Mechanisms of change in group therapy for treatment-seeking university students

Abstract

The present study examined mechanisms of change in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills group and positive psychotherapy (PPT) group intervention, two treatments that have previously been shown to be effective at reducing symptoms of BPD and depression over a 12-week treatment protocol within the context of a college counseling center (Uliaszek et al., 2016). The present study is secondary data analysis of that trial. We hypothesized that change in dysfunctional coping skills use would be a specific mechanism for DBT, while change in functional coping skills use and therapeutic alliance would be mechanisms of change for both treatments. Fifty-four participants completed self-report and interview-based assessments at pretreatment, weeks 3, 6, 9, and posttreatment. Path models examined the predictive power of the mechanisms in predicting outcome; the moderating effect of group membership was also explored. Dysfunctional coping skills use across the course of treatment was a significant mechanism of change for BPD and depression for the DBT group, but not the PPT group. Conversely, therapeutic alliance was a significant mechanism of change for the PPT group, but not the DBT group. Findings highlight the importance of each mechanism during mid-to late-treatment specifically.

Impact of WeChat‐based 'three good things' on turnover intention and coping style in burnout nurses

“…WeChat-based 3GT required nurses to find 'good things' and analyse reasons. and self-efficacy to contend with adversities (Delany et al., 2015;Uliaszek, Hamdullahpur, Chuqani, & Rashid, 2018).…”

“…Negative coping styles are used less through more frequent exercises on 3GT. Studies show that positive psychotherapies, such as 3GT, improve positive coping strategies, which could powerfully build one's confidence and self‐efficacy to contend with adversities (Delany et al., 2015; Uliaszek, Hamdullahpur, Chuqani, & Rashid, 2018).…”

Specifying the mechanisms and targets of emotion regulation: A translational framework from affective science to psychological treatment.

“…Treatments targeting emotion dysregulation, such as DBT and DBT groups, have led to decreases in patients' use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (Flynn et al, 2018;Moore et al, 2018;Muhomba et al, 2017). These decreases are often greater than in other active treatments (Cristea et al, 2017;Chugani et al, 2013;Linehan et al, 2015;Uliaszek et al, 2018).…”

Attrition and attendance in group therapy for university students: An examination of predictors across time

“…To compute convergent validity, the Part A composite, averaged across all weeks (mean = 6.56, SD = 2.40), was correlated with the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI; Horvath & Greenberg, 1989), a 36‐item self‐report measure of the therapeutic alliance, at posttreatment ( r = .70, p < .001). In this sample, the WAI was found to change predictably across the course of therapy and act as a mechanism of therapeutic outcome (Uliaszek, Hamdullahpur, Chugani, & Rashid, 2018). Thus, we find it appropriate to refer to this composite as a measure of the therapeutic alliance.…”