The Client Is the Most Important Common Factor: Clients' Self-Healing Capacities and Psychotherapy

I first briefly review the dodo bird verdict and suggest that we should be responding to it by looking for a new way to conceptualize how therapy works. Then I describe the dominant medical or treatment model of psychotherapy and how it puts the client in the position of a dependent variable who is operated on by supposedly potent therapeutic techniques. Next I argue that the data do not fit with this model. An alternative model is that the client is the most important common factor and that it is clients' self-healing capacities which make therapy work. I then argue that therapy has two phases—the involvement phase and the learning phase—and that the involvement phase is the most important. I next review the five learning opportunities provided by therapy. Finally, I argue that a relational model of therapy focused on consultation, collaboration, and dialogue is better than a treatment model.     

Death and the “life review” in Halakhah

Coping with old age involves resolving the task of integrity versus despair, which demands a nondefensive confrontation with the inevitability of death. Halakhah (Jewish ethics) also considered this task critical in later years of life, spoke of death's inevitability, and attempted to discourage denial of death. The Jewish approach seems compatible with Butler's concept of life review as a reconciliation with death and a reintegration of one's identity that occurs throughout later years. While the Eriksonian goal is confronting old age with a certain capacity for wisdom, the rabbis maintained that such wisdom must culminate in the creative act of repentance.     

Might Relationship “Techniques” Extend the Reach, Efficacy, and Efficiency of the Psychotherapies? The Challenge of Treatment-Resistant Outpatients

Study-based clinical observations and two premises are presented as indications for a need to identify therapeutic relationship techniques or the like that can extend the reach and efficiency of the psychotherapies. The premises are: (1) advances in psychotherapy practice and research now highlight one of the field's most longstanding challenges, signified by terms like treatment resistance; and (2) some proportion of outpatients whose problems are resistant to the psychotherapies (and medications) have marked limitations in the capacity to relate positively and productively to others, including therapists. Thus, ironically, they cannot optimally utilize a treatment modality that largely has developed to ameliorate problems relating to others.     

Hobby horses in Lascaux — On pictures and semiosis

This contribution is about semiology and art history. More specifically, it argues against the frequent claims that art history ought to take much more notice of semiology than it has tended to do so far. The argument against these claims is simple and basic: art history deals largely with images, and semiology does not — it has, in fact, little to say about them.Semiology has recently been presented as a supra-disciplinary theory that, although in practice most often applied to written texts, could equally well be applied to the art of painting. It has been considered merely a historical accident that semiotics was developed primarily in conjunction with literary texts. I do not think this is so. Semiology (or semiotics) not only has a strong anti-iconical bias, this bias was in fact one of its principles from the very beginning.Furthermore, the so-called supra-disciplinary theory of semiotics (in the form advocated for the humanities) is based upon specific views of language, signification and meaning, and these are not as evident as they are often made out to be — not even with regard to language itself. In particular the overriding importance attached to the role of arbitrariness within sign systems is questionable.In any case images are indeed in a class of their own, and without the acknowledgement of what is typical about them, it is hard to make much sense of either their use or construction — let alone of the history of art.     

Art,logotherapy, and the unconscious God

In this article the author outlines how art can be used in Logotherapy and Existenzanalyse to help the client uncover, discover, and make use of the meaning and spiritual potentials in his or her life. In Logotherapy and Existenzanalyse art can be used to help over-come fear of verbal communication, to help overcome fear of the spiritual and meaning potentials in the client's life, and to help the client gain awareness and contact with the unconscious God.     

The Therapeutic Relationship as Viewed by Existential Psychotherapy: Re-Embracing the World

Existential psychotherapy places pivotal significance upon the interrelational aspects of human experience. By so doing, the therapeutic relationship itself becomes the principal means through which the client's presenting symptoms and disorders are disclosed as direct expressions and outcomes of the client's overall way of being rather than as isolated and disruptive impediments. This paper examines the therapeutic relationship as viewed from four primary interrelational dimensions. Further, it focuses upon psychotherapy's tendency to exclude the world from the therapeutic relationship and provides two novel and challenging alternatives whose principal aim is to bring the world back into the therapeutic relationship.     

Embeddability,syntax, and semantics in accounts of scientific theories

Recently several philosophers of science have proposed what has come to be known as the semantic account of scientific theories. It is presented as an improvement on the positivist account, which is now called the syntactic account of scientific theories. Bas van Fraassen claims that the syntactic account does not give a satisfactory definition of empirical adequacy and empirical equivalence. He contends that his own semantic account does define these notations acceptably, through the concept of embeddability, a concept which he claims cannot be defined syntactically. Here, I define a syntactic relation which corresponds to the semantic relation of embeddability. I suggest that the critical differences between the positivist account and van Fraassen's account have nothing to do with the distinction between semantics and syntax.     

The elegant solution to the problem of impotence

Although most therapists are committed to debunking the dual myths that sex requires an erection and that sex equals intercourse, sex researchers continue to use successful intercourse as a primary dependent variable. It is here asserted that RET therapists would do well to approach the problem of erectile dysfunction from a more elegant philosophical perspective. The treatment approach outlined here is aimed at reducing client disturbance as well as increasing sexual satisfaction rather than at simply helping the client to regain his potency.     

The client: Therapist's partner or therapist's opponent? thoughts on the question of power and cooperation in therapy

The difference in process and outcome of two therapies conducted by the author with families having a psychotic adolescent is considered. Attention is paid to the fact that in one case the client was regarded theoretically as an opponent and in the other as a partner. It is concluded that the contention thatthe therapist must decide whether to be influential or cooperative arises from a logical confusion by failing to recognize that therapy cannot be anything other than cooperation.Originally published as part of a special issue on the power metaphor guestedited by Klaus G. Deissler inZeitschrift fur systemische Therapie (1986),4, 253–257. Translated by S. Awodey.     

Does Every Good Behaviorist Deserve Favor? A Reply to Neil Jacobson

This is a response to Dr. NeilJacobson's article, An Outsider's Perspective on Psychotherapy Integration, which appears in this issue. It addresses the issue of the differences between eclecticism and psychotherapy integration as well as the possible advantages integration holds over a one-model therapy system. This article suggests that virtually all psychotherapy systems operate under an integrated three paradigm model, and offers some concrete examples of this explanation. It also suggests that the use of psychotherapy integration may lead to a better paradigm match between client and therapist, and ultimately to better outcome. This article concludes that psychotherapy integration possibly offers the best alternative in terms of reducing the biases of one's underlying treatment oaradiem.     

Local dependence latent structure models

A local independence latent structure model, which assumesm latent classes, requires a minimum of 2m-1 items for the solution of the 2m ² latent parameters. If one adds 3 items to the test and if one assumes local dependence between pairs of items, thereby adding additional latent parameters, _ij , representing the association between itemsi andj, then it is possible to obtain estimates for all of the latent parameters: latent class frequencies latent probabilities, and measures of association between pairs of items. The solution consists of (1) forming (m + 1) × (m + 1) matrices of manifest data, which are singular, (2) solving for the _ij in equations that result from the singularity of the data matrices, (3) correcting the manifest data by removing the contamination due to local dependence, and (4) estimating the remaining latent parameters from the corrected data, using methods outlined in earlier literature.     

From I: A/M to “Who am I?”—Aggregation/Massification and Trauma-Based Affects and Object Relations in Groups: A Response to Earl Hopper

Hopper's portrayal of the fourth basic assumption of Incohesion: Aggregation/Massification has two components: (1) a revision of Turquet's theory of BA Oneness to incorporate the polarity of aggregation and massification stemming from annihilation anxiety; and (2) a conception of the difficult patient as having an encapsulated psychosis. Hopper's theory of the encapsulated psychosis offers an important but incomplete perspective in explaining borderline and narcissistic pathology, as well as psychological trauma. In this response to Hopper, I suggest that the fourth assumption is in fact a still more primitive state of boundary opening and closing. I also see a need to differentiate trauma as such from borderline pathology, and further hold that the relationship between Hopper's British Independent theory and trauma theories based on dissociation needs to be clarified.     

Axioms for Deliberative Stit

Based on a notion of companions to stit formulas applied in other papers dealing with astit logics, we introduce choice formulas and nested choice formulas to prove the completeness theorems for dstit logics in a language with the dstit operator as the only non-truth-functional operator. The main logic discussed in this paper is the basic logic of dstit with multiple agents, other logics discussed include the basic logic of dstit with a single agent and some logics of dstit with multiple agents each of which corresponds to a semantic condition concerning the number of possible choices for agents.     

Conversations on contexts and meanings: On understanding therapeutic change from a contextual viewpoint

Recent developments within family therapy theory, often referred to as the Post-Milan Movement, have once again stressed the therapeutic encounter'squality of conversation. When therapy is looked upon as conversation, attention is not only paid to the fact that most of what happens in a session is talking. Rather, a more fundamental stance towardshuman life as basically meaning- making is taken. This is one of the essential premises of the contextualist approach to the social sciences.When applied to human problems this approach claims that symptoms evolve when (1) a person gives meaning to and performs a social act within a context inappropriate to the socially shared meaning of that act, and (2) the behavior of the person is accepted as a symptom by him/herself and the observing community. The therapeutic conversation establishes an exclusive context within which the domains of discourse of the client's life can be accounted for and renegotiated. With the acceptance of these accounts, changes evolve in the context-act relationships (i.e. meanings) construed by the client. This appears to be the basis for the self-healing aspects of psychotherapy.     

Maturing Religious Experience and the Postmodern Self

Past attempts to define mature religion have been rooted in a modernist theological anthropology which assumes an atomistic, universal, rational, and stable human self. Yet postmodernists resist universal statements about humanity and understand the self as an ever-changing social construct. This paper suggests a theological anthropology more adequate to the postmodern world, examines maturing religious experience from this perspective, and considers ways pastoral care/counseling can nurture healthy, integrative, and maturing Christian faith in postmodern culture.     

Analityczne komponenty definicji arbitralnych

Tre: Wstp. I. Definicje arbitralne. II. Syntetyczne konsekwencje definicji arbitralnych III. Analityczne i rzeczowe komponenty definicji arbitralnych. IV. Zdania analityczne.Artyku ten w nieznacznym tylko stopniu róni si od pracy doktorskiej, któr przedstawiem w 1962 r. Jak najuprzejmiej dzikuj Prof. Dr M. Kokoszyskiej-Lutman, Prof. Dr J. Supeckiemu oraz Doc. Dr M. Przeckiemu za szereg uwag i wskazówek, z których tak wiele skorzystaem przygotowujc ostateczn redakcj pracy.     

Commentary: Further Thoughts About Assimilative Integration

The models for assimilative integration presented in this issue are considered. It is concluded that some grounding theories may be too structured, or one's interpretation of them too rigid, stifling psychotherapeutic flexibility and creativity by excluding potentially useful interventions. Alternatively, models may be too unstructured, or one's interpretation of them too loose, leading to treatment forms lacking specificity, direction, and coherence. As noted originally by Messer, assimilative integration operates most beneficially when practitioners address the limitations of their therapeutic models, or tap their models' progressive implications in ways that respect the fundamentals of their shared clinical theories. Practiced in this balanced way, assimilative integration can offer a useful, flexible way of navigating a creative yet disciplined psychotherapeutic course between unbridled technical eclecticism and technical and theoretical rigidity. The author also examines and extends some of the integrative ideas put forth in this issue, from a two-person or intersubjective perspective based on a relational psychodynamic treatment model.     

Независимость одной системы аксиом и правила вывода пропозиционального исчисления

- Allatum est die 5 Martii 1970     

Clients Helping Therapists Find Solutions to their Therapy

This paper is offered as a beginning toward including client perspectives on treatment and client participation in supervision. Rather than see therapists as technical experts who do things to people, many of us now see therapists as nonexperts who create conversations with people (Goolishian & Anderson, 1992). This new shift challenges the traditional training positions of supervisor and supervisee, respectively. Including clients' voices the supervisor participate from a nonexpert position.     

Battered women's coping strategies and psychological distress: differences by immigration status

People are rarely passive, and battered women are no exception. This study investigated the types of coping strategies women of Japanese descent (both Japan-born and U.S.-born) chose and their perceived effectiveness in dealing with their partners' violence. Japan-born respondents were significantly less likely to use active strategies and perceived them to be less effective than did U.S.-born respondents. For the Japan-born, the more effective they perceived active strategies, the higher their psychological distress, whereas the more effective they perceived passive strategies, the lower their psychological distress. In contrast, for the U.S.-born, the higher the perceived effectiveness of active strategies, the lower their psychological distress, and the perceived effectiveness of passive strategies had little effect on their psychological distress. The complex relationship between individuals' country of birth, the choice and perceived effectiveness of coping strategies, and psychological distress calls for increased attention to the role of culture in studies of coping and domestic violence.