The journal of psychotherapy practice and research 

About: The journal of psychotherapy practice and research is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Psychodynamic psychotherapy & Psychological intervention. It has an ISSN identifier of 1055-050X. Over the lifetime, 321 publications have been published receiving 12444 citations.

Notes on some schizoid mechanisms.

Abstract: I propose to summarize some of the conclusions presented in this paper. One of my main points was the suggestion that in the first few months of life anxiety is predominantly experienced as fear of persecution and that this contributes to certain mechanisms and defenses which characterize the paranoid and schizoid positions. Outstanding among these defenses is the mechanism of splitting internal and external objects, emotions, and the ego. These mechanisms and defenses are part of normal development and at the same time form the basis for later schizophrenic illness. I described the processes underlying identification by projection as a combination of splitting off parts of the self and projecting them on to another person, and some of the effects this identification has on normal and schizoid object relations. The onset of the depressive position is the juncture at which by regression schizoid mechanisms may be reinforced. I also suggested a close connection between the manic-depressive and schizoid disorders, based on the interaction between the infantile schizoid and depressive positions.

Cognitive therapy : nature and relation to behavior therapy.

Abstract: Recent innovations in behavior modification have, for the most part, detoured around the role of cognitive processes in the production and alleviation of symptomatology. Although self-reports of private experiences are not verifiable by other observers, these introspective data provide a wealth of testable hypotheses Repeated correlations of measures of inferred constructs with observable behaviors have yielded consistent findings in the predicted direction. Systematic study of self-reports suggests that an individual's belief systems, expectancies, and assumptions exert a strong influence on his state of well-being, as well as on his directly observable behavior. Applying a cognitive model, the clinician may usefully construe neurotic behavior in terms of the patient's idiosyncratic concepts of himself and of his animate and inanimate environment. The individual's belief systems may be grossly contradictory; i.e., he may simultaneously attach credence to both realistic and unrealistic conceptualizations of the same event or object. This inconsistency in beliefs may explain, for example, why an individual may react with fear to an innocuous situation even though he may concomitantly acknowledge that this fear is unrealistic. Cognitive therapy, based on cognitive theory, is designed to modify the individual's idiosyncratic, maladaptive ideation. The basic cognitive technique consists of delineating the individual's specific misconceptions, distortions, and maladaptive assumptions, and of testing their validity and reasonableness. By loosening the grip of his perseverative, distorted ideation, the patient is enabled to formulate his experiences more realistically. Clinical experience, as well as some experimental studies, indicate that such cognitive restructuring leads to symptom relief.

Scientific Foundations of Cognitive Theory and Therapy of Depression

Abstract: Although there are dozens of books on cognitive therapy of depression, a majority are edited volumes and relatively few are distinguished by the comprehensive mastery of the material and clarity of exposition apparent in this book by Clark, Beck, and Alford. This volume offers a relatively up-to-date (circa 1999) and scholarly review of the phenomenology of depressive disorders from the cognitive perspective, along with detailed evaluations of the literature pertaining to the key hypotheses of the cognitive model of depression. The book is well written, but it is not for the cognitive therapy neophyte. It is rather lengthy and detailed. Moreover, as might be expected, the discussions of criticisms of the cognitive model are somewhat partisan, and the authors consistently present the cognitive model as dynamic and organic (as opposed to static) in response to new and at times contradictory data. Nevertheless, it provides a valuable source companion to the classic but outdated treatment manual originally published in 1979 by Dr. Beck and colleagues (Cognitive Therapy of Depression) and the excellent how-to book by Dr. Judith Beck, Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond, which was published in 1995. Subheads, periodic summaries, and statements of key points within each chapter focus the reader's attention and enhance comprehension; the authors are, after all, expert cognitive therapists. There is a minimum of redundancy across the 11 chapters, and although the copyediting is not infallible (e.g., influential early behaviorist Charles Ferster is referred to as “Fester” in both the text and the reference list), typographical errors are few. As a treatment researcher, I was disappointed that the authors did not devote at least one chapter to reviewing the comparative outcome research studies of CT. Outcomes data has been one of the key aspects of the scientific foundation of CT for nearly 25 years.1 This is a shortcoming, particularly in view of work linking early evidence of CT's superiority (over other therapies) to strong allegiance effects2 and the increasing number of studies in which CT has not performed so well under more “neutral”3,4 or even potentially “allegiance-disadvantaged”5–7 conditions. Ultimately, the most pragmatic benefit of an elegant, scientifically strong model of psychopathology is the ability to translate such knowledge into greater or more enduring benefits for our patients. In this regard, it is not yet clear that the elaborate suprastructure of schema theory actually adds such benefits relative to simpler behavioral5 or interpersonal6 models of intervention.

The Revised Helping Alliance Questionnaire (HAq-II) : Psychometric Properties.

Abstract: The concept of the therapeutic alliance and its operationalization have received much attention in recent years. One of the early self-report measures of the therapeutic alliance was the Helping Alliance questionnaire (HAq-I). This scale was recently revised to exclude the items that explicitly reflect improvement. Using the revised 19-item HAq-II on a sample of 246 patients diagnosed with DSM-III-R cocaine dependence, the authors found that the new scale had excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Further, the HAq-II demonstrated good convergent validity with the California Psychotherapy Alliance Scale (CALPAS) total score. Alliance levels as measured by the CALPAS or the Helping Alliance questionnaire during early sessions were not associated with pretreatment psychiatric severity or level of depression.

Observations on Transference-Love : Further Recommendations on the Technique of Psycho-Analysis III.

Abstract: Recommendations on the Technique of Psycho-Analysis III). The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XII (1911-1913): The Case of Schreber, Papers on Technique and Other Works, 157-171 Observations on Transference-Love (Further Recommendations on the Technique of Psycho-Analysis III) (1915 [1914]) Observations on Transference-Love (Further Recommendations on the Technique of Psycho-Analysis III) Sigmund Freud