Studies have generally supported telehealth as a feasible, effective, and safe alternative to in-office visits. Telehealth may also be of particular benefit to couples/families interested in relational treatments, as it addresses some of the barriers that may be more prominent for families, such as childcare and scheduling difficulties. Therapists interested in expanding their practice to include telehealth should understand ethical and practical considerations of this modality. This article discusses areas unique to the delivery of telehealth to couples and families. Each broad domain is then elaborated upon with case examples from actual clinical practice and specific recommendations for addressing potential difficulties. Authors recommend further empirical research examining differences in modality outcome, as well as feasibility of the suggestions proposed here.
In addition to assisting with the development of essential competencies for professional practice, growing evidence indicates that supervision may also significantly contribute to client outcomes. However, to date, there have been no explorations of specific supervisor variables that may help us to understand the supervision-client outcome relationship. The current study sought to address this gap in the emerging literature by drawing archival data associated with discharged clients (N = 310) from a large training clinic. Given the available data, we were able to explore 2 supervisor variables in terms of their relationships with client outcomes: 1 categorical variable (faculty status: adjunct vs. tenured/tenure track) and 1 continuous variable (time elapsed since the supervisor attained his or her doctoral degree). The results replicate earlier findings demonstrating that supervisors contribute significantly to client out comes. Exploration of specific supervisor variables indicates that faculty status is not meaningfully associated with client outcomes. However, the length of time that has elapsed since the supervisor attained his or her doctoral degree is salient, with more recent graduates associated with better client outcomes. Additional research is strongly encouraged in this understudied area, with particular attention to examining the role of supervisor training and supervisory competence.
A large body of research has supported the use of client outcome monitoring and client feedback in psychotherapy. However, discussions between supervisors and trainee clinicians in supervision are still largely based on subjective appraisals made by the trainees. In this article, we discuss 3 strategies for integrating client outcome data and feedback into the supervisory process: training students to obtain and use objective client feedback, using specific client data to inform discussions of clients, and identifying patterns of outcomes across clients to facilitate supervisee growth and development.
Dissolution of a romantic relationship can adversely affect functioning among college students and represents one primary reason for seeking campus counseling. This study examined the associations among common coping strategies and distress following relationship dissolution. Avoidance and repetitive negative thinking (RNT) were significantly associated with distress, and gender was found to moderate the relationship between RNT and distress. Findings suggest that college counselors should consider emotional coping strategies following relationship dissolutions.
Previous studies have established that gender stereotypes are associated with children’s choice of musical instrument. Though some have suggested that these gender stereotypes may be trending toward change, other studies have indicated that gender stereotypes are long-standing and still very much at issue. This descriptive study of middle school band students ( N = 99) examined instrument gender stereotypes using improved methods of measurement and found evidence that instrument gender stereotypes remain entrenched and pose a persisting problem facing music educators. Importantly, younger and more inexperienced band members may be more open to counterstereotypical views. Suggested changes in research methods and directions for future study are discussed, as are implications for music educators.
Interpersonal difficulties are common among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and are associated with poorer treatment response. Treatment outcomes for PTSD, including relationship functioning, improve when partners are included and engaged in the therapy process. Cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy for PTSD (CBCT) is a manualized 15-session intervention designed for couples in which one partner has PTSD. CBCT was developed specifically to treat PTSD, engage a partner in treatment, and improve interpersonal functioning. However, recent research suggests that an abbreviated CBCT protocol may lead to sufficient gains in PTSD and relationship functioning, and yield lower dropout rates. Likewise, many veterans report a preference for receiving psychological treatments through clinical videoteleconferencing (CVT) rather than traditional face-to-face modalities that require travel to VA clinics. This manuscript describes the development and implementation of a novel randomized controlled trial (RCT) that examines the efficacy of an abbreviated 8-session version of CBCT (“brief CBCT,” or B-CBCT), and compares the efficacy of this intervention delivered via CVT to traditional in-person platforms. Veterans and their partners were randomized to receive B-CBCT in a traditional Veterans Affairs office-based setting (B-CBCT-Office), CBCT through CVT with the veteran and partner at home (B-CBCT-Home), or an in office-delivered, couple-based psychoeducation control condition (PTSD Family Education). This study is the first RCT designed to investigate the delivery of B-CBCT specifically to veterans with PTSD and their partners, as well as to examine the delivery of B-CBCT over a CVT modality; findings could increase access to care to veterans with PTSD and their partners.
Although the issue of evaluating competencies is multifaceted and remains largely unresolved, it is evident that students who are dismissed from doctoral training programs are often viewed as having competency deficits. Moreover, competency deficits ultimately pose a public health risk. As such, the study of competency is widely cited as a highly important area. Among well-articulated competency benchmarks, the relationship domain implicates social inference as an essential component to prepracticum competency in interpersonal relationships, affective skills, and expressive skills. The current study built upon a small existing literature in the area of medical education indicating that the exploration of artwork can be used to improve skill in making clinically relevant visual observations. Using a posttest only, randomized design, results from the current study (N = 86) revealed that exploration of emotion as depicted in artwork significantly improved social inference of complex emotional states as measured by the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. Implications for education and training as well as suggested future directions for research are presented.
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