Feminism,Therapy, and Changing the World

ABSTRACT

In this essay, Miriam Greenspan reviews her life’s work as an early pioneer of Feminist Therapy, the influence of her birth in a displaced person’s camp to parents who were Holocaust survivors, and her development as a feminist, social activist, and psychotherapist. She discusses her most influential works, including A New Approach to Women & Therapy (1983 Greenspan, M. (1983). A new approach to women & therapy. New York: McGraw Hill. [Google Scholar], 1993 Greenspan, M. (1993). A new approach to women & therapy (10th anniversary ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. [Google Scholar]) and Healing Through the Dark Emotions: The Wisdom of Grief, Fear, and Despair (2003 Greenspan, M. (2003). Healing through the dark emotions: The wisdom of grief, fear, and despair. Boston: Shambhala. [Google Scholar]). She concludes with a look back at her own spiritual evolution, her assessment of the ultimate contribution of Feminist Therapy to society, the need for a wide model of therapy that incorporates the political and spiritual dimensions of experience, and the challenges that psychology and psychotherapy face in an age of global threat.     

An Outsider's Perspective on Psychotherapy Integration

This article offers those who are identified with progress in psychotherapy integration an outsider's perspective on progress in the field. The author argues for a contextual study of psychotherapy and psychotherapy integration, noting that the social psychology of psychotherapy may be an overlooked dimension in the study of psychotherapy integration. He suggests that perceptions of progress in psychotherapy integration may be exaggerated due to the lack of such a perspective.     

Experiential Group Psychotherapy Supervision

Following a review of various traditional models of supervising group therapy, an experiential model of supervising group in a group setting is presented. The model stresses the group aspect of the supervisory process, encourages group interaction, here-and-now responses and associations, and employs concepts from both object relations and group-as-a-whole theory to understand what is taking place. The model's premise is that case material presented in a supervision group stimulates parallel material in supervisees, which is then used to elucidate what has taken place in the therapy group being presented. Excerpts from one supervisory group are used to illustrate major features of the model.     

The Experiential Liberation Strategy of the Existential-Integrative Model of Therapy

This article summarizes the experiential liberation strategy of the existential-integrative (EI) model of therapy. The existential-integrative model of therapy provides one way to understand and coordinate a variety of intervention modes within an overarching ontological or experiential context. I will (1) define the experiential liberation strategy—such as its emphasis on the capacities to constrict, expand, and center psychophysiological capacities; (2) describe its salient features—such as the four stances that promote experiential liberation: presence, invoking the actual, vivifying and confronting resistance, and the cultivation of meaning and awe; and (3) illustrate the relevance of the strategy to case vignettes drawn from actual practice.

Previews of a Paradigm Shift in Psychotherapy: An Interview with Alvin Mahrer

The main purpose of the interview was to explore Alvin Mahrer’s views on an uncommon issue, namely the possibility of a paradigm shift in the field of psychotherapy. The interview covers (a) a way to help bring about a revolutionary paradigm shift, and (b) preview possibilities for an across-the-board, comprehensive paradigm shift in the field of psychotherapy. Grateful appreciation is extended to the reviewers whose comments were helpful and constructive in enabling a substantial improvement in the earlier draft of the interview.     

归因疗法——一种重要的心理治疗方法

归因疗法是心理治疗的重要方法之一。迄今为止 ,人们已经发展了运用归因理论于治疗实践的两种一般模式 :“真归因疗法”引导患者用准确的归因代替错误的归因 ,“误归因疗法”引导患者用不准确而有益的归因代替准确而有害的归因。归因疗法受到了其他心理治疗理论的怀疑和批评。     

心理治疗流派的哲学基础、差异与整合

以精神分析、来访者中心疗法、认知行为疗法这三大当代主流心理治疗流派为对象,分析了其哲学基础,并对这三大流派的临床应用效果作出评价。从本体论和认识论的角度,对各流派理论的主要哲学基础进行简单的划分,发现有的偏向于唯心主义,有的则偏向于唯物主义,哲学取向上有着本质的不同,但各流派的临床适应证相似。总的说来,疗效无明显差异,均各有利弊,各流派应取长补短,走向心理治疗整合,以期提高心理治疗效果并缩短其疗程。     

An Overview of Directions in Psychotherapy Integration Research

In general, empirical research in psychotherapy integration has lagged behind the growing theoretical and clinical interest in the field. Even though many of the theoretically integrative treatment models currently available are based on empirical findings and clinical observations, the models themselves remain, for the most part, untested. Rigorous examination of integrative psychological theories and therapeutic programs is a necessary and useful way to increase our understanding of the process of psychotherapy and establish the efficacy and effectiveness of integrative therapies. The present article explores five different research areas in the field of psychotherapy integration, discussing several published studies in each area. The utility of this research for practicing clinicians is also discussed. Additional investigations in these areas and others are encouraged, with the goals of greater understanding of psychotherapy, as well as the further development and acceptance of integrative approaches.     

Measuring Experiential Avoidance: Reliability and Validity of the Dutch 9-item Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ)

Three studies evaluated psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the 9-item Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ)—a self-report measure designed to assess experiential avoidance as conceptualized in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Study 1, among bereaved adults, showed that a one-factor model, with AAQ-items constituting a single dimension of experiential avoidance, fitted the data well. The internal consistency and temporal stability of the AAQ were satisfactory. In Study 2, among undergraduate students, and Study 3, among 60 outpatients, higher AAQ scores were found to be significantly associated with psychopathology, maladaptive coping strategies, and neuroticism, attesting to the validity of the measure. In support of its incremental validity, Study 3 showed that the AAQ remained significantly associated with depression and anxiety after controlling for neuroticism and thought suppression. The current studies complement prior research supporting the psychometric properties of the AAQ and the ACT conceptualization of experiential avoidance.

Experiential avoidance in body dysmorphic disorder

Experiential avoidance (i.e., the attempt to avoid certain internal experiences including bodily sensations, thoughts, emotions, memories, and urges) has been studied in various psychological disorders. However, research examining experiential avoidance in individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is limited and inconsistent. The present study compared experiential avoidance in individuals with primary BDD (n = 23) to healthy controls (n = 22). Standardized measures were used to assess baseline clinical characteristics as well as experiential avoidance. Compared to healthy controls, individuals with BDD presented with significantly greater experiential avoidance (p < .001, d = −2.51). In BDD, experiential avoidance was positively correlated with depressive symptoms (p < .01) and avoidant coping strategies (p < .01). Clinician sensitivity to experiential avoidance may serve to improve the course of treatment for BDD.     

Gender Role and Feminism Revisited: A Follow-Up Study

In this follow-up to our earlier study (Toller, Suter, & Trautman, Gender role identity and attitudes towards feminism, Sex Roles, 51, 85–90, 2004) we examine the interrelationships among gender role, support for feminism, and willingness to self-label as feminist. Ten percent of college students previously surveyed participated in qualitative interviews, which elicited characterizations of feminists, whether students self-identified as feminist, suggestions for garnering support for feminism, and for interpretation of the initial study’s findings. Students were asked to speculate why we found that highly masculine men and highly feminine women were neither likely to self-identify as feminist nor to support the feminist movement and why more feminine men and more masculine women were found to be more willing to self-label as feminist and more likely to support the feminist movement.     

My Perspective on Psychotherapy Integration: An Outsider Who's Out of It

My rejoinder is a response to two commentaries on my SEPI keynote in 1997: commentaries written by Goldfried and Cullari. Instead of grappling with the ideas I presented, both respondents were distracted by my satirical beginning. In my talk I proposed a method for studying psychotherapy integration. I am not pessimistic about the potential for integration, nor am I pessimistic about psychotherapy. But I am a skeptic, and science is driven—and indeed advance—by skepticism. In fact, psychotherapy integration requires that its advocates be skeptics. I still do not know what psychotherapy integration is, and remain confused. I can only conclude that I am not only an outsider, but out of it.     

The Relation of Psychotherapy Integration to the Established Systems of Psychotherapy

That individuals (and groups) have vested interests is part of the nature of the human condition and is captured in the cognitive theoretical concept “personal domain” (Beck, 1976, p. 56). Of relevance to psychotherapy integration (and consistent with this concept), there are some apparent philosophical differences between advocates of psychotherapy integration and those of the major systems of psychotherapy. In the same manner that the various schools of integrative and eclectic psychotherapy compete with one another (Lazarus & Messer, 1991, p. 144), so too do they contend with the established systems. In this article, we present several issues about which the systems of psychotherapy and the integration movement may differ, and we respond to criticisms of cognitive therapy that have been the focus of previous articles in this journal. Finally, we give examples of how those who research and apply the contemporary systems of psychotherapy can, within those systems, explore possibilities for psychotherapy integration. We conclude that there is probably much that the integration movement and the established systems of psychotherapy can offer each other.     

An Attachment Perspective on Reunions in Couple Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Psychoanalysis has been slow to acknowledge attachment theory as one of its own. Yet traditions of observational and representational research associated with it have much to offer in shedding light on intrapsychic as well as interpersonal phenomena. This paper explores these traditions and their potential clinical utility for couple psychoanalytic psychotherapy. In particular, attention is drawn to behaviour and representations associated with the experience of reunion in therapy sessions.     

Three Contributions of Personal History

SUMMARY

Who we are becomes manifest as we conduct therapy. Much of the flavor and strength of our therapeutic style, as well as our errors, can be traced to our personal history. This history provides us a storehouse of memories which enrich our sessions. It also helps determine our chosen therapeutic stances. One of the dilemmas for all therapists is the extent to which we will use transparency and self revelation as an ingredient in our work. The final section of this paper explores the pros and cons of sharing our life stories with our clients.     

Person‐Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy Scale: Development and reliability of an adherence/competence measure for person‐centred and experiential psychotherapies

Aims: This study aimed to assess the reliability of the Person‐Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy Scale (PCEPS), a new adherence/competence measure of person‐centred and experiential psychotherapies. The PCEPS consists of 15 items with two subscales: Person-Centred Process and Experiential Process. Method: One‐hundred twenty audio‐recorded segments of therapy sessions were rated independently by two teams of three raters using the PCEPS. Half of the segments were 10 minutes long and the other half were 15 minutes long. Six therapists were experienced therapists and four were counsellors in training. Seven of the therapists identified their work as ‘person‐centred’, and three identified their work as ‘process‐experiential’. Three raters were qualified and experienced person‐centred therapists and three raters were person‐centred counselling trainees in their first year of training. Results: Interrater reliabilities were good (alpha: .68–.86), especially when ratings were averaged across items (alpha: .87); interitem reliabilities were quite high (alpha: .98). Exploratory factor analyses revealed a 12‐item facilitative relationship factor that cuts across Person‐Centred and Experiential subscales (alpha: .98), and a nonfacilitative directiveness factor (3 items, alpha: .89). Conclusions/Implications: The PCEPS has potential for use in RCT research as well as in counselling training and supervision, but will require further testing and validation.     

Group Psychotherapy and Existential Concerns: An Interview with Irvin Yalom

Group psychotherapy can be used to help clients deal with most forms of emotional distress or problems with interpersonal functioning. Also, group therapy can be useful when helping clients to confront existential concerns such as isolation or meaning in ones life. During a recent interview, Irvin Yalom discussed a variety of issues related to group processes and existential matters that are involved in effective psychotherapy.     

来访者动机:心理咨询与治疗理论与实践的整合

来访者动机是影响行为改变和治疗结果的重要因素,是贯穿心理咨询与治疗过程的关键问题。自我决定理论(SDT)是关于动机行为的一种宽泛理论,将动机看成一个随自主水平变化的连续体,认为来访者自主水平越高,治疗效果越好,并强调治疗师的自主支持对来访者参与和坚持改变的重要性;动机访谈(MI)则是在成瘾行为治疗中发展起来的一种临床技术和策略,遵循来访者中心的原则激发和增强来访者动机。在健康行为领域两种治疗模型有不同的起点、焦点和发展路径,研究者却发现两者可以系统而有机地整合,促进了有实证支持的实践发展。     

以有机哲学的视角看中国传统心理治疗思想

西方现代心理治疗的体系与方法逐渐暴露出一些问题,西方传统文化中的机械唯物论和二元对立的逻辑是其误区所在。怀特海的有机哲学思想在一定意义上为缓解或消除这些问题提供了哲学的指导,而蕴涵在中国传统文化中的心理诊疗思想为西方乃至世界心理治疗的发展能够提供有益的启示和补充。     

A Participant-Observer's Perspective on Psychotherapy Integration

Jacobson has raised a number of issues about the usefulness of psychotherapy integration. Some of his concerns stem from his doubt that people are capable of change, and some that appear to be the result of a misinterpretation of what constitutes psychotherapy integration. This article attempts to clarify some of these misunderstandings, which seem to be the result of equating psychotherapy integration with the integration of theories. Comments are also made about the research underpinings related to work in this area.