Fitting psychotherapy to patient coping style: A meta-analysis.

Over the course of 60 years of research, several personality traits have emerged as potential predictors of differential change in psychotherapy. Among them is the patient's coping style (CS), commonly distinguished between those who deal with change by looking inwardly (internalization) and those who deal with it outwardly (externalization). This study provides definitions of CSs, clinical examples, and frequent measures. We update a 2011 meta-analytic review that revealed a consistent interaction between CSs and treatment focus-symptom focus versus insight focus. The current meta-analysis of 18 studies revealed a medium to large effect (d = 0.60) and suggested that a symptom focus proves more effective for externalizing patient whereas an insight focus is generally more effective for internalizers. The article concludes with limitations of the research, diversity considerations, and therapeutic practices based on the meta-analytic results.

Posttraumatic Growth Following the Loss of a Pet.

The current study examined Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) experienced by bereaved pet owners in the United States, French-Canada, Japan, and Hong Kong following the death of their pet. Using qualitative methodology, we analyzed responses of participants who answered "yes" to a question about experiencing PTG and explored to what extent the cross-cultural responses mapped onto the five factors of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). For the U.S. sample, 58% of responses mapped onto the PTGI. For French-Canada, 72% of responses mapped onto the PTGI. For Japan, 50% of responses mapped onto the PTGI and for Hong Kong, 39% of responses mapped onto the PTGI. We also explored emergent categories related to PTG for individuals who have lost a pet and discerned the unique aspects for PTG across cultures.

Selecting the most appropriate treatment for each patient / Selección del tratamiento más adecuado para cada paciente

Reviews the emergence of research on fitting treatment procedures to the unique needs and proclivities of patients. Traditional research on efficacy of psychotherapy focuses on the role of interventions and theoretical brands, minimizing factors that cannot be randomly assigned. This line of research has not realized its initial and desired promise, perhaps because it fails to incorporate into the study of psychotherapy important and effective treatment variations that are associated with therapist and non-diagnostic patient factors. Contemporary efforts to ‘‘fit’’ treatments to patients emphasize the roles of interventions, participant factors, and contextual/relationship factors. For these complex interactions, any of which reflect factors that cannot be randomly assigned, randomized clinical trials (RCT) protocols are inappropriate as a ‘‘gold standard’’. Several studies are presented which illustrate not only the predictive power of incorporating both treatment mediators and moderators into the realm of psychotherapy study, but the value of a multi-method approach to research. Converging studies moreover, provide a way to incorporate matching algorithms into decisions about assigning optimal treatments (AU)

Se revisa el surgimiento de la investigación sobre procedimientos de ajuste de tratamientos a las necesidades de los pacientes. La investigación tradicional sobre la eficacia de la psicoterapia se centra en el papel de las intervenciones y los modelos teóricos, minimizando los factores que no pueden ser asignados al azar. Esta línea de investigación no ha dado cuenta de su deseada promesa inicial, tal vez porque no incorporó en el estudio de la psicoterapia importantes y eficaces variaciones de tratamiento asociadas al terapeuta y a factores no diagnósticos de los pacientes. Los esfuerzos contemporáneos para ‘‘encajar’’ tratamientos a pacientes destacan el papel de las intervenciones, de factores participantes y de factores contextuales/relacionales. Estas complejas interacciones reflejan factores que no pueden ser asignados al azar, ensayos clínicos aleatorizados (ECA) que son inapropiadas como ‘‘estándar de oro’’. Se presentan varios estudios que ilustran no sólo el poder predictivo de la incorporación de ambos mediadores y moderadores de tratamiento en el ámbito de estudio de la psicoterapia, sino también el valor de un enfoque multi-método de investigación. Estudios convergentes proporcionan una manera de incorporar algoritmos en las decisiones sobre la asignación de tratamientos óptimos (AU)

Selecting the most appropriate treatment for each patient.

Reviews the emergence of research on fitting treatment procedures to the unique needs and proclivities of patients. Traditional research on efficacy of psychotherapy focuses on the role of interventions and theoretical brands, minimizing factors that cannot be randomly assigned. This line of research has not realized its initial and desired promise, perhaps because it fails to incorporate into the study of psychotherapy important and effective treatment variations that are associated with therapist and non-diagnostic patient factors. Contemporary efforts to "fit" treatments to patients emphasize the roles of interventions, participant factors, and contextual/relationship factors. For these complex interactions, any of which reflect factors that cannot be randomly assigned, randomized clinical trials (RCT) protocols are inappropriate as a "gold standard". Several studies are presented which illustrate not only the predictive power of incorporating both treatment mediators and moderators into the realm of psychotherapy study, but the value of a multi-method approach to research. Converging studies moreover, provide a way to incorporate matching algorithms into decisions about assigning optimal treatments.

Se revisa el surgimiento de la investigación sobre procedimientos de ajuste de tratamientos a las necesidades de los pacientes. La investigación tradicional sobre la eficacia de la psicoterapia se centra en el papel de las intervenciones y los modelos teóricos, minimizando los factores que no pueden ser asignados al azar. Esta línea de investigación no ha dado cuenta de su deseada promesa inicial, tal vez porque no incorporó en el estudio de la psicoterapia importantes y eficaces variaciones de tratamiento asociadas al terapeuta y a factores no diagnósticos de los pacientes. Los esfuerzos contemporáneos para "encajar" tratamientos a pacientes destacan el papel de las intervenciones, de factores participantes y de factores contextuales/relacionales. Estas complejas interacciones reflejan factores que no pueden ser asignados al azar, ensayos clínicos aleatorizados (ECA) que son inapropiadas como "estándar de oro". Se presentan varios estudios que ilustran no sólo el poder predictivo de la incorporación de ambos mediadores y moderadores de tratamiento en el ámbito de estudio de la psicoterapia, sino también el valor de un enfoque multi-método de investigación. Estudios convergentes proporcionan una manera de incorporar algoritmos en las decisiones sobre la asignación de tratamientos óptimos.

Evidence-based supervision: Tracking outcome and teaching principles of change in clinical supervision to bring science to integrative practice.

Supervision is the primary way in which psychotherapy trainees develop the skills of applying interventions, conceptualizing cases, and practicing self-reflection. Although critical to professional development, the nature and objectives of supervision can vary widely among supervisors, depending on idiosyncratic differences and the orientation used. As clinical psychology moves toward integrating science and practice, the need to teach students evidence-based principles of therapeutic change and how to use outcome measures to enhance progress is paramount. Furthermore, with hundreds of "evidence-based" interventions and widely diverse supervisors, the fact that cross-cutting interventions and common factors carry the burden of most therapeutic change is frequently lost. In this article, we outline an experimental training system that is being tested as a means to teach student-therapists to use empirically established moderators (treatment factors) and mediators of change to tailor their interventions to client differences. This experimental approach is derived from Systematic Treatment Selection (Beutler, Clarkin, & Bongar, 2000), a cross-cutting system that can be used to aid individualized treatment planning as well as to track and use client outcomes in clinical supervision within a graduate-level training clinic.

Cultural adaptation in measuring common client characteristics with an urban Mainland Chinese sample.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop a culturally adapted version of the Systematic Treatment Selection-Innerlife (STS) in China. METHODS: A total of 300 nonclinical participants collected from Mainland China and 240 nonclinical US participants were drawn from archival data. A Chinese version of the STS was developed, using translation and back-translation procedures. After confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the original STS sub scales failed on both samples, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was then used to access whether a simple structure would emerge on these STS treatment items. Parallel analysis and minimum average partial were used to determine the number of factor to retain. RESULTS: Three cross-cultural factors were found in this study, Internalized Distress, Externalized Distress and interpersonal relations. CONCLUSIONS: This supported that regardless of whether one is in presumably different cultural contexts of the USA or China, psychological distress is expressed in a few basic channels of internalized distress, externalized distress, and interpersonal relations, from which different manifestations in different culture were also discussed.

Coping style.

The fit of patient coping style and psychotherapy focus has been suggested as improving treatment outcome. This article reviews the definitions, measures, and previous research surrounding this hypothesis. An original meta-analysis of 12 carefully selected studies (N = 1,291 patients) resulted in a weighted, mean effect size (d) of .55 in favor of a fit between externalizing patients and symptom-focused treatment or, alternatively, internalizing patients and insight-focused treatment. This medium-size effect indicates that nondiagnostic patient factors, like coping style, are important considerations in the selection of effective therapies. Clinical examples and clinical recommendations are provided.

The dirty dozen: twelve failures of the hurricane katrina response and how psychology can help.

This comprehensive analysis addresses the United States' alarming lack of preparedness to respond effectively to a massive disaster as evidenced by Hurricane Katrina. First, a timeline of problematic response events during and after Hurricane Katrina orients readers to some of the specific problems encountered at different levels of government. Second, a list of the "Dirty Dozen"--12 major failures that have occurred in prior disasters, which also contributed to inadequate response during and after Hurricane Katrina--is presented. Third, this article encourages expanding psychology's role beyond the treatment of trauma to encompass disaster planning and mitigation efforts from a broader public health perspective. Finally, areas for important interdisciplinary research in human behavior that will influence our nation's overall preparedness for future catastrophes are identified, and ways psychologists can become personally involved beyond treating casualties are discussed.