Decreasing the impact of stressors on the body remains an important area of study for the affected population. While there is evidence showing that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), a psychotherapy approach, results in decreased stress, little was found about the effects of chiropractic treatment (CC) on stress. The purpose of this quantitative archival study was to determine whether the combination therapy of CC and CBT was more effective in decreasing stress than CBT independently. Cognitive neuropsychology served as the theoretical lens. Client data from a mental health and chiropractic care center on the West coast (N = 112) were divided into 2 treatment groups, CBT and CC and CBT alone. Pre and posttreatment data were collected on stress, anxiety, and nerve conduction. ANOVA test results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in the mean change scores between the 2 groups in terms of individual participants' stress, anxiety, and nerve interference. Although there was no significant interaction effect, results showed that both the combination therapy and CBT alone led to a decrease in stress and anxiety and an increase in the nerve conduction of participant's posttreatment. While this archival study did not yield evidence of the benefits of CC for stress-related disorders, its results suggest that future researchers should pursue more direct efforts to evaluate the effects of combination therapies. Considering the high number of people who experience stress-related challenges, the incorporation of CC along with a psychological treatment might engender positive social change for individuals and healthcare practitioners through the potential reduction of stress.

Children have not historically been the subject of research focusing on internalizing disorders (i.e., childhood depression), even though childhood depression continues to be viewed as one of the most prevalent affective problem within this population. Over the past two decades, a small portion of that literature describes prevention efforts in public schools. There has been a growing body of literature centered on childhood depression. However, there are only three studies that report on longitudinal findings that have taken a primary prevention approach. The present study was a follow-up investigation to delineate the effects of a school-based primary prevention program. The original study utilized a social/ interpersonal and cognitive-behavioral model incorporated into the health education curriculum of the school. The results of the study suggest that the students continued to report normal to low levels of depressive symptoms at one-year follow-up . The results also suggest that students maintained the social skills gained during the intervention at the one-year followup. In addition, reports of depressive symptomatology slightly declined from posttest to one-year follow-up.

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Background: Exposure tasks—where an individual confronts a feared stimulus or situation—are known to be a key element of the treatment for youth anxiety. However, optimal therapist behaviors during these exposure tasks and the specifics of how therapist should conduct exposure tasks have not been determined. The current study examined the relationship between therapist behaviors that (a) increased, (b) decreased or (c) maintained the youth’s anxiety during exposures and treatment outcomes. Methods: Participants were youth (N = 107) ages 7 to 17 who received cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety. Youth and their primary caregiver(s) completed a diagnostic interview and self- and parent-report measures pre- and post-treatment. Exposure session videos were rated by observers trained to reliability on a coding system evaluating therapist behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses examined the role of therapist behaviors in predicting treatment outcomes. Logistic regression assessed the ability of therapist behaviors to predict treatment responder status (i.e., being a treatment responder versus a non-responder). Exploratory analyses examined the relationship between the individual therapist behaviors (within the three overall categories of behaviors) and treatment outcomes. Results: Youth showed significant improvement over the course of treatment. The three categories of therapist behaviors used during exposure tasks (increase, decrease and maintain the youth’s anxiety) were not associated with treatment outcomes. Discussion: Findings indicate that so long as exposure tasks are conducted, the therapist behaviors during the exposures may not be as important for predicting outcomes. Clinical implications, study limitations, and future directions are discussed. / Psychology

Therapeutic alliance is widely considered one of the factors most associated with treatment success in psychotherapy across a variety of outcomes. However, these effects may differ based on treatment approach or who is rating alliance (client, therapist, or third-party observer). Notably, research on this relationship among individuals with primary aggression problems is limited, with no study to date investigating therapeutic alliance in psychotherapy among individuals with intermittent explosive disorder (IED), the only psychiatric disorder for which affective aggression is pathognomonic. The current study sought to fill this gap by exploring the role of therapeutic alliance on a range of outcomes among 51 adults with IED who participated in a randomized clinical trial comparing cognitive-behavioral and supportive psychotherapy. Therapeutic alliance was assessed by clients, therapists, and an observer at week four of treatment, and outcomes included time in treatment, anger, aggression, emotion dysregulation, and IED remission status. Results showed that alliance was positively associated with reduced anger and aggression at post-treatment. Although alliance was more highly rated in the cognitive-behavioral condition, the alliance-outcome relationship did not differ based on treatment condition. There were no differences found between raters of alliance. These findings support the importance of developing and maintaining a strong relationship in psychotherapy with individuals diagnosed with IED. / Psychology

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Effective intervention programs play a fundamental role in reducing rates of juvenile delinquency. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that is strongly supported by research (ACT, 2010). Moral Kombat (MK) is an intervention that combines character-building and CBT concepts in programs for at-risk and delinquent juveniles with the goal to change their belief systems, thus improving their behaviors (Marchant, 2009). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the extent to which MK incorporates the principles identified in the literature as necessary for a CBT program to be successful. The occurrences of the 11 CBT principles identified in the literature found in the MK participant manuals were counted. MK appears to be a structurally sound program that has the potential to help participants but includes barriers to success such as resistance due to compelled attendance, social factors, costs, and inability to meet participant-specific therapy needs.

Provoked vulvodynia (PVD) is a disorder characterized by intense vulvar pain, most often reported as raw, burning, or stinging tissue. Current treatment options for PVD are insufficient and narrow in focus, as they predominantly address the physical pain associated with the disorder. Current publications regarding cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness treatment indicate that both therapies are highly effective. Mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapies are noninvasive, efficacious long term, and provide a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach. The aim of this study is to educate nurse practitioners regarding these treatment options, which manage the physical as well as psychosocial aspects of PVD.

Difficulties with emotion regulation are a core feature of anxiety disorders (ADs) in children and adults. Interventions with a specific focus on emotion regulation are gaining empirical support. Yet, no studies to date have compared the relative efficacy of such interventions to existing evidence-based treatments. Such comparisons are necessary to determine whether emotion-focused treatments might be more effective for youth exhibiting broad emotion-regulation difficulties at pretreatment. This study examined an emotion-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (ECBT) protocol in comparison to traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in a sample of children with a primary anxiety disorder diagnosis. Moderation analyses examined whether children with higher levels of emotion dysregulation at pretreatment would show greater levels of improvement in ECBT than CBT. Ninety-two youth ages 7 to 12 years (58% male) with a primary diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or social phobia were included. Participants were randomly assigned to ECBT or CBT. Results showed that youth in both conditions demonstrated similar improvements in emotion regulation and that pretreatment levels of emotion dysregulation did not moderate treatment outcomes. Additional analyses showed that ECBT and CBT were similarly effective on diagnostic, severity, and improvement measures. Future work is needed to further explore the ways that emotion regulation is related to treatment outcome for anxious youth.