The need for psychotherapy outcome research is growing in Japan as the societal demands for psychotherapy have increased in recent years. Although researchers in Japan recognize the importance of integrating clinical practice and empirical research in evaluating psychotherapy outcome, most Japanese studies to date have relied heavily on qualitative case studies (Haebara, 1997; Kanazawa, 2004; Tanno, 2001). With the help of six translators and 116 native Japanese pilot respondents, this study adapted the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ; Lambert et al., 1996), one of the most common quantitative measures of clinical outcome, for use in Japan. The translation of the original OQ into Japanese followed Beaton et al. (2000) to include forward translation, synthesis, back translation, and expert committee meetings. The study produced 4 pre-final versions, 2 pretests, and a pilot. With permission from the original questionnaire developers, a few items were modified to achieve cultural equivalence. The rigorous translation and adaptation processes, evaluated through the Translation Validity Index (Tang & Dixon, 2002) and Content Validity Index (Polit et al., 2007), sought semantic, content, and conceptual equivalence between the English and Japanese versions of the OQ. Study limitations and suggestions for further development of the Japanese OQ are discussed.

This study examines psychotherapy response in connection to treatment duration and maintenance of treatment gains. The dose-effect perspective (Howard et al. 1986) first proposed applying medical terminology to investigate a level of exposure to a dose of psychotherapy (in number of sessions) where individuals can expect to receive sufficient benefit (i.e., 48 -- 58% of clients can be expected to sufficiently benefit from therapy by 8 sessions). The proponents of the Good Enough Level (Barkham et at. 2006) argued that mere exposure to therapy is not an effective measure for client benefit, but rather that client responses to therapy vary. They contend that instead of recommendations for attending a certain number of sessions (dose-effect) that individuals who attend psychotherapy will discontinue attending therapy when they have obtained sufficient benefit (good enough level). Archival data of university students who previously attended individual therapy were obtained and subjects were contacted via email to take a survey and follow up measure of general well being. Those individuals who completed the Outcome Questionnaire-45 were selected for the study and their treatment response was analyzed in connection to treatment duration measured in number of sessions attended. 288 met criteria for the current study, consisting of 197 women and 91 men ranging in age from 17 to 52 (M= 21). Conclusions obtained from this study indicate that treatment duration is not a factor in subjects having positive outcomes to psychotherapy. Additionally, there was not a significant difference among subjects who were able to maintain treatment gains and the number of session attended in treatment. These results offer support for the Good Enough Level model of treatment response suggesting that individuals respond to therapy differently and discontinue when they have received sufficient benefit. Implications for these findings are discussed along with limitations of the current study.

This study examines the intersection of religion, mental health, and psychotherapy, specifically focusing on the concept of religious injury or harm. The literature review reveals a gap in research regarding the identification of religion as a potential source of emotional pain in religious individuals. To address this gap, this longitudinal study utilized intake data from 1303 clients and follow-up data from 748 clients three months after the completion of psychotherapy treatment. Primary objectives of the study were to examine whether religious commitment changes over the course of psychotherapy, explore if religious commitment influences mental health counseling outcomes, and better understand the relationship between psychological distress, religious commitment, and therapy outcomes among individuals who perceive religion as having harmed them. The results demonstrate that regardless of religious injury status, psychological distress decreased throughout the treatment period. Furthermore, psychotherapy not only reduced psychological distress but also altered client's religious commitment. Higher religious commitment at follow-up appeared to mitigate the negative effects of religious harm on therapy outcomes, resulting in lower levels of religious harm and improved therapy outcomes. These findings suggest that psychotherapy can effectively alleviate psychological distress and modify religious commitment for individuals who perceive religion as harmful. This research contributes to the existing literature on psychology and religion and emphasizes the need for further exploration of the complex relationship between religion, mental health, and therapeutic interventions.

No description available.

Because of the lasting impact that traumatic family events can have on psychological well-being, students who present for services at college counseling centers may be experiencing problems and symptoms associated with earlier trauma. Many college counseling centers utilize the Counseling Concerns Survey developed by the Research Consortium of Counseling and Psychological Services in Higher Education (1991) and the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45; Lambert et al., 1996) as intake instruments to assess students who present for counseling. The major components of the Counseling Concerns Survey are the 18-item Family Experiences Questionnaire, which identifies history of family trauma, and the 42-item Presenting Problems List, which assesses students' major areas of distress. The OQ-45 measures symptom severity. While it is generally assumed that family trauma during childhood and adolescence can negatively impact future mental health and well-being, it has been unclear how specific traumatic family experiences reported on the Family Experiences Questionnaire are related to specific presenting problems as listed on the Presenting Problems List or symptom severity as measured by the OQ-45. The purpose of this study was to examine this relationship and to ascertain discernible patterns. Data from the intake instruments of 20,495 students who sought counseling services at a large western U.S. university from 1997 to 2007 was analyzed. Logistic regression of each of the 18 traumatic family history experiences was performed, using the initial OQ-45 score, the 42 Presenting Problems List items, and five Presenting Problems List factors (Draper, Jennings, & Baron, 2003) as "predictors" of the types of trauma the students might have experienced. Results showed that although family trauma of a variety of types was associated with symptom severity and various presenting problems, there did not seem to be an overall discernible pattern. The results suggest that trauma seems to have a diffuse association with presenting problems and symptom severity. However, some family traumas are associated with a greater number of presenting problems, and these traumas were identified.

Providing clinicians with a clearer understanding of how clients' recover over the entire course of therapy has important implications for referral and treatment strategies. The present study compares rates of change in 160 clients in group therapy with 6632 clients in individual therapy and 864 clients receiving both individual therapy and group therapy. Therapeutic outcomes were measured using the Outcome Questionnaire-45. Data was analyzed using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM), also called Multi-Level Modeling (MLM), to produce recovery curves for clients in each group. Recovery curves showed that most change occurred in the early part of group therapy and slowed near the end. Rates of change for clients in group, individual and conjoint therapy formats were also compared. This study reports that no significant differences in rates of recovery were found between group and individual or group and conjoint treatment formats. However, a significant difference was detected when individual and conjoint treatments were compared, with the individual sample improving at a faster rate.