Includes references and index, with internet access to video vignettes. In this textbook early-career and experienced psychologists will find what they need to know to practice effective and ethical psychotherapy in Australia. Psychotherapy research has identified a bewildering array of factors that are important to client outcome. These include client factors, therapist factors, the alliance, and specific forms of intervention, each with its associated rationale and techniques. On what is required for effective psychotherapy, the authors make their stance clear: ‘Psychotherapy is effective in bringing about psychological change for most clients. There has been debate between proponents of evidence-based treatments that focus on techniques and those who focus on process issues, such as the therapeutic relationship. Our position is that a range of factors is critical to effective outcome, and that an effective practitioner will attend to all mechanisms that may contribute to client change.’ In this book the authors present a model that integrates these factors and enables practitioners to incorporate them, in a flexible manner, in to their clinical practice. Adopting a scientist-practitioner framework, the authors guide readers through the successive stages of working with clients, demonstrating how their integrative model can be applied to enhance assessment, conceptualisation, treatment, risk management, and outcome evaluation, irrespective of a practitioner’s theoretical orientation or a client’s presenting problem. The text ends with consideration of professional practice and development issues, including supervision, and therapist well-being and self-care. Case studies and clinical anecdotes enliven the text. A set of video vignettes, available for download from the internet, illustrate many of the skills, techniques, process issues, and situations mentioned in the text. While this text was designed with the needs of psychologists to the fore, an early-career or experienced practitioner from a range of disciplines who offers psychotherapy will find it helpful. Analise O’Donovan, Leanne Casey, Marchiene van der Veen, and Mark Boschen practise psychotherapy and teach in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. |