Patients' in-session commitments, decisions, or statements of intention to carry out novel behavioural acts between sessions are valued events for many therapeutic approaches. The value or importance of such events is enunciated in the body of psychotherapy theory as well as demonstrated by the results of research. First, the value of behavioural commitments is evident in many theories of psychotherapy, whether this be explicit or implicit. Secondly, research has demonstrated that in-session behavioural commitments are significantly associated with the carrying out of the selected behavioural acts post-session. Despite the importance of behavioural commitments in many systems of psychotherapy, scholars of psychotherapy have pointed out that serious lacunae exist in the specification of therapeutic operations which may be used in catalyzing the occurrence of behavioural commitments. Consequently, it is proposed that the study of therapeutic methods which catalyze such events would constitute a useful avenue of research. An exhaustive review of psychotherapy process research reveals that few research projects have studied the links between psychotherapeutic operations and behavioural commitments. Moreover, the few existing studies suffer from considerable limitations of scope and essentially have failed to identify links between psychotherapeutic operations and behavioural commitments. In order to address this question with a research focus which is appropriate to the current state of knowledge on the matter, the rationale is provided for a qualitative methodology. The aim of the study is to identify psychotherapeutic operations which catalyze "naturally occurring" instances of behavioural commitments identified in psychotherapy session transcripts. Raw data for the study was obtained through an exhaustive search of published transcripts of sessions from a broad array (any and all varieties) of psychotherapies. Products of the study are relevant to the practitioner as practitioner-ready concrete descriptions of behavioural commitment-catalyzing therapeutic operations, and to the researcher as a collection of propositions for further theorizing and research. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The present study assessed the impact of client/relationship variables in predicting outcome in a dynamic/experiential approach to marital therapy. On the basis of an examination of the theoretical assumptions underlying this approach, three predictor variables were assessed: attachment, self-disclosure, and trust. Outcome criteria included (1) marital satisfaction level, (2) marital satisfaction gains, (3) intimacy level, and (4) therapist rating of improvement. It was hypothesized that couples presenting with higher levels of attachment, self-disclosure and trust would be more likely to be maritally satisfied, as indicated by a higher level of marital satisfaction and intimacy at posttreatment and at follow-up. It was also hypothesized that couples presenting with lower levels of attachment, self-disclosure and trust would be most likely to make the largest gains in marital satisfaction at posttreatment and at follow-up, and receive a high rating of improvement from their therapist at termination. Thirty-four couples were provided with 12 sessions of Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy (EFT). Couples were assessed at pretreatment, posttreatment, and at a three-month follow-up. Couples who were most likely to be maritally satisfied at termination indicated a higher level of couple-therapist alliance at the end of the third session. Couples who were most likely to be maritally satisfied at follow-up consisted of: (a) females who indicated a higher level of faith (trust) in their partner at intake, and (b) partners who indicated a higher level of the therapeutic alliance at the end of the third session. Couples who were most likely to make the largest gains in marital sitisfaction at termination indicated a higher level of therapeutic alliance by the end of the third session. Couples who were most likely to make the largest gains in marital satisfaction at follow-up: (a) indicated a lower level of marital satisfaction at intake, (b) consisted of males who indicated a lower level of use of attachment figure at intake, and (c) indicated a higher level of couple-therapist alliance at the end of the third session. There were two additional criteria of outcome: intimacy level and therapist rating of improvement. Results revealed four significant predictors of the level of intimacy. First, the couple's general level of intimacy at intake was the strongest predictor of the couple's general level of intimacy at follow-up. Couples with a higher level of intimacy at intake tended to have a higher level of intimacy at follow-up. Second, couples who established a higher level of alliance with the therapist by the end of the third session tended to show a higher level of intimacy at follow-up. Third, one aspect of trust, the females' level of faith significantly predicted those males who were likely to have the highest level of intimacy at follow-up. Fourth, the females' level of apathy self-disclosure at intake significantly predicted her follow-up level of intimacy. The fourth criteria of outcome was the therapist rating of improvement at posttreatment. There was only one significant predictor of therapist rating of improvement. Couples who had established a higher level of alliance by the end of the third session were most likely to have been rated as improved by therapists. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Despite the fact that many practitioners of varying theoretical stripes regard in-session strong client feeling as an important lever for psychotherapeutic change, there has been almost no research on how therapists can help bring about these strong feeling events in their sessions, or how they can use them once they have occurred. Nowhere in the current literature are there research-generated, unabridged, richly descriptive category systems designed to show practitioners precise methods for promoting strong feeling in the session, and precise ways of using it once it occurs. The present study aims to begin filling these conspicuous gaps in the literature by addressing two research questions: (1) What therapist methods, employed under what in-session client conditions, are judged as helpful in promoting strong client feeling? (2) When strong feeling occurs in the session, how do therapists use it? The research strategy will be an inductive, discovery-oriented approach, emphasizing knowledge generation, rather than explicit hypothesis-testing. The data will consist of audiotaped sessions of individual psychotherapy that contain multiple instances of strong feeling, and that are conducted by distinguished therapists representative of a broad range of therapeutic approaches. The potential value of the findings for psychotherapeutic practice is that they will offer a richly detailed collection of procedural, technical knowledge that practitioners can readily add to their therapeutic arsenals if they so wish. The findings may also enable theorizing about the relationships between therapist methods, occurrences of strong feeling, and subsequent therapist uses, and provide empirical data that future researchers may confirm and/or extend toward a more scientifically-based technology of how to promote and use strong feeling in the session.

This study explored the differential effectiveness of the Gestalt empty chair dialogue and RET cognitive restructuring when applied to the resolution of unfinished business consisting of lingering angry feelings toward a significant other. It was hypothesized that the Gestalt empty chair would be more effective in resolving lingering feelings of anger than RET cognitive restructuring procedures. Four therapists were trained in the application of both interventions and each therapist saw ten clients, five in each condition. The subjects consisted of 40 non distressed women between the ages of 20 to 54 (M = 31.55), who were experiencing unresolved feelings of anger toward a person who had been significant to them in their past, and who were willing to work on this issue during the sessions. Subjects were randomly assigned to the treatment conditions and received two counseling sessions aimed at resolving their angry feelings. A verification of therapist interventions was conducted and each treatment was found to be faithfully implemented. An examination of sample characteristics yielded no significant differences between the subjects in each experimental condition. Post-session measures revealed no significant between-group differences in subjects' perceptions of the degrees of progress and resolution achieved during the sessions, the quality of the sessions, and the helpfulness of the therapist. With respect to post-session therapist measures, no significant between-group differences were found in therapists' perceptions of the degree of resolution achieved during the sessions and their perceptions of the degree to which they understood their clients. Outcome measures were administered before and immediately after treatment, and again one week later. A statistically significant difference was found between the empty chair and cognitive restructuring conditions immediately after treatment on one of the outcome measures. Subjects in the cognitive restructuring group had a significantly less negative perception of their significant other immediately after treatment however, this between-group difference was not maintained at the one-week follow-up. Follow-up testing revealed no significant differences between the two experimental groups. Overall, the results of this study indicated that the empty chair dialogue and cognitive restructuring procedures led to similar results on subject measures of the degree of improvement and discomfort related to the unfinished business, on subject self-reports of the degree of unfinished business resolution achieved, on subjects' perceptions of the quality of the relationship with the significant other, and on subjects' tendency to control angry feelings. These findings appear to suggest that the empty chair dialogue and cognitive restructuring procedures may produce similar results when used to deal with lingering angry feelings toward a significant other. However, other factors which may have influenced the outcome of this study as well as suggestions for further research are presented in the discussion section of this paper.

Studies of multidimensional clinical profiles of people with chronic pain have supported the presence of at least two empirically distinct clusters: a Low Pain (LP) cluster characterized by low levels of reported pain, depression, and disability, and a Chronic Pain Syndrome (CPS) cluster characterized by high levels of reported pain, depression and disability. Recently, two investigations have also suggested the possibility of a third grouping of profiles characterized by low levels of depression and disability despite severe pain, as well as relatively high scores on measures of denial and the pain-related use of cognitive coping strategies. However, the presence of such a cluster and its distinctive dimensions have yet to be confirmed in broader, more heterogeneous chronic pain samples. This study investigates the reproducibility and distinctive features of this third grouping, identified in this study as Effective Adjusters (EA) in a community-based sample (n = 184; 141 females, 43 males) of people with mixed sources of chronic pain. Cluster analysis of individual adjustment profiles (composed of scores from self-report measures of pain severity, depression, and subjective disability) demonstrates the presence of the previously reported LP, CPS and EA groupings (along with a fourth grouping of profiles identified as 'Undefined Adjustment'). Comparison of the EA and CPS clusters using ANOVAs (with planned comparisons) revealed no significant differences on self-report measures of pain severity, pain-related appraisals of control and benefits. However the EA cluster of cases was characterized by significantly higher frequencies of conscious cognitive coping efforts and conscious disregard of pain, significantly higher ratings of pain-related choice and responsibility appraisals, and significantly lower frequency of pain-related catastrophizing thoughts. Background variables such as age, education, pain duration, medication use and number of active personal pain management strategies failed to differentiate the two clusters. This study provides empirical support for the validity of an EA cluster of adjustment profiles distinct from those characterized by LP and CPS adjustment profiles. The results add to evidence suggesting that among the population of chronic pain sufferers there exist distinct subgroupings of people with very different adjustment outcomes. The evidence suggests that these adjustment differences are likely related not only to overall pain severity but also to the presence of specific pain-related appraisals and conscious cognitive coping strategies. The findings support previous research which has shown a relation between adjustment outcomes and differences in pain-related catastrophizing and conscious cognitive coping efforts. At the same time, they extend previous results by suggesting that among people reporting relatively severe pain levels, pain-related appraisals of choice and responsibility rather than control and benefits are likely to be associated with adjustment differences.

Abstract not available.

This study examined relative preference for the cognitively oriented therapeutic approaches of Kelly and Ellis. Levels of locus of control and four treatment conditions depicting types of powerlessness situations served as independent variables. Participants were 215 upper division male college preparatory students from a Chicago Catholic high school. Internals, moderates and externals were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions and exposed to standardized written descriptions of the two therapeutic approaches. Following a comprehension test on the descriptions, an audio-taped mini-lesson on imaginative skills and muted-role taking was presented. After a practice trial, each treatment condition received a taped presentation depicting one of four types of powerlessness: in the face of personally significant others, bureaucratic-institutional others, personal fate or chance. Participants' responses to a research questionnaire were submitted to factor analyses to provide guidelines for subsequent scale construction. Three scales served as dependent measures: an alternatives-irrationalities scale, a preference scale and an experimenter-teacher scale. Analyses of variance performed on each of the scales yielded no statistically significant differences as a function of locus of control or of treatment conditions, nor were statistically significant interactions observed. Further statistical analysis revealed a significant preference for Kelly's approach both by all levels of locus of control as well as by all four treatment conditions. These findings were discussed and limitations on their interpretations were presented. Suggestions for future research were offered.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of frontalis electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback (BF) training on sport pre-competitive anxiety variables and on motor performance, within a laboratory controlled environment with high trait anxious boys from 10 to 13 years of age. From 261 tested subjects (Ss), 80 Ss scored in the upper quartile of the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) and from this latter sample, 20 Ss were randomly selected and randomly assigned to either a group having frontalis EKG BF (n = 10) or to a group receiving a placebo condition. The Ss were yoked for contingent positive verbal qualitative feedback (CPVQF). The Ss participated in a bogus sport competitive tournament. An elaborate bogus setting was presented to the Ss in order to control for variables such as opponents, audience and success-failure. The objective of the gate was to beat an opponent two out of three times to win a match and to achieve first place in a pyramidal tournament that consisted of five matches. The opponent was a bogus character who was purportedly in a different location and represented by a timer in the S's room. The task consisted of keeping a stability platform in-horizontal balance for as long as possible within a 30 second trial. The six laboratory sessions consisted of a practice session and five matches. Each session was comprised of an adaptation period, three games separated by three rest periods, then post measurements. During rest periods, the BF Ss (n = 10) were given frontalis EMG auditory and visual feedback while the placebo Ss (n = 10) listened to white noise. During this period, the placebo Ss were given the same instructions as the BF Ss but modified so as to describe the treatment procedures pertinent to each group. The BF group also received CPVQF from the experimenter (E) at the end of the rest period when warranted. The placebo group received the same CPVQF as their respective yoked BF S. General trait anxiety (STAIC FORM C-2) and sports specific trait anxiety (SCAT) were administered before and after the laboratory sessions. Frontalis EMG mean peak-to-peak microvoltage was recorded continuously during the 20 minutes rest periods of every session. Frontalis EMG, heart rate, and respiratory rate where recorded within every session: after adaptation, before every game (except during the practice), at the end of every rest period and at the end of every session. State-anxiety (STAIC FORM C-1) and subjective perception of optimal tension level to perform were recorded before every game. Time performance and error performance were recorded three times per session. A taped interview concluded the last session. The data for all the variables (except for trait anxiety and the post interview) was treated by a three fray ANCOVA with repeated measures using the baseline measure of the practice session as the covariate. The data for the trait anxiety variables was treated by a two way ANOVA with repeated measures. The post interview data was kept descriptive. Significant group differences were found only on the EMG variable in the general competitive setting and in the rest periods, thus, supporting the notion of specificity of frontalis EMG BF. However, the results did suggest the potential use of the frontalis EMG BF to transfer its specific effect from rest to general competitive setting. The high variability during the rest periods recorded by the placebo Ss on the EMG data also suggested the possibility that BF may have strong potential for children where the BF sodality seems valuable so as to maintain the child's attention and may also be valuable to his understanding of relaxation. The study showed significant increases in all of the anxiety parameters assessed in this study except for trait anxiety thus, providing some support for Martens' (1977) model of competitive stress. Trait anxiety was assessed differently from the former variables (pre-post design). Significant decrease in sport specific trait anxiety (SCAT) was found for both groups and could be attributed to the highly successful outcomes experienced during the tournament. The success-failure variable may have also influenced variations in state anxiety across the sessions and trials. Results on the motor performance variables as expressed by time and error showed a positive learning curve with regard to time, thus remaining in balance for longer periods of time across sessions. However, motor performance as assessed by error, increased across sessions. Results from the post interview suggest a placebo effect on subjective measures. This study does not provide support for a cross modality effect or performance enhancement under competitive stress that may be attributed to frontalis EMG BF.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.