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Caring for you, me, and us: The lived experience of compassion in counselors.
Psychotherapy, Vol 59(3), Sep 2022, 321-331; doi:10.1037/pst0000412There is growing interest in compassion within the context of counseling, given its potential to support the well-being of both clients and counselors. For counselors, compassion may improve self-care and protect against various empathy-related stressors, such as empathic distress. Compassion is commonly taught and studied according to a division of self-compassion or other-oriented compassion (also, other-compassion). However, it has long been recognized that the lived experience of compassion is not so neatly divided. The Buddhist traditions that have inf...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - November 18, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

The process and outcome of spiritually integrated psychotherapies: A cross-cultural study in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.
We investigated the process and outcome of spiritually integrated psychotherapies (SIPs) with 34 Catholic therapists and 359 clients in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America using a practice-based evidence design. The three most frequently used spiritual interventions across all therapists were: “encouraging personal prayer,” “affirming trusting God,” and “encouraging listening to the heart,” but “discussing hope” was also one of the top three in Asia and Africa, “self-control” in Asia, “spiritual confrontation” and “self-disclosure” in Latin America, and “listening to spiritual issues” in...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - November 18, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Caring for you, me, and us: The lived experience of compassion in counselors.
There is growing interest in compassion within the context of counseling, given its potential to support the well-being of both clients and counselors. For counselors, compassion may improve self-care and protect against various empathy-related stressors, such as empathic distress. Compassion is commonly taught and studied according to a division of self-compassion or other-oriented compassion (also, other-compassion). However, it has long been recognized that the lived experience of compassion is not so neatly divided. The Buddhist traditions that have informed compassion science emphasize the interconnectedness of self a...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - November 18, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Emotional experience of psychotherapists: A latent profile analysis.
Psychotherapists respond to clients’ emotions in their daily work. However, little is known about therapists’ emotional experience and how different patterns of emotional experience are related to therapist empathy. Two samples of therapists, 1 from English-speaking countries (n = 314) and 1 from Mainland China (n = 589), completed measures of emotional reactivity, emotional regulation, expressive flexibility, and empathy. Latent profile analyses identified 3 profiles of emotional experience, namely, Calm Regulators (CR), Moderate Experiencers (ME), and Emotional Feelers (EF), in both samples, although the distribution...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - October 7, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Client preference accommodation for religious/spiritual integration and psychotherapy outcomes in naturalistic practice settings.
Psychotherapy, Vol 59(3), Sep 2022, 392-399; doi:10.1037/pst0000386The purpose of this practice-research network study was to examine client preferences for religious/spiritual (R/S) integration and test whether preference accommodation in this area is linked to positive treatment outcomes (i.e., less dropout and greater client change). Thirteen independent practice psychotherapists and their 175 clients completed measures of R/S integration preferences and use of R/S techniques and approaches throughout treatment. Psychotherapists also completed an assessment of treatment dropout and change for each participating client. ...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - September 23, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Client preference accommodation for religious/spiritual integration and psychotherapy outcomes in naturalistic practice settings.
The purpose of this practice-research network study was to examine client preferences for religious/spiritual (R/S) integration and test whether preference accommodation in this area is linked to positive treatment outcomes (i.e., less dropout and greater client change). Thirteen independent practice psychotherapists and their 175 clients completed measures of R/S integration preferences and use of R/S techniques and approaches throughout treatment. Psychotherapists also completed an assessment of treatment dropout and change for each participating client. Overall, participating clients expressed moderate preferences for R...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - September 23, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Harnessing quality improvement and implementation science to support the implementation of suicide prevention practices in juvenile detention.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10- to 25-year-olds, and suicidal behavior is four times more likely among youth who enter juvenile justice settings. The current quality improvement work aimed to improve the use of suicide prevention practices in a behavioral health unit within a juvenile detention center and was informed by the Plan-Do-Study-Act method and the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment model of evidence-based practice implementation. Aligned with guidelines for suicide prevention in juvenile detention, the quality improvement work resulted in the implementation of univers...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - September 2, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Patients’ style of emotional processing moderates the impact of common factors in psychotherapy.
This study examined how patient characteristics concerning processing of emotions interact with common factors in psychotherapy. We focused on common factors of emotional processing in psychotherapy with regard to depression outcome. A total of 93 psychiatric outpatients were included. Patients completed preassessments and postassessments regarding depression symptoms and emotional processing style. In addition, the subjectively perceived activation of common factors related to emotional processing in therapy was assessed by the patients after each therapy session. Depending on patients' pretreatment characteristics in emo...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - September 2, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Clinical case study of abbreviated cognitive behavioral therapy through an intersectional lens for women health-care workers during the era of COVID-19.
The unprecedented demands of the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) have imposed a significant degree of psychological distress on women health-care workers (WHCWs). Women comprise 76% of the health-care workforce in the United States and are subject to experience higher psychosocial ramifications in the pandemic era due to gender disparities. Accordingly, women who are dually mothers may be navigating complex interactions of role strain by managing abnormally high parental and occupational workloads. The psychological toll is exacerbated for women holding multiple oppressed identities across domains such as economic stat...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - August 26, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

The association between medical comorbidity and psychotherapy processes and outcomes for major depressive disorder in a community mental health setting.
Many individuals seeking mental health services for depression often suffer from a comorbid medical condition. The goal of the present study was to assess the presence of medical comorbidity in a community mental health center setting that primarily serves a Medicare and Medicaid population, characterize the types of comorbid medical conditions experienced in this setting, and explore the association between medical conditions on the alliance, attrition from services, and outcome. Medical diagnoses were collected from patient charts and structured clinical interviews from 353 participants who had a baseline assessment as p...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - August 26, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Disclosure and nondisclosure of physical health issues in psychodynamic psychotherapy.
In this exploratory study, 54 adult clients seen by 11 therapists in open-ended individual psychodynamic psychotherapy reported about disclosure and nondisclosure of physical health issues (PHI) within psychotherapy. Although clients reported at intake that they had moderately severe PHI, they discussed these issues in therapy only in 12% of sessions, and clients initiated the discussion about these issues nearly 75% of the time. The most frequently disclosed PHI were sleep, weight, illness, and pain. Clients were more likely to disclose if PHI were distressing, related to their mental health, relevant to the psychotherapy...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - August 19, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) stabilization plan for working with patients with suicide risk.
The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) provides clinicians with an evidence-based suicide-focused therapeutic framework to help patients understand and manage suicidal thoughts and behaviors. A key component in CAMS suicide-focused treatment planning is the development and use of the CAMS Stabilization Plan (CSP). The CSP is used to ensure between-session safety and stability by helping patients learn to cope differently, enabling clinicians to care for suicidal patients on an outpatient basis, and thereby rendering suicidal-oriented coping obsolete. While implementing and maintaining the CSP, cl...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - August 19, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Psychotherapy in a resource-constrained setting: Understanding context for adapting and integrating a brief psychological intervention into primary care.
Low- and middle-income countries have few mental health professionals, and efforts to increase access to treatment are a global priority. A key gap is the lack of integration of psychotherapy interventions as a part of accessible evidence-based care. Current recommendations suggest that the integration of mental health treatments, including psychotherapy, into existing primary care pathways may serve as a means to address this disparity. Understanding the cultural and contextual factors that affect this process is a critical step in identifying necessary adaptations. The aim of this qualitative study was to identify contex...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - August 19, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

The development of an observational coding scheme to assess transgender and nonbinary clients’ reported minority stress experiences.
Trans and nonbinary individuals experience high rates of identity-based stigma and stress (minority stress) in U.S. society. Despite research empirically linking minority stress with adverse mental health outcomes, the extent to which minority stress experiences are discussed in psychotherapy and how therapists respond is unknown. The primary aim of the present study was to develop and test an observational coding scheme, the Minority Stress Experiences and Interactions (MSEI) scheme. With this scheme, observational data from psychotherapy sessions with 19 transgender and nonbinary adult psychotherapy client participants w...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - August 19, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research

Examining how lesbian, gay, and bisexual Christian clients’ perceptions of therapists’ cultural humility contribute to psychotherapy outcomes.
Understanding the intersection between sexual and religious identity has important implications for mental health. The lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community is at high risk for a wide range of psychopathologies, and religious culture can further these risks when it creates homophobic environments (Sherry et al., 2010). The present study examined lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Christian clients’ religious commitment and perceptions of their therapists’ cultural humility in relation to the working alliance and therapeutic outcomes. A sample of 158 LGB Christians who were currently or had been in psychotherapy with...
Source: Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training - August 19, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research