Replicating a previous study (M. Barkham et al., 2006), the authors examined rates of improvement in psychotherapy in United Kingdom primary care settings as a function of the number of sessions attended. Included in the study were adult clients who returned valid assessments at the beginning and the end of their treatment, had planned endings,…

Although improvement of clients' state is a central concern for psychotherapy, relatively little is known about how change in outcome variables unfolds during psychotherapy. Client progress may follow highly variable temporal courses, and this variation in treatment courses may have important clinical implications. By analyzing treatment progress…

A therapy event where the client expressed anger through the technique of "staying with feelings" is analyzed intensively. The client's perspective and observer ratings are reported. Experiential and interpersonal rationales for staying with feelings are compared with data describing change processes; a possible mechanism of change is identified.…

This study examined rates of improvement in psychotherapy as a function of the number of sessions attended. The clients (N = 1,868; 73.1% female; 92.4% White; average age = 40), who were seen for a variety of problems in routine primary care mental health practices, attended 1 to 12 sessions, had planned endings, and completed the Clinical…

The authors attempted to replicate and extend D. M. Kivlighan and P. Shaughnessy's (2000) findings of (a) 3 distinctive patterns of alliance development across sessions and (b) a differential association of one of these, a U-shaped quadratic growth pattern, with positive treatment outcome. In data drawn from a clinical trial of brief…

Explores the role of discourse analysis in psychotherapy, change-process research. Focuses on how available linguistic resources, or cultural meanings, can both construct the client's problem and negotiate its solution. Discusses the implications of studying therapeutic change as a discursive activity comprising the use and negotiation of…

Studied parameters that describe the course of change in subjective intensity of personal problems during psychotherapy: initial severity, rate of problem change, day-to-day intensity variability, and change in rate of problem change. Rate of change parameter correlated with traditional pre- to posttreatment outcome measures. Instability was high.…

This study extended client-focused research by using the nearest neighbor (NN) approach, a client-specific sampling and prediction strategy derived from research on alpine avalanches. Psychotherapy clients (N = 203) seen in routine practice settings in the United Kingdom completed a battery of intake measures and then completed symptom intensity…