.7) was compared with a group of 25 participants of normal weight (M age = 43.6, SD = 12.5). A smaller affective priming effect was observed for participants with obesity, indicating less pronounced reactions to valenced adjectives. The generally reduced affective processing in obese participants was discussed as a possible factor in the etiology of obesity. Individuals who generally show less pronounced affective reactions to a given stimulus may also react with less negative affect when confronted with weight gain or less positive affect when weight is lost. Consequently, they could be expected to be less motivated to stop overeating or to engage in dieting and will have a higher risk of becoming or staying obese.     

Positive affective tone and team performance: The moderating role of collective emotional skills

Research on affect as a group-level phenomenon has shown that over time, individual members within a group become highly similar in their affect (i.e., members experience and display similar emotions and moods), and often become similar enough that the aggregation of individuals’ affect can meaningfully represent the “affective tone” of the group. It is generally assumed that a more positive affective tone will lead to better team performance. We challenge the conclusion that positive affective tone is always good for team performance, suggesting that the relationship between positive affective tone and team performance is subject to moderating influences. Across two studies, we demonstrate that the self-reported collective emotional skills of team members play a crucial role in determining whether positive affective tone is beneficial or detrimental to team performance. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Factors influencing the attitudes and commitment of volunteer alcohol counsellors

The attitudes of volunteer counsellors towards clients with alcohol problems and the counsellors' commitment to their agencies were investigated. A questionnaire was devised, incorporating the Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire, and was distributed to volunteer counsellors working within Volunteer Alcohol Counsellors' Training Scheme (VACTS) recognised agencies in England. Two hundred and thirty counsellors were eligible to complete questionnaires, representing approximately half of the total population of volunteer counsellors in VACTS agencies; 141 questionnaires were completed. The results indicated the importance of role recognition by agencies in enhancing counsellor attitudes towards their work; levels of experience, in terms of length of service and the number of clients seen, also appeared to be significant. Future agency commitment seemed to be positively influenced by four agency incentives, defined as role recognition, role support, training, and accreditation. Differing modes of supervision correlated positively with counsellors' attitudes towards clients and with their future agency commitment. It is concluded that voluntary agencies have an important role to play in maintaining positive attitudes and retaining their volunteer staff.     

Affect and emotions in placebo and nocebo effects: What do we know so far?

Once considered nuisance variance in clinical trials, placebo effects and nocebo effects are now widely recognized as important and mutable psychobiological contributors to mental and physical health. Psychological theory explaining these effects emphasizes associative learning and conscious expectations. It has long been suggested, however, that affective states such as moods, emotions, and distress could play a significant role. In this paper, we draw together and review the empirical data linking affective states to placebo and nocebo effects. To organize this disparate literature, three questions are addressed: (1) Does pre‐existing state and trait affect modulate placebo and nocebo effects? (2) Does administering placebo and nocebo treatments change affective states, and if so, does the resulting affect causally influence placebo and nocebo effects? Finally, (3) Can placebo treatments be successfully employed as a regulation strategy to modulate different affective states? In reviewing the evidence in relation to these three questions, it is clear that affect does play a key role in placebo and nocebo effects in many circumstances, and further, there may be a reciprocal dynamic at play between a treatment event, affect, and placebo/nocebo effects. The paper concludes by discussing implications for theory and intervention and recommends future research priorities.     

The function of the therapist's affect in therapeutic conflict in groups

Group psychotherapy theory and technique are presented with the goals of helping group practitioners working with difficult clients: 1) develop a treatment plan; 2) create a therapeutic alliance; 3) foster a responsive group climate; and 4) utilize the therapist's countertransferential reactions in dealing with therapeutic conflict. Historical modifications of the analyst's role in the development of group psychotherapy are noted. Emphasis is give to the recognition of therapist-client identifications in order to separate feelings induced in the therapist from countertransferential reactions, to enable the practitioner to respond appropriately to the affective and inspirational substratum of therapeutic groups.     

The relationship between therapeutic engagement,cognitive errors,and coping action patterns: An exploratory study

Aim: This exploratory study examined the relationship between clients’ involvement in therapy and their cognitive errors (CE) and coping action patterns (CAP). Method: Therapy sessions from N = 26 clients were rated for CE and CP using the CE and CAP methods. Client involvement was measured with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, as well as the . Results: The CEs’ ‘magnification of the negative or minimisation of the positive’ and ‘labelling’ were associated with measures of affective therapeutic engagement. The coping styles ‘negotiation’, ‘opposition’, ‘submission’, ‘isolation’, ‘support seeking’, ‘information seeking’, ‘delegation’, and ‘escape’ were found to be associated with affective and behavioural dimensions of therapeutic involvement. Conclusions: These findings provide preliminary supporting evidence that CE and CP are related to the extent to which clients engage in the work of therapy. Implications for researchers and therapists are discussed.     

The effect of affective bibliotherapy on clients' functioning in group therapy

Abstract The effect of affective group bibliotherapy (GB) was compared to affective group therapy (GT) on patients' functioning in therapy and their session impression. Three small groups totaling twenty-five in-patients in a hospital in Israel participated in the study. Clients concurrently participated in both group types, undergoing three sessions in each condition. In-therapy behaviors were assessed through the Client Behavior System (CBS; Hill & O'Brien, 1999). Results indicated that in the GB condition compared to the GT condition, clients showed less resistance, used simple responses less frequently, and expressed greater affective exploration. The Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ; Stiles et al., 1994) was used to measure clients' impressions of the sessions. Results indicated that patients evaluated the two treatment conditions equally. Overall, the results support earlier findings, suggesting that affective bibliotherapy can be an effective method of treatment.     

How do I feel about the behavior? The interplay of affective associations with behaviors and cognitive beliefs as influences on physical activity behavior.

Individuals have affective associations with health behaviors. In other domains such associations have been shown to influence behavior, but affective associations with health behaviors are not included in current health decision-making models. The authors examined whether affective associations with exercise predicted individuals' activity behavior and, if so, how they interfaced with other decision-making constructs to influence behavior. Adult participants (N = 433) reported their current physical activity behavior and affective associations with physical activity. Health belief model and theory of planned behavior constructs were also assessed. More positive affective associations with activity significantly predicted greater activity behavior. Moreover, the influence of the health belief model and theory of planned behavior constructs on activity behavior was mediated through affective associations. Affective associations were shown to play a central role in individuals' activity behavior, both as a mediator of the effects of cognitively based decision-making factors and as an independent predictor of activity behavior. The results suggest the need to include affective influences on behavior in formal models of health decision making and, potentially, to explore affectively based intervention routes to change behaviors.     

阈下情绪启动效应的衰退和反应竞争模型

研究包含两个实验,均采用反应时测量的方法。第一个实验考查并验证了阈下情绪启动效应衰退的现象;第二个实验的结果则支持反应时指标测量情绪启动效应发生机制的反应竞争的观点,并提出阈下情绪启动效应的内在机制模型。文章最后用反应竞争的观点对第一个实验中的现象进行了解释,提示内隐学习可能在效应衰退现象中发挥作用。     

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Depression, Part IX: Confronting Predisposing Factors

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help many depressed clients learn more effective ways of coping with problems in their lives. However, for many clients with chronic or recurrent depression, it can be helpful to examine the biological, psychological, and social/cultural factors that may predispose a person toward depressive episodes. In order to address possible biological predispositions, it is important to assess for a positive family history of depression, evaluate family members' response to previous treatments, and refer for medications when needed. In order to address possible psychological predispositions, it is useful to evaluate long-standing personality styles, identify negative events from childhood, examine the client's relationship with his or her parents, evaluate the history of abuse, and identify early loss experiences. Cultural factors may play an influential role in the etiology of depression, and can be useful to incorporate into a broad treatment plan. However, cultural factors are difficult to modify through individual psychotherapy. Hence, they are unlikely to play a central role in cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression. Overall, therapists working with depressed clients should be prepared to confront a broad range of biological, psychological, and environmental factors that can create or perpetuate a client's risk for depression.