On the mechanisms and effects of feedback in group psychotherapy

Group psychotherapists commonly see feedback as one of the primary mechanism that furthers the goals of the group. This paper will summarize the research that has been done on the mechanisms leading members to produce feedback, the factors that induce members to accept feedback (for example, feedback valence and timing), and the effects of feedback on outcome and aspects of group process such as group cohesion. The article will address the practical implications of these findings for the interventions of the group psychotherapist. As will be discussed, the emphasis on the importance of feedback in the interpersonal group psychotherapy literature exceeds the programmatic research that has been done on basic questions. This paper will identify major lines of future investigation that could yield findings critical to the delivery of effective group psychotherapy such as the information processing sequences that underlie feedback delivery and reception.     

Chatbot-Delivered Psychotherapy for Adults With Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression

Although psychotherapy is a well-established treatment for depression and anxiety, chatbot-delivered psychotherapy is an emerging field that has yet to be explored in depth. This review aims to (a) examine the effectiveness of chatbot-delivered psychotherapy in improving depressive symptoms among adults with depression or anxiety, and (b) evaluate the preferred features for the design of chatbot-delivered psychotherapy. Eight electronic databases were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials. Meta-analysis and random effects meta-regression was conducted using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.0 software. Overall effect was measured using Hedges’s g and determined using z statistics at significance level p < .05. Assessment of heterogeneity was done using χ² and I² tests. A meta-analysis of 11 trials revealed that chatbot-delivered psychotherapy significantly improved depressive symptoms (g = 0.54, 95% confidence interval [−0.66, −0.42], p < .001). Although no significant subgroup differences were detected, results revealed larger effect sizes for samples of clinically diagnosed anxiety or depression, chatbots with an embodiment, a combination of types of input and output formats, less than 10 sessions, problem-solving therapy, off-line platforms, and in different regions of the United States than their counterparts. Meta-regression did not identify significant covariates that had an impact on depressive symptoms. Chatbot-delivered psychotherapy can be adopted in health care institutions as an alternative treatment for depression and anxiety. More high-quality trials are warranted to confirm the effectiveness of chatbot-delivered psychotherapy on depressive symptoms.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020153332.     

An in-Vivo Daily Self-Report Approach to the Assessment of Outcomes of Two Psychotherapies for Women With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Emotion regulation and interpersonal psychotherapies that do not require trauma memory processing have been shown to be effective in treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study used a novel method to assess in vivo outcomes in a randomized clinical trial with women (N = 147; ages 18–54; 61% of color; 94% low income) with full (79%) or partial (21%) PTSD. Participants were assigned to affect regulation or interpersonal therapy, or wait-list, and completed daily self-reports for 2 to 4 weeks at baseline and up to 30 days at posttest. Mixed model regression analyses tested pre-post change on five factor analytically derived aggregated daily self-report scores. Emotion regulation-focused therapy was associated with reduced PTSD symptoms, dysregulation, and negative affect, and improvement in adaptive self-regulation and positive affect. Interpersonal-focused therapy was associated with reduced PTSD symptoms and dysregulation. Although both therapies were associated with reduced PTSD symptoms, whether this was due to nonspecific factors rather than the treatments per se could not be determined. Daily self-report data warrant further investigation in psychotherapy research with disorders such as PTSD, in order to assess affective and interpersonal dysregulation and adaptive regulation as they occur in daily life.     

Functional analytic psychotherapy and the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder

This paper argues that Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) can contribute to the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). FAP is a behavior analytically informed approach to talk-therapy, developed by Kohlenberg and Tsai. It uses natural occurrences of clinically relevant behavior in the client-therapist relationship to promote therapeutic change. A selection of vignettes of client-therapist dialogues involving two clients with OCD is discussed. The examples show how natural interactions between therapist and client can be used to bring therapeutic technique closer to the natural occurrences of obsessive-compulsive behavior. Furthermore, the fragments illustrate that FAP can encompass exposure and response prevention. Therefore, the in vivo learning during the session as promoted in FAP can be an asset in the treatment of clients with OCD, and it deserves attention in future treatment research.     

'Talk to me baby, tell me what's the matter now': Semiotic and developmental perspectives on communication in psychoanalytic infant treatment

Infants suffer to a considerable degree from disturbances in nursing, sleep, mood, and attachment. Psychotherapeutic methods are increasingly used to help them. According to case reports, psychoanalytic work with infants and mothers has shown deep‐reaching and often surprisingly rapid results, both in symptom reduction and in improved relations between mother and child. The clinical urgency of the method makes it important to study its results and theoretical underpinnings. Among the theoretical issues often raised in discussions on this modifi ed form of psychoanalysis, those addressing the nature of communication between analyst, baby, and the mother are the most frequent. For example, how and what does an infant understand when the analyst interprets to her? What does the analyst understand of the infant's communication? These issues are addressed by investigating the infant's tools for understanding linguistic and emotional communication, and by providing a semiotic framework for describing the communication between the three participants in the analytic setting. The paper also investigates problems with the traditional ways of using the concept of symbolization within psychoanalytic theory. The theoretical investigation is illustrated by two brief vignettes from psychoanalytic work with an 8 month‐old girl and her mother. demand for the breast. Like the two lovers in the blues, they seemed to be slaves to     

希望理论与认知心理治疗的整合

作为传统心理学与积极心理学之间的重要桥梁,希望可以被整合进入认知心理治疗中。咨询实践也证明,将希望理论与先前基于症状减少策略的认知疗法整合,心理治疗不仅可以减少患者的症状,而且能帮助其建立力量感并增加长期的生活满意度。通过界定希望的概念;将希望模型与相关模型进行比较,最后,提出在认知疗法的不同阶段运用希望理论的策略。     

中西方心理治疗思想之比较

中西方文化中都蕴含着丰富的心理治疗思想,相似之处主要表现在二者都重视心理因素等方面;差异主要表现在文化根基、医学基础、心理问题的起因及治疗的理念、方法与途径等方面。在实际的心理治疗和心理健康教育中,应注意心理治疗的文化依存性,积极挖掘整理本土文化心理治疗的理论与方法,实现心理治疗的本土化。     

Beliefs About Psychological Services (BAPS): development and psychometric properties

A scale to measure attitudes towards seeking psychological help was developed (Beliefs About Psychological Services [BAPS]) and evaluated. This scale was based on items gathered from students, colleagues, and the authors when asked about common positive and negative attitudes toward psychologists and their services. Items were also based on the Fischer and Turner (1970 Fischer, EH and Turner, JLeB. 1970. Orientations to seeking professional help: Development and research utility of an attitude scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 35: 79–90. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]) Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Services (ATSPPH) measure. Three studies are reported describing the construction and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the BAPS. The BAPS is an 18-item measure consisting of three subscales: Intent, Stigma Tolerance, and Expertness. Support was found for the reliability and validity of the measure.     

在心理治疗中审视积极与消极情绪的关系及作用

心理治疗中长期存在两种倾向：力图减少消极情绪、认为这样可以自动增加积极情绪。该文分析并总结了有关积极与消极情绪的关系及作用的实证研究和综述,主要得出三个结论：1）积极与消极情绪有三种关系：负相关、相互独立、部分重合,具体表现出哪种关系要视实际情况而定。2）过多的积极情绪对认知、行为、健康有消极作用。3）适当的消极情绪对认知、行为、健康有积极作用。因此,在进行心理治疗或研究时,应根据实际情况．明确对象并选择正确方法。     

On the optimality of serial and parallel processing in the psychological refractory period paradigm: Effects of the distribution of stimulus onset asynchronies

Within the context of the psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm, we developed a general theoretical framework for deciding when it is more efficient to process two tasks in serial and when it is more efficient to process them in parallel. This analysis suggests that a serial mode is more efficient than a parallel mode under a wide variety of conditions and thereby suggests that ubiquitous evidence of serial processing in PRP tasks could result from performance optimization rather than from a structural bottleneck. The analysis further suggests that the experimenter-selected distribution of stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) influences the relative efficiency of the serial and parallel modes, with a preponderance of short SOAs favoring a parallel mode. Experiments varying the distribution of SOAs were conducted, and the results suggest that there is a shift from a more serial mode to a more parallel mode as the likelihood of short SOAs increases.