In this article we present a novel method of outpatient care: brief, dynamic mother-infant group psychotherapy with mothers who have substance use problems. In this therapy, substance abuse treatment is part of mental health and parenting interventions. The focus is on preventing disturbance in the mother-infant relationship in this high-risk…

Bipolar disorder is characterized by a chronic and fluctuating course of illness. Although nonadherence to pharmacotherapy is a frequent problem in the disorder, few studies have systematically explored psychosocial factors related to treatment discontinuation. Previous research with depressed patients receiving psychotherapy has suggested that…

Objective: To examine the relative efficacy of intensive versus weekly cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: Forty children and adolescents with OCD (range 7-17 years) were randomized to receive 14 sessions of weekly or intensive (daily psychotherapy sessions) family-based…

Attachment theory provides a useful conceptual framework for understanding trauma and the treatment of abuse in children. This article examines attachment theory and traditional models of family therapy from the perspective of behavior analysis, and provides a rationale for a behavioral treatment approach for abused children and their foster or…

Findings from a clinical project aiming to make psychodynamic psychotherapy more effective for children with disruptive disorders are summarised and discussed. In this project a supportive expressive model was used and the therapists worked with both children and parents. Nine boys aged 6-10 years were treated; all were reported to function better…

This article re-examines material discussed in a recent systematic research synthesis by Craven and Lee. The authors find that two of the interventions for foster children discussed by Craven and Lee were erroneously classified as supported by evidence of efficacy, and one, holding therapy, is shown to be potentially physically harmful to…

Background: The aims were to identify referral characteristics and outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities referred to a psychodynamic psychotherapy service. Materials and Methods: A retrospective case notes review of anonymized data relating to 100 sequential patient episodes. Results: A total of 81 people out of 100 with a range of…

Adolescence and young adulthood is a time of rapid development. Although many people successfully negotiate this period, some do not. In this paper the evidence for the treatment of some of the most important adolescent psychological problems is considered. The problem areas of depression, anxiety disorders, conduct disorders, attention deficit…

Despite the demonstrated efficacy of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD), many individuals do not respond to treatment or demonstrate residual symptoms and impairment posttreatment. Preliminary evidence indicates that acceptance-based approaches (e.g., acceptance and commitment therapy; ACT) can be helpful for a…

Depression doubles the likelihood of comorbid depression, which presents as major depression in 11% and subsyndromal depression in 31% of patients with the medical illness. The course of depression is chronic, and afflicted patients suffer an average of one episode annually. Depression has unique importance in diabetes because of its association…

Selected successful and unsuccessful case for 15 therapists and coded early session for each case using mean therapeutic index (intrasubject averaging of composite values assigned to each therapeutic verbal statement during session). Results revealed that mean therapeutic index accounted for 85% of variance in classification of treatment outcome…

Evaluated treatment effects in single session process using problem-focused approach and solution-focused approach. Findings indicated significant difference between two approaches when dealing with client's perceived problem improvement, outcome expectancy, session depth, session smoothness, and session positivity. Found no significant…

Drug metaphor suggests that administering relatively high level of process component that is part of successful psychotherapy should yield relatively positive outcome, and levels of process and outcome should be correlated. Compared 5 verbal process components with rate of change in 3 symptom intensity measures across treatment of 39 psychotherapy…

Evaluated characteristics of research on child and adolescent psychotherapy, codifying 223 published studies of psychotherapy from 1970 to 1988 to characterize research, clinical, and methodological characteristics. Found treatment research focused on impact of techniques with little attention to influences that may moderate outcome. Other…

The dodo-bird verdict has haunted the literature on psychotherapy outcome since its early beginnings. It is based on the counter-intuitive finding that often highly diverging treatments do not differ much in effectiveness. There is evidence that much of the common effect of different treatments can be related to unspecific factors as opposed to…