The client-therapist relationship in rational-emotive therapy

In this article, an analysis of rational-emotive therapy (RET) is made with particular attention to the client-therapist relationship as well as to the personal therapeutic style and influence of its founder, Albert Ellis, on patients in therapy. Features of RET and its practice by Albert Ellis which appear to foster the therapist-client relationship include: 1. varying therapy style depending on client characteristics; 2. persistently pointing out client's irrational thoughts as a way of demonstrating therapist's helping efforts; 3. successful completion by client of assigned homework; 4. therapy is focused on current, meaningful problems of client; 5. RET therapists' communication to client's of their own faith in the validity of RET therapy; 6. use by therapist of compliments about client's brightness, competence and likelihood of success in therapy. While RET may not be everybody's cup of tea (e.g., religious individuals), it does appear that the aspects noted above contribute to the fostering of a positive relationship in therapy and can be influential in producing positive outcomes in therapy. The present article is a condensed and updated version of a previously published chapter: Garfield, S.L., The client-therapist relationship in rational-emotive therapy. In M.E. Bernard & R. DiGiuseppe (Eds.),Inside rational-emotive therapy (pp. 113–134). San Francisco, CA: Academic Press.     

Eclecticism and Integration: A Personal Retrospective View

As indicated in the title, this article presents a personal retrospective account of the development of the author's eclectic and integrative views of psychotherapy. Although this period covers more than 50 years, I have tried my best to recall events as accurately as possible.     

Of Nobel class: A citation perspective on high impact research authors

The purpose of this paper was to determine if quantitative rankings of highly cited research authors confirm Nobel prize awards. Six studies covering different time periods and author sample sizes were reviewed. The number of Nobel laureates at the time each study was published was tabulated, as was the number of high impact authors who later became laureates. The Nobelists and laureates-to-be were also compared with non-Nobelists to see if they differed in terms of impact and productivity. The results indicate that high rankings by citation frequency identify researchersof Nobel class — that is, a small set of authors that includes a high proportion of actual Nobelists and laureates-to-be. Also, the average impact (citations per author) of Nobelists and laureates-to-be is sufficiently high to distinguish them from non-Nobelists in these rankings. In conclusion, a simple, quantitative, and objective algorithm based on citation data can effectively corroborate —and even forecast — a complex, qualitative, and subjective selection process based on human judgement.     

MMPI Configural Interpretation as Applied to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Vietnam Veterans

This study investigated the systems of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) configural interpretation of Skinner and Jackson (1978) and Kunce (1979) with Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MMPI profiles of four groups differing in combat exposure were compared on four MMPI configural variables from Kunce (1979) and Skinner and Jackson (1978). The four groups were (a) PTSD sufferers, (b) Vietnam combat veterans without PTSD, (c) Vietnam noncombat veterans, and (d) Vietnam era veterans. All groups were further divided into hospitalized versus nonhospitalized subgroups. Dependent variables were Skinner and Jackson's (a) sociopathic modal profile, (b) neurotic profile, (c) psychotic profile, and (d) Kunce's emotional expression (enthusiastic-reserved) dimension. Results indicated that hospitalized PTSD subjects had significantly higher scores on Skinner and Jackson's neurotic profile; both hospitalized and nonhospitalized PTSD subjects had higher scores on the psychotic profile and were more "reserved" on Kunce's emotional expression dimension. Results were interpreted in terms of configural MMPI interpretation systems and the adjustment of Vietnam veterans with PTSD. PTSD was viewed as exhibiting cognitive, somatic, and affective features.