Working With Sidney Blatt: Developing Interactions

This tribute to Sidney J. Blatt describes our collaboration in the study of therapy change among hospitalized patients at the Austen Riggs Center. In particular, the use of defense mechanisms by these patients, and the relation of defenses to change in personality after treatment, were examined. The unfolding of this work is described.     

Effect of four aspects of rational statements on expected satisfaction with a close relationship

This study tested whether each of the four main aspects of rational thinking decreased expected relationship dissatisfaction when imagining having a serious disagreement with either a romantic partner or closest friend. The four features, common to cognitive theories of therapy, were the tendency not to exaggerate negative effects, not to demand that one's wishes should always be met, not to globally rate individuals or relationships and not to over-generalise that these experiences always have happened or will happen. Only when combined together did the four aspects significantly decrease expected relationship dissatisfaction in comparison to a control condition in which a serious disagreement was simply reiterated. This combined condition also significantly decreased the irrational tendency to agree that disagreements are destructive.     

Who are they and What do they Need: Characterizing and Supporting the Early Childhood Assistant Teacher Workforce in a Large Urban District

Scholarship and policy emphasize strengthening the early childhood education (ECE) workforce, but this work neglects a large segment of the workforce: assistant teachers. This study responds to gaps in knowledge by examining the demographic characteristics, qualifications, professional supports, and workplace experiences of assistant teachers (N = 120) in a representative sample of ECE centers (n = 35) in a large urban district. In addition to studying assistant teachers’ receipt of in‐service training and coaching, we draw from social network theory to investigate the professional support assistant teachers provide and receive via their collegial networks. We use a variance decomposition approach to explore how on‐the‐job supports, such as training, coaching, and networks, contribute to assistant teachers’ work‐related stress and job satisfaction—two key predictors of ECE teacher attrition. Results indicate that few ECE staff members seek assistant teachers for work‐related advice. Coaching is found to be an important contributor to assistant teachers’ job satisfaction; professional advice via collegial networks is a meaningful but under‐examined source of support for stress and job satisfaction. We consider implications for supporting and retaining assistant teachers and propose next steps for research on this understudied segment of the teaching workforce.     

Marriage and social support in a British–Asian community

People of South Asian origin represent one of the largest ethnic minority populations in Britain. However, research into the marital beliefs and practices of British South Asians has tended to conflate together different South Asian groups of different religious and geographical origins. This study focused on one large religious group originating from one region (Hindus from Gujarat) resident in one large British town, providing analyses drawn from theories of cultural values, acculturation and social identity. Seventy married couples participated in detailed interviews inquiring about the arrangement of their marriage, their attitude towards marriage, gender roles, and the formal and informal support available in times of marital crisis. Our analysis of these interviews suggested that whilst our respondents maintained largely collectivist values in the family, they also saw marriage very much as an expression of individual fulfilment. Marital choice and gender roles in marriage reflected an integrationist strategy combining the traditional cultural practices and identity priorities with the social preferences and economic realities of their new culture. Finally, social support was largely forthcoming from members of the Asian community, reflecting a degree of separation from the majority community particularly when emotional assistance was desired. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social desirability,adequacy of social support and mental health

The extent to which the association between satisfaction with social support and mental health was due to social desirability was determined. Whether this association differed between those high and low on social desirability was also examined. Measures consisted of the Crowne – Marlowe Scale, the Adequacy of Social Integration and Attachment Indices, the General Health Questionnaire, the Zung Self‐Rating Depression Scale and four scales from the Delusions‐Symptoms‐States Inventory. The sample comprised 132 women and 93 men randomly drawn from a larger sample of 756 selected at random from the Canberra electoral roll. Although social desirability was positively associated with satisfaction with social support and mental health, the association between mental health and satisfaction with social support was little reduced when social desirability was controlled, indicating that social desirability did not account for the association between social support and mental health. The association between satisfaction with social support and mental health did not differ between those high and low in social desirability, suggesting that this association was not moderated by social desirability. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Behind the (Virtual) Mirror: Online Live Supervision in Couple and Family Therapy

Online therapy and supervision, a rapidly rising practice in couple and family therapy, has been the subject of a growing body of literature. From its early days, family therapy training has included live supervision, which has typically been conducted by a supervisor and a team of trainees situated on the other side of a one-way mirror. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we—the staff of supervisors at the Barcai Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel—were compelled to find solutions to continue meeting with clients and to provide supervision for family therapy trainees. To this end, we have shifted our live supervision courses (“practicums”) to the virtual arena, adapting the popular application “Zoom” into what we call “PractiZoom.” Based on over 100 PractiZoom sessions conducted between March and May 2020, involving 14 supervisors and 28 therapists-in-training and their clients, the article reflects on this pioneering online practicum for the online live supervision of therapists with geographically distributed participants. In this article, we outline our operational methods and adaptations for conducting live behind-the-mirror supervision online. Following a short theoretical background, we outline the process of online live supervision, discuss our reflections and those of our trainees on the challenges and possibilities it poses, and offer a number of preliminary conclusions and recommendations.     

Outcome evaluation in brief mother-infant psychotherapies: Report on 75 cases

The effects of brief mother–infant psychotherapies (maximum of 10 sessions) were examined in cases of functional and behavioral disturbances in children less than 30 months old. Seventy-five mother-infant dyads were assessed prior to treatment, at 1 week, and 6 months after therapy ended. The outcome measures were changes in the infant's symptoms, the behavioral interactions between mother and infant, and maternal representations. The effect of two forms of intervention—Psychodynamic Therapy and Interaction Guidance Therapy—were compared. Results indicated a significant symptom reduction; dyadic interactions became more harmonious (mothers became less intrusive and infants more cooperative). Maternal self-esteem grew significantly and negative affects decreased. Improvements lasted as least several months, with some positive improvement detected at the 6-month follow-up. No major difference in outcome was found between the effects of the two forms of intervention. Within the limitations of research in a clinical context, this study suggests that brief mother–infant psychotherapies are a cost-effective method of early intervention.