Psychotherapy Bulletin
Browse articles, research, and updates from the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.
1080 articles found
The Misuse of Psychology
The American Psychological Association (APA) has been in the press again, and once again it is bad press. The old specter of collusion between psychologists and CIA interrogators and torturers was raised in an article in The New York Times (Risen, April 30, 2015). There really should not be anything controversial about this issue. It […]
Rosemary Adam-Terem, Ph.D.
November 12, 2015
Informed Consent with Children and Adolescents
Informed consent lays the foundation for the psychotherapy relationship and treatment to come in respecting the client’s legal rights and offering her or him the opportunity to make an informed decision about participating in the treatment to be offered. Barnett, Wise, Johnson-Greene, & Bucky (2007) have highlighted the potential benefits of an appropriately implemented informed […]
Caroline Coffman + 1 more
November 8, 2015
Parallel Process in Multicultural Supervision
One of my best friends is a skilled storyteller. During our internship year, she would regale the staff of the counseling center with tales of suspicious occurrences surrounding Area 51, the “secret” government location where UFOs are purportedly stored and studied. She would wax on about mysterious sightings and disappearances with oratory inflections akin to […]
Heidi A. Zetzer, Ph.D.
October 28, 2015
Clients’ Perspectives on Treatment Failure
Despite our best efforts as therapists or supervisors, some clients will fail to improve while in treatment. A significant amount of research has been conducting seeking to identify the client, therapist, treatment, and process variables associated with client change. A number of methods have been developed to decrease the number of clients who stay the […]
Joshua K. Swift, Ph.D.
October 25, 2015
Reflections on Authenticity in Psychotherapy
Lately I’ve been thinking about therapist authenticity. Since moving to private practice three years ago I have worked primarily with adult survivors of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Due to years of chronic violence during developmentally important periods, clients’ life experiences are typically characterized by an insecure (often disorganized) attachment style, a chronically activated […]
Suzanne Friedman, Ph.D.
October 13, 2015
An Introduction to BDSM for Psychotherapists
What is BDSM? BDSM is an acronym that refers to Bondage & Discipline, Dominance & Submission, or Sadism & Masochism between consenting adults. It may be considered a practice, a lifestyle, an orientation, and a subculture. However, many people may engage in BDSM practices while not identifying with this label. Other terms you may hear […]
Keely Kolmes, Psy.D.
October 11, 2015
Understanding the Stressors and Types of Discrimination That Can Affect Multiracial Individuals
As the multiracial population is vastly growing in the United States (Humes, Jones, & Ramirez, 2011), it is important to know about the unique experiences that affect multiracial people, as these can arise in psychotherapy or during casual interactions in the clinic or office. Multiracial people are racially and culturally diverse and identify with two […]
Astrea Greig, Psy.D.
October 5, 2015
Using Imagination and Literature to Enhance Therapeutic Abilities
Jeremy Holmes (2014) offers here a book, rich with the wisdom of an experienced clinician, that celebrates the imagination as an essential component of the psychotherapeutic process, using examples from literature to provide insight into important aspects of clinical work. He argues that literature and psychodynamic therapy share an “aesthetics” based upon a “paradoxical combination […]
David H. Thurn, Ph.D., LCSW-R
September 28, 2015
Some Thoughts on Personal and Organizational Accountability
The release of the Hoffman Report several weeks before the APA convention immediately precipitated worried conversations about what it meant for our Association as well as about appropriate responses going forward. Many psychologists were concerned simply with understanding what had happened and what it meant; some quickly moved to propose answers (among the many thoughtful […]
Rodney K. Goodyear, Ph.D.
September 25, 2015
A Developmental Model for Healthy Individuation of the Transgender Client
Informed by the author’s 37 years of clinical experience with transgender individuals, this article presents an introductory model for clinicians who provide depth psychotherapy to this population. The author points out that primary concerns of transgender individuals in psychotherapy are often the same as most people; yet developing their transgender self without the “mirroring” from […]
Wei-Chun “Vivi” Hua, Psy.D.
September 24, 2015
New Mentoring Hour Program for Early Career Psychologists
When Early Career Psychologists (ECPs) are asked what they want from the professional organizations to which they belong, the answer almost always includes “mentorship.” Yet, mentoring programs can be difficult to get moving off the ground. Perhaps one reason for this is that while it sounds simple in theory, mentorship is actually a complicated endeavor […]
Rayna D. Markin, Ph.D.
September 22, 2015
That Day in the Empty Play Therapy Room
As the family play therapy session drew to a close, my young patient, Madison*, began to begrudgingly return the dollhouse to its usual orderly state and place the simplistic wooden figures back into their bedrooms with care. I remember smiling and playfully nudging Madison to action while patiently listening to a brief, but passionate, protest […]
Jonathan Jenkins, Psy.D.
September 17, 2015