Bridging Practice & Research
Delve into the intersection of research and practice, where theory meets application. This section highlights how empirical research can inform clinical practice and how practical experiences can shape future research directions.
182 articles found
Effectiveness For Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Versus Outpatient Treatment
There is growing evidence that online self-management tools based on psychotherapy models are effective with various forms of psychic distress, according to recent reviews of the literature (Andersson, 2018; Davies et al., 2014; Lattie et al., 2019). Many of these online resources are based on the application of principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT […]
George (Jeb) S Brown, Ph.D. + 2 more
May 10, 2020
The Perfect Grant Writing Team Roster
Grant-writing is a team sport from the start and recruiting colleagues with specific skill sets will build the overall morale of the team, make the writing of the grant itself easier, and may make it possible to find even more $$. You’ll see below that some roles are front and center, i.e. editing and writing […]
Kim A. Gorgens, Ph.D., ABPP + 1 more
March 29, 2020
An Integrative Review of Therapeutic Empathy
The Complex Nature of Therapeutic Empathy Therapeutic empathy has long been identified as a particularly robust predictor of outcome (e.g., Elliot et al., 2018; Lafferty et al., 1989; Luborsky et al., 1988), yet its complexity has made it difficult to operationalize. Historically, some theorists have emphasized the sensory-emotional components (Kohut, 1959; Titchener, 1915), while others […]
Shannon L. McIntyre, Ph.D. + 1 more
March 8, 2020
Trainee Therapist Characteristics in the Prediction of Client Rated Alliance
Ample research suggests that therapists differ in their level of effectiveness (Blow et. al., 2007; Wampold, 2001). Even more striking is that therapist effects appear to be larger than treatment effects (e.g., Lindgren et al., 2010). These findings suggest that “who” the therapist is may be more important than the type of treatment used. Moreover, […]
Jenelle Slavin-Mulford, Ph.D.
March 8, 2020
Therapist Attachment-Related Behaviors and Their Effects on Psychotherapy Process and Outcome
For more than 20 years, our attachment research teams at Western Michigan University (WMU) have been using Bowlby’s attachment theory to examine important psychotherapy process and outcome variables. What have we found? Generally speaking, client and therapist attachment do matter in psychotherapy—often times, in many of the same ways that John Bowlby would have predicted. […]
Eric M. Sauer, Ph.D. + 3 more
March 2, 2020
Building Evidence for Transdiagnostic Treatment Personalization
As psychotherapists, we face the difficult task of understanding a person’s presenting psychological problems, conceptualizing how their thoughts, behaviors, and emotions interact to produce psychological distress, and choosing intervention techniques accordingly. Typically, clinicians use DSM criteria to assign patients one or more diagnostic labels, which theoretically should inform the treatment approach. For example, most cognitive […]
Andrew J. Curreri, M.A. + 1 more
January 19, 2020
The Promise of Transdiagnostic Treatments
Homeless and vulnerable individuals experience higher rates of mental health difficulties (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017) and are less likely to receive mental health care than the general population. Many of them meet criteria for multiple chronic psychological and medical morbidities (for example, severe mental illness, substance misuse, and diabetes) in addition to facing […]
Amantia Ametaj, Ph.D. + 1 more
January 5, 2020
Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk, Do the Work
Introductions Todd Ryser-Oatman is enrolled in the University of Kentucky Counseling Doctoral Program. His research interests focus on the well-being of the LGBTQ community. His dissertation focuses on help-seeking experiences of sexual minority men who have experienced intimate partner violence in their same-sex relationships. Alyssa Clements-Hickman is also enrolled in the University of Kentucky Counseling […]
Todd Ryser-Oatman, M.S. + 1 more
November 16, 2019
Balancing Alliances With Couples and Families
Many therapists in training, and even experienced therapists, anticipate working with couples and families with trepidation. As family therapists and researchers, we understand that trepidation, and indeed, sometimes find ourselves experiencing these same feelings! However, we know that understanding systemic interactions really helps in learning to work with couples and families; thus, we offer some […]
Laurie Heatherington, Ph.D. + 2 more
November 12, 2019
Understanding the Psychotherapy Gap Through the Eyes of Our Community Partners
Psychotherapy as a field is no stranger to controversy, so let’s start with where we all agree. If you are a member of Division 29, chances are you believe in the mission of this organization which is to make the benefits of psychotherapy accessible to all. Next, we may agree that individuals with mental health […]
Courtney Benjamin Wolk, Ph.D. + 1 more
September 29, 2019
On Cheap Psychotherapy
On March 16, 2019, the esteemed international magazine The Economist published an article titled “Talk is Cheap: What Disasters Reveal About Mental-Health Care.” The article extolled the virtues of using lightly trained “psychotherapists” to deal with emotional problems in countries that have a shortage of mental health professionals. After highlighting the role of stressors such […]
Roger P. Greenberg, Ph.D.
September 2, 2019
An MTurk Primer for Psychotherapy Researchers
In recent years, psychology researchers have begun to use online methods for participant recruitment and data collection. One of the most popular online methods is Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk), an online crowdsourcing website. To get a glance of its popularity, we recently did a Google Scholar search using the keyword “Mechanical Turk” (see Figure 1 […]
Kelley A. Tompkins, M.S. + 1 more
September 2, 2019