This study compared the differential influence of reframing, self-control, and neutral counselor interventions on high and low trait-anxious subjects' self -descriptions as measured by the Adjective Check List. Reframing was predicted to be superior to self-control and neutral interventions in eliciting more favorable self-descriptions. An interaction was also predicted between counselor intervention and trait anxiety such that, in the reframing condition, low trait-anxious subjects would describe themselves more positively than high trait-anxious subjects.

Previous research suggests that gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate use of sex-linked linguistic markers alters subjects' perceptions of the speaker. The present study examined the effects of male and female speech styles on clients' perceptions,. Undergraduates (N = 160) listened to audiotapes of clinical psychologists introducing the same client to psychotherapy. Clinician gender and sex-linked linguistic markers were manipulated. The results suggested that sex-stereotypes of males, females, and occupations played an important role in altering clients' perceptions of clinical psychologists. Sex-stereotypes did not, however, determine the desirability of the speaker as a therapist. The use of female speech styles increased the clinician's perceived femininity and desirability as a therapist.

Psychoanalysis as it exists today is not constituted by a single theoretical framework describing pathology and indicating a specific set of interventions. Since Freud originally conceptualised psychoanalytic understanding of pathology and psychoanalysis as a mode of intervention, there have been many revisions and reformulations of his theory. This thesis has attempted to integrate some psychoanalytic ideas regarding personality formation, psychopathology and psychotherapeutic intervention (Fairbairn, 1952; Ogden, 1992, 1994), with interpersonal (strategic / structural) ideas regarding intervention (Minuchin, 1974; Sullivan, 1940, 1953, 1964). In order to do so, the thesis used the relational psychoanalytic perspective, as depicted by Aron (1996) and Mitchell and Aron (1999), as an overarching conceptual framework. The focus from these points of view is the patient's internalized relationship patterns and the therapist's participation in their repetition. It is held that internalized relationship patterns are not only based on, but can be changed by, lived experience. From this perspective, the goal of therapy is to enhance the patient's capacity to reflect and think about experience, and therefore, to communicate about it. This means a change in the patient's predominant mode of communication. Ogden's (1994) modes of communication were described. The thesis suggested that Ogden's modes of communication can be stretched or translated into the types of communication outlined by Langs (1978). This thesis aimed to explore the deliberate use of countertransference responses to facilitate communication in the beginning stages of therapy with patients functioning predominantly in the paranoid-schizoid mode (Ogden, 1992). Patients who operate in this mode are often unable to tolerate interpretation and therefore traditional approaches to intervention are not effective. A "strategic / structural relational psychoanalytic" approach to treatment was proposed. It was suggested that therapists utilize joining and accommodation techniques as described by Minuchin (1974) and alter their style of interaction to match that of the various object relational constellations that they have managed to identify within the patient via their countertransference responses. It was hypothesized that patients need their therapists to be similar to their original objects in order to feel safe in the therapeutic environment and that this may facilitate communication in the beginning stages of therapy. The research utilized a qualitative research approach. Qualitative research methods attempt to use data gathered phenomenologically, always acknowledging the researcher's biases when gathering the data. The data gathered is then interpreted according to various theories or hermeneutic lenses. The hypothesis mentioned above has been investigated by analyzing three cases in terms of the research questions based on Langs' (1978) classification of communication. The thesis described the difficulties inherent in collecting clinical data from psychologists working from within a psychoanalytic framework. Eventually three sets of therapy details and verbatim therapy transcripts were obtained, provided in the thesis and analyzed in terms of the research questions. However evidence for the success of the hypothesized alternate approach was not found in this research study. It was suggested that other possible methods might be useful to investigate the hypothesized approach further.

El Trastorno Límite de personalidad (TLP) es un severo trastorno mental, de gran incidencia en la población clínica, el tratamiento actual es básicamente psicoterapéutico y la relación terapeuta-paciente es fundamental para el desarrollo. El problema principal fue definido como ¿qué actitudes están presentes en los psicólogos y psiquiatras en pacientes sobre el trastorno límite de la personalidad en un hospital psiquiátrico de Lima-Perú?, de la cual no existe antecedentes de investigación de ese tipo en el país. El tipo de investigación es aplicativa con diseño no experimental y transversal y el nivel es descriptivo. El instrumento utilizado es una escala tipo Likert de 33 preguntas, prueba creada para fines de esta investigación. La muestra se eligió aleatoriamente. El tamaño de la muestra se calculó utilizando la fórmula de poblaciones finitas, cuantificándola en 47 participantes. Se evaluó los resultados con el programa estadístico SPSS, usando la formula estadística de Chi2. Un tercio de la muestra considera la conducta manipuladora como síntoma importante para el diagnóstico, sobre todo durante la hospitalización. La mayoría de los profesionales reconoce que la actitud hacia estos pacientes es diferente al de otros pacientes con otros diagnósticos. Las sensaciones de frustración y agotamiento emocional son frecuentes entre los profesionales de la salud mental. Los psicólogos tuvieron mayores cogniciones desfavorables sobre el TLP en comparación con los psiquiatras. / Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a severe mental disorder, high incidence in clinical population, the current treatment is basically psychotherapeutic and therapistpatient relationship is essential for development. The main problem was defined as what are the attitudes of psychology and psychiatrists in patients on borderline personality disorder in a psychiatric hospital in Lima, Peru, in which there is no history of such research in that country. The research is not experimental and applicative with cross-sectional design and the level is descriptive. The instrument used is a Likert scale of 33 questions, a questionnaire created for purposes of this investigation. The sample was chosen randomly. The sample size was calculated using the formula of finite populations, quantifying it in 47 participants. The results with the SPSS statistical program was evaluated using Chi2 statistical formula. A third of the sample considered manipulative behavior as an important symptom for the diagnosis, especially during hospitalization. Most professionals recognize that the attitude towards these patients is different from other patients with other diagnoses. Feelings of frustration and emotional exhaustion are common among professionals. Psychologists were more unfavorable cognitions about the BPD compared with psychiatrists. / Tesis

Both interpersonal dependency and the importance of the therapeutic alliance to successful psychotherapy outcomes have been widely studied. However, these two areas of study rarely have been viewed conjointly despite the reportedly large number of clients with dependency who present for treatment. This study elucidated the relationship between interpersonal dependency and the therapeutic alliance. Additional hypotheses explored client-therapist agreement on alliance strength in relation to client interpersonal dependency. Participants were graduate student therapists (N = 26) and their individual psychotherapy clients (N = 40) in a training clinic at a large, southwestern university. Within their first three sessions of psychotherapy, participating clients told nine Thematic Apperception Test stories and completed structured self-report measures of adult attachment, social desirability, and psychological symptoms. Interpersonal dependency was scored from the TAT stories, using the TAT Oral Dependency (TOD) scoring system developed by Masling, Rabie, and Blondheim (1967) and Huprich (2008). Three sessions following initial data collection, participating clients and their therapists completed structured self-report measures of the therapeutic alliance. Analyses revealed that interpersonal dependency was not significantly associated with client and therapist alliance ratings or the congruence between client and therapist alliance ratings. However, specific scoring categories of the TOD were associated with client alliance scores in opposing directions. In contrast to hypotheses, self-reported attachment-related dependency was significantly related to client alliance ratings and to the congruence between therapist and client alliance ratings. Clients with higher levels of self-reported attachment-related dependency rated the alliance less favorably, in agreement with their therapists, than did clients with lower levels of attachment-related dependency. Additional analyses were unsuccessful in replicating findings from previous research on interpersonal dependency. The clinical and research implications of these findings are discussed.

The purpose of this study was first to determine whether or not paradoxical communication could be designed to contain therapeutic levels of the core therapeutic conditions, and, second, to determine how paradoxical counselor communication compared to nondirective communication on the social influence dimensions of attractiveness, expertness, and trustworthiness. For the first phase, four judges rated audiotapes on the level of the core therapeutic conditions on one of four counseling conditions (paradox high or low on core conditions, and nondirective high or low on core conditions). For the second phase, 133 undergraduate college students were asked to listen to the four counseling conditions on audiotapes and to rate the counselor on the social influence dimensions

This study utilized Strong's (1963) theory of counseling as a social influence process to investigate the effect of therapist's training, experience, and similarity on hearingimpaired subjects' perceptions of the therapist's expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and their willingness to see the therapist. Increasing levels of therapists' training and work experience was hypothesized to increase subjects' perception of expertness and their willingness to see the therapist. Increasing levels of therapists' similarity to the client was hypothesized to increase subjects' perceptions of expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and their willingness to see the therapist. Subjects' ratings of the therapist were hypothesized to change when therapists with different levels of similarity were seen in different orders of presentation.

Conceptualization psychotherapy as an interpersonal influence process emphasizes how a therapist is perceived by a client. Factors affecting a client's early impressions of a therapist could influence therapeutic interactions since first impressions are relatively stable. The study investigated effects of nonverbal behavior and gender during a simulated initial meeting between a therapist and client. Undergraduates (N = 466) viewed a male or female therapist interviewing with a new female client. Therapist gaze .(100%, 80%, 40%) and smiling (high, low) were manipulated. After subjects viewed one of 12 videotapes, they completed questionnaires rating therapist expertness, trustworthiness, attractiveness, masculinity and femininity. A comparison of the therapist with subjects' expectations of a therapist in general was obtained by pre- and post-testing utilizing a measure of client expectations. MANOVAs were performed on all ratings except expectation scores, where an ANCOVA was utilized. Main effects for therapist gender indicated the female therapist was rated as significantly more expert, attractive, trustworthy and feminine than the male (ps < .81). For ratings of masculinity, subject gender interacted with therapist gender (p < .001). Wain effects showed that high smiling was rated as more attractive and more feminine (ps < .01). Smiling and level of gaze interacted on ratings of trustworthiness, expertness and masculinity (ps < .04). The 100 per cent and 80 per cent gaze levels increased expertness, trustworthiness and masculinity ratings. Smiling affected expertness at the 80 per cent level, and trustworthiness and masculinity at the 40 per cent level. Analysis of the expectation scores resulted in a three-way interaction between subject gender, smiling and gaze (p < .02). The results suggested that female subjects expected more responsive therapist behavior. The results suggested that the ratings of the male and female therapist reflected both the use of sex stereotypes and the influence of the therapist role. Based on the nonverbal behavior manipulation, several recommendations for therapist behavior were suggested.

This study was designed to investigate what course of action therapists and physicians report they would take in reconciling their conflicting duties to maintain confidentiality and protect third parties from harm in HIV-related situations. The physicians surveyed were licensed to practice medicine in Texas and board certified in Internal Medicine. The therapists surveyed were licensed professional counselors in Texas and members of one of three selected divisions within the Texas Counseling Association. A survey instrument developed by the researcher was mailed to 200 subjects randomly selected from each group.

Children between the ages of 6 and 15 years were interviewed using a questionnaire designed to assess their conception of confidentiality in the counseling experience. This questionnaire was based upon the stipulates for confidentiality outlined in the 1977 American Psychological Association's Code of Ethics. Children age 6 to 8 years scored significantly lower on the questionnaire than children age 12 to 15 years. Neither of these groups' scores were significantly different from the score of children age 9 to 11 years, yet the total mean scores increased as the age of the children in the groups increased. These results suggest that children gradually evolve a conception of confidentiality consistent with professional guidelines. Four variables were examined which were expected to grossly predict the child's total score on the questionnaire. Chi-square analysis did not reveal significant differences for the variables of perceived adequacy of explanation of confidentiality and attitude toward breaking a secret. For the two variables involving the children's perception of the maintenance/violation of their confidentiality, chi-square analysis did reveal significant differences (which were not, however, found using a one-way analysis of variance procedure). Some demographic variables were found to be significantly related to scores on the questionnaire, yet most of the relationships involved specific area scores rather than total scores.