Lost in the crowd: Conformity as escape following disbelief in free will

Belief in free will is founded on the idea that people are responsible for their behavior. People who believe in free will derive meaning in life from these beliefs. Conformity refers to succumbing to external pressures and imitating others’ behaviors. Sometimes, conformity involves a loss of self-awareness, which reduces perceived meaninglessness. We tested if disbelief in free will increases perceived meaninglessness and if people subsequently become more conformist to address this negative existential perception. We conducted three studies to test this hypothesis. In Study 1, experimentally induced disbelief in free will resulted in perceived meaninglessness. In Study 2, perceived meaninglessness correlated with conformity. Finally, in Study 3, perceived meaninglessness mediated the relationship between disbelief in free will and conformity, especially under high self-awareness. We conclude that perceptions about meaning play a central role in the relationship between disbelief in free will and conformity.     

Understanding the social emotional practices of therapists

Emotions are central to the therapy process and skilful use by therapists of client emotion is an essential catalyst to client change. However, the contribution of emotion to the therapy process and how therapists’ social emotional skills are incorporated into psychological practice is still unclear. Using a statistical method for mapping psychological constructs, therapists’ social emotional skills were transformed into a “map” with three spatial dimensions, which was supported by comparative reliability checks. The nature of social emotional skills was further investigated by administering a Q-Sort of emotional practice items to 47 therapists. Ten highly applicable clusters of social emotional skills across seven style patterns with therapists were identified. Tentative links were drawn between demographic data and both clusters and therapist styles. These findings suggest therapists’ social emotional skills can be organised into meaningful clusters and that therapists can be styled according to their responses across these clusters. Furthermore, gaps identified in the model suggest possible “blind spots” in the literature. The implications of these findings are significant for training and practice.     

Therapists’ understandings and experiences of working with clients with problems of addiction: A pilot study using Q methodology

This pilot study aims to increase our understanding of therapists’ subjective attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of working with clients with problems of addiction. The study yielded useful clarifications, arising from the finding that opinions about the nature of addiction support different approaches to therapy. In addition, it seems that diverse or conflicting attitudes and beliefs are likely to impact on the ability of therapists to work together effectively. Another objective was to test the feasibility of using Q methodology in this study and more broadly in qualitative research in psychotherapy. Participants were 13 therapists from a variety of backgrounds and working in a range of agencies. Using Q methodology, four distinctive factors were identified, indicating divergent understandings of addiction. Each factor is shown to be a multifaceted construct which does not correspond to any single theory or therapeutic orientation. It is suggested that the results have significant implications for therapists’ training and supervision. In addition, this study demonstrates the capacity of Q methodology to identify commonalities and diversity in viewpoints which do not conform to a priori conceptualisations. As a pilot study, this paper invites further discussion and research.     

A Developmental Perspective of Marriage and Family Therapist's Ethical Principles: Support for the Practitioner–Ethics Relationship Model

This study explored therapists' professional ethics by assessing therapist at-risk behaviors as they relate to ethical proficiency in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy. A survey assessing practice behaviors was distributed among marriage and family therapists (MFTs) of varying levels of experience. Data gathered were analyzed using factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple regression. Results indicate a positive relationship between the latent variables of risk and justification, as well as a significant relationship between these variables and years of clinical experience. Findings provide evidence to support the practitioner–ethics relationship model proposed by the authors. Implications of these findings, as well as future directions for research and policy are suggested.     

Ethical Issues and At-Risk Behaviors in Marriage and Family Therapy: A Qualitative Study of Awareness

This exploratory study investigated perceptions of and relationship with professional ethics of therapists-in-training. A focus group of marriage and family therapy doctoral students explored self-awareness and at-risk behaviors regarding ethical competence and compliance. A grounded theory analysis of data is presented as a conditional matrix, which offers a theory of development between therapists and their perception of ethics. The Practitioner-Relationship Ethics Model represents findings of interaction between confidence in ethical principles, field experience, use of justification, and at-risk behaviors. Implications and limitations of these findings are presented, as are suggestions for research.     

Next Steps in Validation

No abstract available for this article.     

Towards a model of self-awareness development for counselling and psychotherapy training

Self-awareness has been considered to be a critical ingredient for effective counselling and psychotherapy. However, training models have failed to provide an integrated and explicit approach to self-awareness development. The authors therefore introduce and describe the integrated model of self-awareness development and discuss potential applications for counselling and psychotherapy training.     

Who,What, When,Where, How,and Mostly Why?

SUMMARY

The death of a client by suicide was very emotionally destabilizing to this therapist. She worked hard to distance herself personally from the pain at first and at the same time she found herself overfocused on the “psychological autopsy.” She had difficulty accepting new clients and wanted to withdraw from a meaningful appointment to a state advisory committee. Only when she was able to identify with the client's pain and realize how that pain touched her own history of loss was she able to grieve productively. She realized that gender was relevant in her identification with the victim and in sorting out each of their histories of loss.     

Awakening Resilience: Recovery Within Intimate Female Friendships

A multi-ethnic female creates her own definition of self with the help of strong female role models—women of strength. The author uses a storytelling method, characteristic Native American way of relating, as a vehicle for her narration. It is a story of transitions with challenges in relationships and new beginnings that define the woman as well as the therapist.