Blog

The Psychotherapy Practice Research Network (PPRNet) blog began in 2013 in response to psychotherapy clinicians, researchers, and educators who expressed interest in receiving regular information about current practice-oriented psychotherapy research. It offers a monthly summary of two or three published psychotherapy research articles. Each summary is authored by Dr. Tasca and highlights practice implications of selected articles. Past blogs are available in the archives. This content is only available in English.

August 2023

Therapists Tend to Overestimate their Effectiveness

Constantino, M. J., Boswell, J. F., Coyne, A. E., Muir, H. J., Gaines, A. N., & Kraus, D. R. (2023). Therapist perceptions of their own measurement-based, problem-specific effectiveness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 91(8), 474–484. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000813

Previous research showed that therapists may be over-confident about their effectiveness. In one study, 91% of therapists felt that they were more effective than 75% of their peers, and 100% of therapists felt that they were more effective than 50% of their peers. These therapist perceptions relative to their peers are statistically impossible. What is the impact of this over-confidence on patient outcomes? In this study, Constantino and colleagues evaluated the perceptions and outcomes of 50 therapists who treated 1,363 patients (about 27 patients per therapist). Most therapists practiced CBT, integrative, or interpersonal psychotherapy. Patients had a variety of problems including depression, anxiety, sleep, social functioning, etc. Patients self-report of symptoms in 12 problem domains (depression, anxiety, etc.) from pre to post treatment. Therapists were asked to report on their perception of their effectiveness by rating from “mostly effective” to “mostly ineffective” for each patient problem domain. Then therapists’ ratings of their effectiveness were compared to their patients’ actual measurement-based outcomes from pre- to post-treatment. In this manner, therapists were classified as accurately estimating their outcomes, or as underestimating their outcomes, or as overestimating their outcomes compared to their patients’ outcome data. The researchers also controlled for case mix (complexity and size of the therapists’ caseload) and patient symptom severity at pre-treatment. For 7 of 12 patient problem domains, at least half of the therapists overestimated their own effectiveness. For the remaining 5 domains, most therapists accurately estimated their effectiveness. There were no domains for which most therapists underestimated their effectiveness. In 11 of the 12 patient problems, therapists were no better than chance at predicting their own effectiveness compared to patient rating. However, therapists who underestimation their effectiveness had patients with better outcomes at post-treatment, and this effect was stronger for patients with higher pre-treatment symptom severity. Conversely, therapists who overestimated their outcomes had patients with worse outcomes, and this effect was stronger for patients with higher pre-treatment symptom severity.

Practice Implications

Relative to patient self-reported measurement-based outcomes, therapists tend to be over-confident about their effectiveness. This over-confidence has implications for patients’ outcomes. Patients of therapists who show more humility about their effectiveness (tend to be neutral or under-estimate their effectiveness) have better outcomes. This is particularly true for patients with more severe symptoms. One of the few therapist factors known to predict better outcomes is professional self-doubt - the willingness to critically evaluate one’s practices and to continually improve one’s skills. Self-doubt may allow therapists to be more alert to potential signals that the therapy is off course, that they might have committed a micro-aggression, or that there was a therapeutic alliance rupture. Humility might allow the therapist to flexibly respond, change course, or repair the therapeutic relationship when necessary.
Characteristics of Psychologists Conducting Psychotherapy

Norcross, J. C., Rocha, M. N., & Chrysler, A. A. (2023, May 18). Psychologists conducting psychotherapy in 2022: Contemporary practices and historical patterns of the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pst0000493

Every 10 years or so the Society for Advancement of Psychotherapy (American Psychological Association, Division 29) conducts a survey of its membership to take a snapshot of their characteristics and activities. The membership is a diverse group of practicing psychotherapists and psychotherapy researchers with doctoral degrees in psychology in the U.S. The Society’s membership is not representative of all psychologists who practice psychotherapy, but the fact that the survey has taken place every decade since 1981 allows one to get a sense of some historical trends in the field. Previous surveys showed an increasingly female and culturally diverse membership. Theoretical orientations have tended to favor psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral models, and primary employment has shifted from hospitals and community clinics to independent practices and universities. In this survey, Norcross and colleagues randomly selected 1000 members of the Society and received a 48% return rate. 65% were male and 35% were female, and the proportion of women has steadily grown from 27% in 1981. Most of the sample was White (90%). The average age was 68 years (SD = 13), and there has been a steady increase in age since 1981 when the average age was 46. On average, psychologists devoted 44% of their professional time to psychotherapy, 11% to research and writing, and 10% to teaching. There has been a gradual decline in the percentage of psychologists routinely supervising from 65% in 1981 to 37% in 2022. The percentage of psychologists providing diagnosis and assessment also declined from 55% in 2012 to 37% in 2022. Most psychologists (99%) provided individual therapy, but many also provided couple therapy (75%), and group therapy (20%) during some of their professional time. Psychologists working in public hospitals and community clinics continued to decrease from 16% in 1981 to 3% in 2022. In 2022, the most frequent theoretical orientations were psychodynamic/relational (29%), integrative (26%), and cognitive/cognitive-behavioral (CBT; 18%). CBT has steadily increased in popularity from 8% in 1981 to 18% in 2022. Of the respondents, 82% indicated that they received personal therapy at least once during their career. On average, 94% were satisfied at least to some degree with their careers, and 78% indicated that if they had to do it over again, they would choose to pursue a career in psychotherapy.

Practice Implications

This survey is not perfect and it likely is not representative of the population of psychologists who provide psychotherapy. Nevertheless, it does suggest some interesting historical trends. The average psychotherapist in these surveys appears to be getting older over time. This may indicate that younger psychotherapists are not aligning themselves with traditional organizations that provide a community of like-minded professionals. That is unfortunate as it limits the continuing education and supportive networks that could be available to a younger professional. On the positive side, many psychotherapists have pursued personal therapy during their careers and this trend has been consistent over the years. Further most psychotherapists are quite satisfied with their careers despite the stress related to doing this type of work.

July 2023

Therapeutic Relationship Factors that Work

Norcross, J.C. & Karpiak, C.P. (2023). Relationship factors. In S. D. Miller, D. Chow, S. Malins, and M. A. Hubble (Eds.) The Field Guide to Better Results: Evidence-Based Exercises to Improve Therapeutic Effectiveness. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000358-006

Next to patient factors that affect outcomes in psychotherapy, the therapeutic relationship is the most important predictor or contributor to patient outcomes. The therapeutic relationship is important to in-person therapy and to therapy delivered virtually. There is no scientific doubt of the importance of the therapeutic relationship on patient outcomes. The relationship is managed and cultivated by the therapist’s attitudes and behaviors. And so, it is not surprising that therapists differ in their ability to facilitate the therapeutic relationship. However, it is also possible for therapists to improve their therapeutic relationship skills through training and supervision. The therapeutic relationship is important to all therapeutic orientations. In this part of the chapter, Norcross and Karpiak review the research on relationship factors that work including therapist empathy, positive regard, developing a therapeutic alliance, and repairing alliance ruptures when they occur. Empathy occurs when a patient experiences a therapist who perceives and expresses an accurate understanding of a patient’s feelings, perspectives, and experiences. Empathic responding is one of the strongest predictors of patient outcomes with effect sizes ranging from moderate to large (d = .58), but only when it is rated by the patient. Therapist ratings of their own empathy has a much lower association with patient outcomes. Positive regard is the therapist’s genuine liking and expressed appreciation for the patient as a person. That is, a therapist’s verbal and nonverbal expression that they value, care about, and believe in the patient. The key here is genuineness – that the therapist’s words are consistent with their intentions and feelings. Positive regard expressed in therapy is moderately related to patient outcomes (d = .57). The therapeutic alliance refers to the warm emotional bond between patient and therapist, and their collaborative agreement on the goals of therapy and how they will work towards those goals. More than 300 studies of over 30,000 patients indicate that the alliance is moderately related to patient outcomes (d = .57), and this is a highly reliable finding. Ruptures in the alliance are characterized by patient withdrawal from the therapist or therapy, or by confrontation in which the patient criticizes or is dissatisfied with the therapist or therapy. Therapists’ attempts to repair alliance ruptures is moderately related to positive patient outcomes (d = .62), and this skill is most important for newer therapists and therapists with a CBT orientation.

Practice Implications

A positive therapeutic relationship has a much bigger impact on patient outcomes than the specific type of therapy used by therapists. A therapist who narrowly focuses on the content of what a patient says and rigidly adheres to a treatment manual will reliably have patients who have worse outcomes. Therapists whom patients experience as truly empathic (not just expressing sympathy for a patient), who can genuinely feel and express positive regard for a patient, and who can develop and maintain a therapeutic alliance and repair alliance ruptures reliably will have patients who have better experiences of therapy and better outcomes. These therapist skills and capacities can be learned through deliberate practice, supervision, personal therapy, and by maintaining a stance of flexibility, openness, and humility.

June 2023

What People Want From Therapy

Delboy, S. & Michaels, L. (2021). Going beneath the surface: What people want from therapy. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 41:8, 603-623. DOI: 10.1080/07351690.2021.1992232

There has been an increased interest in and demand for mental health care, and so one can imagine that the public might have questions or opinions about psychotherapy. Moreover, research has shown that patients who get the type of treatment that they expect or want are more likely to have better outcomes. However, it is rare that researchers ask the public what they want from therapy. In this unique study, Delboy and Michaels conducted a survey of US citizens about their perceptions and preferences for psychotherapy. Their sample of 1,535 respondents were deliberately selected to be representative of US census data for age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic region. The survey asked what people what they wanted from therapy: 70% indicated that they wanted to “learning skills and coping strategies”, which is like what is offered in manualized treatment modalities. However, 70% also wanted to “better understand oneself and the root of one’s issues”, which is like what is offered in depth, insight, and relational therapies. When forced to choose between a “therapy that takes fewer sessions and helps manage symptoms” and a “therapy that takes longer but addresses the root causes of problems”, 91% chose a longer therapy focused on root causes. Over 60% of the sample indicated that they wanted to “share feelings without judgement” and to “feel heard and understood by someone who cares”, which suggests that people value these qualities in the therapist and the therapeutic relationship. Interestingly, two thirds of the sample recognized that therapy takes time “to understand and resolve” one’s issues and problems. And less than 10% did not want to understand their problems or examine issues from childhood. Regarding the reasons of their mental health issues, 50% reported that relationship patterns are an important source of their distress, whereas only 10% attributed mental health problems to a “chemical imbalance” in the brain.

Practice Implications

Patients tend to do better when they get the treatment that they prefer. A similar percentage of the public (70%) wanted to “learn coping strategies” and to “better understand” themselves. However, when asked to choose, the vast majority (91%) preferred to better understand themselves and to address the root causes of problems. In addition, most people recognized that therapy takes more time than is often offered in time limited treatments. This is consistent with large surveys of patients that indicated that it took over 50 sessions before significant symptom relief was achieved. It is time for insurance providers, clinicians, and training programs to begin to take stock of client preferences when paying for, providing, and training for psychotherapy.

May 2023

Multiple Microaggressions and Therapy Outcomes

DeBlaere, C., Zelaya, D. G., Dean, J.-A. B., Chadwick, C. N., Davis, D. E., Hook, J. N., & Owen, J. (2023). Multiple microaggressions and therapy outcomes: The indirect effects of cultural humility and working alliance with Black, Indigenous, women of color clients. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 54(2), 115–124. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000497

Many Black, Indigenous, Women of Color (BIWOC) underutilize mental health care partly because of lack of culturally competent care, and the anticipation of bias and discrimination often experienced by Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). One way that such bias and discrimination is expressed in a therapy context is through racial microaggressions which are subtle, intentional, or unintentional messages that degrade BIPOC. Another way that bias and discrimination is expressed is through gender microaggressions which are intentional or unintentional behaviors that exclude, demean, oppress, or express indifference towards women. Research indicates that up to 89% of BIPOC clients and 53% of women experienced a microaggression from their therapist. Both racial and gender microaggressions committed by therapists are related to poorer therapeutic alliance and client outcomes. One might also consider BIWOC clients to be doubly susceptible to microaggressions due the intersecting nature of their identities as a person of color and as a woman. One way to limit the effects of microaggressions is for therapists to take a stance of cultural humility and to foster a therapeutic alliance. Cultural humility refers to a therapist’s way of being with a client that values the importance of culture in the client’s experience. In this study by DeBlaere and colleagues, the authors surveyed 288 BIWOC clients who were currently or recently in psychotherapy to assess the association between microaggressions and outcomes, and whether cultural humility and a therapeutic alliance might reduce the impact of microaggressions. The clients saw a female therapist 81% of the time and a White therapist 46% of the time. DeBlaere and colleagues found that 89% of the sample reported at least one instance of a racial microaggression by their therapist, and 43% reported some form of gender microaggression. White and male therapists were more likely to commit these microaggressions. The most common racial microaggression involved therapists avoiding discussing or addressing cultural issues, and the most common gender microaggression involved therapists encouraging female clients to be less assertive so that the client might not appear aggressive. Racial and gender microaggressions were both negatively related to therapy outcomes. The authors also found that cultural humility and therapeutic alliance both mediated and helped to explain the effects of microaggressions on outcomes. That is, the negative effects of a racial or gender microaggression on outcomes were reduced when the client experienced the therapist as having a higher level of cultural humility, which then led to a stronger therapeutic alliance, that in turn led to a better outcome.

Practice Implications

This study points to the potential of therapist cultural humility and their capacity to maintain a therapeutic alliance as key to reducing the impact of racial and gender microaggressions on client outcomes. The findings reinforce the importance of therapists examining their own cultural biases and making discussions of culture and racism explicit in therapy. This is especially important for White male therapists. Such a process might cultivate cultural humility in the therapist that will mitigate the negative impact of a microaggression should it occur.
Interpretations and Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Zilcha-Mano, S., Fisher, H., Dolev-Amit, T., Keefe, J. R., & Barber, J. P. (2023). A systematic review of the association between interpretations and immediate, intermediate, and distal outcomes. Psychotherapy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000479

Interpretation is a therapeutic technique that refers to a psychotherapist who recognizes and seeks to raise the patient’s awareness and understanding of recurrent maladaptive patterns. An interpretation goes beyond what the patient says or recognizes consciously and gives a new meaning or explanation for behaviours, thoughts, or feelings so that the patient sees their problems in a new way. In other words, the effect of an interpretation is to raise a patient’s insight into their problems. Interpretation is a transtheoretical technique, although it is often associated with psychodynamic therapies. Some interpretations are interpersonal in nature (focused on maladaptive relationship patterns inside and outside of the therapeutic relationship), and some are intrapersonal in nature (e.g., focused on the conflict between ones wishes/desires and how one ideally sees oneself). In this systematic review of the research on interpretation, Zilcha-Mano and colleagues included 18 studies that tested the association between interpretation and outcomes. Previous reviews found a mixed association between interpretation and outcomes possibly because of the different methods of assessing interpretation and different way of conceptualizing outcomes. What is unique about this review is that it categorized outcomes as immediate (e.g., in-session alliance, disclosure, emotional expression), intermediate (e.g., next-session alliance strength, session depth), and distal (e.g., change in symptoms from pre- to post-treatment). Since there were so few studies in each of these outcome categories (6 studies of immediate, 4 studies of intermediate, and 12 studies of distal outcomes), the authors did not conduct a meta-analysis, but rather counted studies that supported or did not support the use of interpretation for each of these categories of outcomes. For immediate outcomes, half of the studies reported a positive association with interpretation (whereas half of studies showed a neutral or negative association). That is, on average patients in those studies tended to react positively to therapist interpretations during the session with increased therapeutic alliance or emotional processing. For intermediate outcomes, half the studies reported a positive association with interpretation (as opposed to neutral or negative association). That is, on average the results suggested that interpretation in in a previous session was associated with patients experiencing a better alliance and session depth in the subsequent session. For distal outcomes, there was mixed evidence with most studies reporting a neutral effect of interpretation on pre- to post-symptom change.

Practice Implications

It is challenging to draw explicit practice implications from a research area that is complex and not yet large enough to allow for a meta-analysis. However, using a mixture of these research findings and clinical experience, Zilcha-Mano and colleagues suggest some therapeutic practices that may be helpful. They suggest, for example that therapists (1) observe the immediate and intermediate outcomes of an interpretation (i.e., does the patient rejected it or does it deepen the therapeutic work?), (2) check with patients about how they feel about the interpretation, (3) prioritize accurate and experience-near interpretation (those that the patient can immediately recognize and understand), (4) monitor the strength of the alliance before, during, and after an interpretation, (5) consider that an interpretation may be more beneficial for patients with poorer quality of relationships and self-concepts than for those with better relationship and self-functioning, and (6) be aware that interpretations may not be beneficial and could be harmful if delivered at the wrong time or if not attuned to the patient’s needs and capacities

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August 2023

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July 2023

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June 2023

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May 2023

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Psychotherapy Practice Research Network (PPRNet)