This paper presents the findings of a psychotherapy process study conducted within the Pennsylvania Psychological Association Practice Research Network (PPA-PRN). The investigation was the product of a long-term collaborative effort, both in terms of the study design and implementation, between experienced clinicians of various theoretical orientations and full-time psychotherapy researchers. Based on a relatively large sample of clients seen in independent practice settings, close to 1,500 therapeutic events (described by clients and therapists as being particularly helpful or hindering) were collected. These events were coded by three independent observers using a therapy content analysis system. Among the findings, both clients and therapists perceived the fostering of self-awareness as being particularly helpful. The results also point to the importance of paying careful attention to the therapeutic alliance and other significant interpersonal relationships. The merits and difficulties of conducting scientifically rigorous and clinically relevant studies in naturalistic contexts are also discussed.
This paper describes the experiences of psychotherapists who, as part of a practice research network (PRN), collaborated with researchers in designing and conducting a psychotherapy study within their own clinical practices. A qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with these psychotherapists led to the delineation of several benefits (e.g., learning information that improved their work with clients and feeling that they were contributing to research that would be useful for psychotherapists) and difficulties for them and their clients (e.g., time and effort required to integrate research protocol into routine clinical practice) that psychotherapists associated with their participation in the PRN. Also identified were a number of strategies used by psychotherapists to address obstacles that they encountered, as well as general recommendations for future PRN studies. As a whole, the experiences of these psychotherapists are likely to provide valuable lessons for the survival and growth of what is viewed by many as a promising pathway for building a stronger bridge between practice and research.
What is the influence of coworkers upon the individual's internalization of safety? Despite it being recognized as one of the most pervasive determinants of individual behaviour, social influence upon individual safety motivation has largely been overlooked by safety studies. This study operationalized group level safety climate to focus on coworker influence -an alternative to the predominant group level leadership perspective.This exploratory, qualitative study interviewed 55 workers across three safety critical industries: firefighting, whitewater raft guiding, and paramedicine. The interviews were combined with workplace visits and six group interviews, using a theoretical proposition guided research model. The semi-structured qualitative approach allowed for the nature of the unstudied relationship between coworker influence and individual safety values to emerge. The focus of the study was at the individual level.This study found that there is significant complexity at the coworker level regarding safety; more so than the predominant hierarchical safety climate paradigm. The major theoretical contribution of this research is a finding that coworker influence and social identity were an active influence upon internalizing safety motivation. Shared experience, social bonding and trust allowed for the individual to socially identify with their group and internalize group safety priorities and incorporate these into self-concept. Coworker social support and trust validated the individuals' sense of competency. This sense of competency was the first defense in dealing with work ambiguity, but more existentially, coworker endorsement of competency also anchored basic work identity. Safety at its most concrete level was about not getting hurt. Safety at its more meaningful level was about the potential harm from finding one's self on the outside of the work group and the internal or psychological implications of such exposure.This research adds complexity to the field of safety studies by including peer interaction and internal safety values. This research also introduces to safety studies as-yet underutilized social theories as a means of examining coworker influence and internalizing safety. In particular, self-determination theory and social identification theory are applied to group and individual level safety behaviour.iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank my Supervisor, Dr. Steven Murphy, for his work in seeing this project through. He seemed to know just the right questions to ask.
Thomson-Brooks/Cole. WAMPOLD, B. E. (2001). Contextualizing psychotherapy as a healing practice: Culture, history, and methods. Applied & Preventive Psychology, 10, 69 -86. WHITE, M. (1995). Re-authoring lives: Interviews and essays. Adelaide, Australia: Dulwich Center Publications. WHITE, M. (1997). Narratives of therapists' lives. Adelaide, Australia: Dulwich Centre Publications.
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