The therapeutic alliance has been shown to be a robust predictor of counselling outcome. However, the specific counsellor behaviours that relate to the alliance have not been clearly and consistently identified, and prior attempts to identify these variables have not been typically based on client-derived conceptualizations of the alliance. A total of 79 adult counselling clients participated in a study examining the relationship between 15 client-identified counsellor behaviours and the strength of the therapeutic alliance. Correlational analyses revealed that 11 of the 15 behaviours moderately to strongly correlated with the strength of the alliance, and hierarchical regression analyses found that three particular counsellor behaviours (making encouraging statements, making positive comments about the client, and greeting the client with a smile) accounted for 62% of the variance in alliance scores. The findings suggest that seemingly small, strengths-fostering counsellor micro-behaviours can play a key role in strengthening therapeutic alliances. Given the role that alliance plays in positive counselling outcomes, it is suggested that these behaviours be tactfully implemented early on in the counselling process.

Research initially supported the theory that deficits in executive function (EF) underlie the core neuropsychological sequelae of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), particularly deficits in working memory and inhibitory control arising from dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex. Consequently, neuropsychologists commonly employ measures of EF or prefrontal cortex dysfunction in the differential diagnosis of ADHD and its subtypes in children. However, recent findings have called the EF deficit theory of ADHD into question, and research on the specificity of both direct and indirect measures of EF has not yielded promising results. This article presents a brief, critical review of the past and current research on neuropsychological assessment of EF and ADHD and suggests how EF measures can, in light of the most current science, still remain a useful part of a neuropsychological test battery.

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Terror management theory (TMT) offers an empirical framework to explain how human beings function despite their awareness and fear of death. Research on TMT has shown that to buffer against death anxiety, people strive to meet the standards of their cultural worldview. Although the theoretical bases and experimental findings of TMT research have been compelling within social psychology, their application to mental health and especially to psychotherapy integration has never been properly examined. We argue that a more comprehensive integration of TMT findings with psychotherapy research and practice can prompt a deeper understanding of psychopathology, mental health, and clinical intervention. As a starting point for this integration, we review the existing literature on TMT and psychopathology and offer the TMT conceptualization of death anxiety as a hallmark example of the consistencies and gaps between TMT and traditional clinical psychology. Four key areas of future inquiry are proposed that may yield meaningful theoretical and clinical insights and lead to greater integration of TMT with contemporary psychotherapy research and practice. A clinical case example is also presented to illustrate the potential application of TMT principles to the treatment of death anxiety.

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