C. E. Hill (2004) recently developed the concept of therapist immediacy to capture discussion by the therapist about the therapeutic relationship that occurs in the here-and-now of a therapy session. This concept has been expanded to include discussion about the therapeutic relationship by both the client and therapist, captured by the term…

Eleven Christian former clients were sampled to uncover factors contributing to positive versus negative experiences in secular psychotherapy. The qualitative results indicated that although many participants felt hesitant to discuss their faith due to uncertainty about their therapists' reactions, positive experiences were reportedly facilitated…

Prior meta-analyses have found a moderate but robust relationship between alliance and outcome across a broad spectrum of treatments, presenting concerns, contexts, and measurements. However, there continues to be a lively debate about the therapeutic role of the alliance, particularly in treatments that are tested using randomized clinical trial…

Psychological research has shown the detrimental effects that overt heterosexism have on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) clients and on the psychotherapeutic relationship. However, the effects of subtle forms of discrimination, specifically sexual orientation microaggressions, have on LGBQ clients and the therapeutic relationship have not…

The study examined which socio-demographic differences between clients and providers influenced interpersonal complementarity during an initial intake session; that is, behaviors that facilitate harmonious interactions between client and provider. Complementarity was assessed using blinded ratings of 114 videotaped intake sessions by trained…

Clients who had completed psychotherapy were interviewed about the significant experiences and moments they recalled within their sessions. These interviews were analyzed using grounded theory, creating a hierarchy of categories that represent what clients find important in therapy. From the hermeneutic analysis of the content of these categories,…

A consensual qualitative-research strategy was used to examine data from 127 interviews conducted with eight psychologists immediately following their brief therapy sessions with eight clients. Frequency of categories within three domains (origins, triggers, and manifestations) were analyzed within and across cases. Discussion centers on practice,…

Studied client retrospective recall of major misunderstanding events in 19 cases of therapy. Found that good relationship, clients' willingness to assert negative feelings about being misunderstood, and therapists' facilitation of mutual repair effort through maintaining flexible and accepting stance typically led to resolution. (Author/NB)

The state of the psychotherapy termination literature to date might best be characterized as inconclusive. Despite decades of studies, almost no predictors of premature termination have emerged consistently. An examination of this literature reveals a number of recurrent methodological-analytical problems that likely have contributed substantially…

Rater bias has long been considered a source of error in observer ratings but has been ignored by process researchers using participant ratings. In particular, rater variance, or differences in generalized favorable or unfavorable perceptions of others, represents a neglected source of error in studies using participant ratings. The author…

Used Comprehensive Process Analysis to analyze six client-identified significant insight events in two treatments. Psychodynamic-interpersonal therapy event documented existence of two-part significant events and value of key words. Cognitive-behavioral therapy event illustrated role of context in transforming small therapy events into significant…

Replication was undertaken of a recent study conducted by Buell and Anthony which had found that recidivism and posthospital employment could be predicted by a single demographic variable, number of previous hospitalizations and employment history, respectively. Results of the replication were consistent for posthospital employment but not for…

Repressors and sensitizers completed the Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire and a Dimensions of Psychotherapy Rating Form to assess effects of defensive orientation on expectations for a psychotherapy relationship. Results are discussed within the framework of repressing and sensitizing defensive styles. (Author)

This study determined internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficients for the Willoughby Personality Schedule, currently used as an outcome measure in research and in clinical practice. The Hoyt analysis of variance yielded an internal consistency reliability coefficient of .90 on the first testing. The test-retest reliability…

Proposed a procedure for extending the external validity of analogue research. Hill, Tanney, Leonard, and Reiss's analogue investigation of counselor reactions to female clients was partially replicated using parallel measures obtained in a naturalistic counseling setting. Results bode well for the procedure of translating analogue variables into…