In Experiential Sessions, There Is No Therapist or Client: There Is a “Teacher” and a “Practitioner”

In virtually every kind of psychotherapy, therapist and client attend mainly to one another throughout almost the entire session. If each experiential session is to be successful in enabling the person to become the whole new person that the person can become, and to become free of the painful feeling in the painful situation, the radical alternative is for the experiential teacher–therapist and the person to attend mainly to the third thing that is the important center of attention for the person. An even more radical glimpse into the future includes the person having one's own sessions by oneself, complemented by skill-development sessions with the experiential teacher.     

Is Workplace Harassment Hazardous to Your Health?

We examined cross-sectional and lagged effects of sexual harassment (SH) and generalized workplace harassment (GWH) on incidence of self-reported illness, injury, or assault in a sample of over 1,500 university employees. SH and GWH, but not other job stressors, were related to increased odds of illness, injury, or assault. This was true when SH, GWH, and illness, injury, or assault were measured at the same time point, as well as when SH and GWH were measured in year prior to illness, injury, or assault.The data presented here are part of an ongoing longitudinal study of workplace harassment conducted at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Illinois at Chicago. This research was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grants AA09989 and AA13332). Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, April 2004, Chicago, Illinois. The data were collected by the Survey Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago.     

Betrayal And Paranoia: The Psychotherapist's Function as an Intermediary

We present an approach to the problem of structuring a therapeutic alliance with patients presenting paranoid symptoms, using both psychoanalytical and cognitive techniques. Initially, we focused on one of the main aspects of the paranoid worldview: the fear of being betrayed and the tendency to betray. This is a defense maneuver, through which patients deny their passivity, and the impotence in the relationship with their own internal needs and with the significant people in the external world, including the therapist. In our experience to build up a working relationship, both a psychoanalytical interpretation of unconscious conflicts and the cognitive analysis of dysfunctional beliefs are needed. Often, in more serious cases, the role of nonqualified object must be accepted at the beginning, due to the patient's need to be in control of the situation. Only then can a therapeutic phase begin, in most cases, through an integrated approach that includes pharmacological, psychodynamic, and cognitive modalities.     

Exploring Decision Making Around Therapist Self‐Disclosure in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Background

Therapist self‐disclosure (TSD) usage varies greatly among different psychotherapy orientations. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that there are reasons for its judicious use, and a small number of researchers have proposed guidelines for how TSD should be used to help therapists across psychotherapy models make decisions around disclosure. However, there is almost no literature specifically exploring how cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) practitioners make decisions around employing TSD within the CBT framework.

Objective

This study aimed to explore how experienced CBT practitioners make decisions around TSD.

Method

In‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted with six clinical psychologists who were trained and experienced in CBT, and the interviews were analysed thematically.

Results

There were two overarching themes in terms of how they made decisions to self‐disclose: (A) the rules for TSD use, which included sub‐themes (a) it must have a clear purpose, (b) it must fit, (c) the therapist must maintain boundaries, and (d) the therapist must always reflect on his/her use of TSD; and (B) how they use TSD, which included subthemes of (a) using it as a tool for change and (b) using it to manage the therapeutic relationship.

Conclusion

Participants’ decisions on whether or not to self‐disclose were strongly influenced by the CBT model, and this process went beyond what is suggested in the transtheoretical literature. Understanding this process may lead to the development of CBT‐specific guidelines for making TSD‐related decisions.     

The ethno-racial segmentation jobs: The impacts of the occupational stereotypes on hiring decisions

ABSTRACT

This paper considers both the division of the labor market and the occupational stereotyping as explanatory mechanisms of discrimination in hiring decisions. It hypothesized that recruiters would favor candidates applying for a position that is stereotypically identified with their ethnic category. We solicited 146 recruiters in order to evaluate the hireability of either a native-born or an immigrant candidate, either competent or not competent, for either a prestigious or a low-skill occupation, and to justify their decision in writing. As predicted, both the hireability ratings and the narrative comments produced by recruiters showed that native-born applicants were preferred for prestigious jobs while immigrants tended to be selected more often for low-skill positions.The discussion addresses various issues related to decision-making in recruitment settings.     

Therapist interventions in short-term dynamic psychotherapy: six expert treatments

This paper describes the profile of verbal response modes utilised in the expert application of Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (STDP). One hundred and fifteen randomly selected segments from six treatments of STDP were analysed. Trained raters used a verbal response mode coding system to examine the individual speaking turns of an expert therapist. Based on the profile of therapist interventions reported, it was concluded that the actual conduct of this treatment in routine practice illustrates the empirically informed modifications to STDP technique integrated alongside the common characteristics of STDP based on the therapist (i) adopting an active stance, (ii) maintaining treatment focus using frequent confrontations and the ‘Triangle of Conflict’, and (iii) tailoring treatment to participant functioning using a combination of supportive and expressive interventions. Furthermore, specific differences in therapist activity were observed across treatment phases as well as between participants.     

Competences and occupational standards for systemic family and couples therapy

This article reports on the recent government initiative of 2007–2010 to delineate, for the major forms of psychological therapy, expected professional standards of practice and conduct in workplaces (the national occupational standards) and to specify expected levels of competent practice (the competences). The article focuses on the processes and outcomes of this initiative for systemic therapy and its clinical and political relevance. The rationale, research and consultation processes by which these formulations were achieved are described and the outcomes of the work are reported. We also discuss their wider implications, including the various ways in which these achievements might be used and their potential value for the field of systemic family and couples therapy.     

Examining the Meaning of Training Animals: A Photovoice Study With At-Risk Youth

Using the photovoice method, we explored the benefits of engaging in a rescue-animal training program for at-risk youth. While participating in the community-based program, five adolescent males in residential care took pictures and shared their experiences through interview and focus groups. Six themes emerged: Gaining patience, forming an attachment to the dog, wanting to better themselves or make better choices, helping others or volunteering, teaching, and relating to the dog. Individually and collectively, the themes suggest that training rescue animals may be a meaningful occupation for at-risk youth and may provide therapeutic benefits.     

Meaningfulness in Day Centers for People With Psychiatric Disabilities: Gender and Empowerment Aspects

This study investigated the experience of meaningfulness in occupations at day centers among people with psychiatric disabilities from an empowerment and gender perspective. One hundred eight participants, from eight day centers in Sweden, completed instruments measuring experienced meaning, empowerment, psychosocial functioning, and socio-demographic factors. Mixed methods were used, combining statistical analyses and content analysis. Gender differences were found concerning principal occupations performed. These confirmed traditional gender roles. The experience of meaning in day center occupations, particularly the domain of meaning pertaining to personal development, was significantly associated with empowerment. These results may be used in the future development of day centers.