Effectiveness of a Novel Web-Based Intervention to Enhance Therapeutic Relationships and Treatment Outcomes in Adult Individual Psychotherapy: Randomized Controlled Trial and Analysis of Predictors of Dropouts.

Background: Routine process and outcome monitoring interventions added to psychotherapy are known to improve treatment outcomes, although they vary in format and effectiveness.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether a therapist-independent, internet-based routine process monitoring and feedback system could significantly reduce psychological distress and enhance the quality of the therapeutic relationship compared with a treatment-as-usual control group among individuals already engaged in individual psychotherapy.

Methods: We randomized 475 participants into either the intervention group, which received access to an internet-based routine process monitoring and feedback system in addition to psychotherapy, or the control group, which received only psychotherapy.

The screening accuracy of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to detect perinatal depression with and without the self-harm item in pregnant and postpartum women.

Background: This study aims to examine whether the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), excluding the self-harm item (EPDS-9), performs as effectively as the full EPDS in identifying depression among perinatal women.

Methods: A total of 3571 pregnant women and 3850 postpartum women participated in this observational study. Participants who scored ≥ 9 on the EPDS underwent further diagnostic evaluations by a clinical psychologist and/or psychiatrist.

Patients' perspective on the therapeutic relationship and session quality: the central role of alliance.

In this study, we examined how four components of the therapeutic relationship-working alliance, real relationship, and positive and negative affective reactions of the patient toward their therapist-relate to each other and to the psychotherapy session outcome, from the patient's point of view. Our simple comprised 700 adult patients in individual psychotherapy who were recruited and participated online. They underwent a baseline evaluation of their most recent therapy session, which encompassed a series of validated self-report measures focused on specific elements of the therapeutic relationship.

Fathers' experiences of nurses' roles and care practices during their preterm infant's stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Introduction: Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses play a crucial role in providing infant care, as well as in bridging the communication gap with parents.

Aim: Explore fathers' perceptions and interactions with nurses during their preterm infants' stay in a NICU.

Design: Qualitative study using ethnographic data collection techniques.

Therapeutic relationship elements and therapy session outcomes: Protocol for a longitudinal study of the patient's perspective.

Background: There is a growing recognition of the key role of the therapeutic relationship in the outcomes of psychotherapy. However, current understanding of its specific components, their interplay and related patient-therapist dynamics is limited.

Objective: (a) To validate two self-report measures to assess subjective affective reactions of patients toward their psychotherapists during specific therapy sessions, and (b) to explore the relationships and dynamics among four elements of the therapeutic relationship: patient reactions toward the therapist, working alliance, alliance ruptures and repairs, and the real relationship.

Screening for antenatal maternal depression: comparative performance of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

Background: Maternal antenatal depression affects 21-28% of expectants globally and negatively impacts both maternal and child health in the short and long term.

Objective: To compare the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) in pregnant individuals.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 953 third-trimester pregnant Italian individuals completed both the EPDS and the PHQ-9.

Assessing the patient's affective perception of their psychotherapist: validation of the .

Background: Psychotherapists need effective tools to monitor changes in the patient's affective perception of the therapist and the therapeutic relationship during sessions to tailor therapeutic interventions and improve treatment outcomes. This study aims to evaluate the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the (SPARQ), a concise self-report measure designed for practical application in real-world psychotherapy settings.

Methods: Validation data was gathered from ( = 700) adult patients in individual psychotherapy.

The Brief Version of the Mentalization Scale (MentS-12): Evidence-Based Assessment of Mentalizing Capacity.

Recognizing the need for a concise self-report measure of mentalizing capacity, we developed a 12-item iteration of the well-established Mentalization Scale (MentS). Using college student and community samples of Serbian adults ( = 566), we performed a precise selection of items and then examined the psychometric attributes of the shortened scale (MentS-12). The new scale maintains the original three-dimensional structure: self-related mentalization, other-related mentalization, and motivation to mentalize.

Enhancing Psychotherapy Outcomes by Encouraging Patients to Regularly Self-Monitor, Reflect on, and Share Their Affective Responses Toward Their Therapist: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The quality of the therapeutic relationship is pivotal in determining psychotherapy outcomes. However, facilitating patients' self-awareness, reflection on, and sharing of their affective responses toward their therapist remains underexplored as a potential tool for enhancing this relationship and subsequent treatment outcomes.

Objective: The primary objective of this study is to examine whether and how the patients' regular self-monitoring and self-reflection (fostered by the systematic compilation of a brief postsession battery) on their affective reactions toward the psychotherapist impact the quality of the therapeutic relationship and treatment outcomes in individual psychotherapy.

Development and preliminary validation of the Clinician Affective REsponse (CARE) scale.

The present study reports on the development and validation of the clinician affective response (CARE) scale. The CARE scale was designed as a self-report measure of therapists' patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors toward the patient during an individual psychotherapy session. An initial pool of 116 items was generated, and its quality was evaluated by subject matter experts.

Development and validation of an 8-item version of the Real Relationship Inventory-Client form.

Objective: To develop and validate a very brief version of the 24-item Real Relationship Inventory-Client (RRI-C) form.

Method: Two independent samples of individual psychotherapy patients (= 700, = 434) completed the RRI-C along with other measures. Psychometric scale shortening involved exploratory factor analysis, item response theory analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and multigroup CFA.

Making the Best in a Bad Job: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Communication with Children and Adolescents with Severe Physical Condutions.

Ill children/adolescents who suffer from severe organic diseases have to cope with their inner experiences, therapies, and the global burden of the disease. Although sometimes depression, anger, and death anxiety are openly encountered in medical settings, other times they can be partially hidden by a reactive and defensive path. In these scenarios, psychoanalysis is challenged to contribute the best comprehension of the intimate communication, maybe hidden, and the needs of the ill patients to express themselves.

Development and Initial Validation of the in-Session Patient Affective Reactions Questionnaire (SPARQ) and the Rift In-Session Questionnaire (RISQ).

This article discusses the development and preliminary validation of a self-report inventory of the patient's perception of, and affective reaction to, their therapist during a psychotherapy session. First, we wrote a pool of 131 items, reviewed them based on subject matter experts' review, and then collected validation data from a clinical sample of adult patients in individual therapy ( = 701). We used exploratory factor analysis and item response theory graded response models to select items, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the factor structure, and -fold cross-validation to verify model robustness.

Comparing the factor structures and reliabilities of the EPDS and the PHQ-9 for screening antepartum and postpartum depression: a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis.

To evaluate and compare the factor structure and reliability of EPDS and PHQ in antepartum and postpartum samples. Parallel analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted to determine the structure of both scales in the entire sample as well as in the antepartum and postpartum groups. McDonald's omega statistics examined the utility of treating items as a single scale versus multiple factors.

Erotic Feelings Towards Patients in the Psychotherapy Session: Investigating Their Relationship With the Characteristics of the Therapist, the Patient, and the Treatment.

Experiencing erotic feelings towards a patient is a fairly common occurrence, not pathological per se, during phases of psychotherapy. This study aims to analyze associations between, on the one hand, the presence in therapists of romantic attraction (RA), sexual attraction (SA), or flirting behavior (FB) toward patients and, on the other hand, a series of characteristics of therapist, patient, and treatment. Between April and June 2022, 547 psychotherapists completed an online survey investigating their affective and behavioral responses toward their most recently treated patient.

Instagram Use and Mental Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Social Comparison.

Instagram has grown in popularity among young adults and adolescents and is currently the second-favorite social network in the world. Research on its relationship to mental well-being is still relatively small and has yielded contradictory results. This study explores the relationship between time spent on Instagram and depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and disordered eating attitudes in a nonclinical sample of female Instagram users aged 18-35 years.

Clinicians' Emotional Reactions toward Patients with Depressive Symptoms in Mood Disorders: A Narrative Scoping Review of Empirical Research.

The purpose of this article is to narratively review the empirical literature on clinicians' emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses (i.e., countertransference) to depressive and other symptoms of patients with mood disorders.

Mapping the psychoanalytic literature on bipolar disorder: a scoping review of journal articles.

Objective: To provide a review of journal articles discussing clinical cases or vignettes of psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic psychotherapy of patients affected by bipolar disorder.

Methods: A thorough search of journal articles was performed in five databases to identify studies published from 1990-2021.

Results: Twenty-four articles were included in this review, comprising a total of 29 case reports.

A Brief Depression Screening Tool for Perinatal Clinical Practice: The Performance of the PHQ-2 Compared with the PHQ-9.

Introduction: There is ongoing interest in using brief screening instruments to identify perinatal depression in clinical practice. One ultra-brief screening instrument for depression is the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), but thus far its accuracy in perinatal clinical practice has been barely researched. In the present study, we aimed to assess the screening accuracy of the PHQ-2 against the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) in a large sample of perinatal women.

Prevalence and types of video gaming and gambling activities among adolescent public school students: findings from a cross-sectional study in Italy.

Adolescence is characterized by emotional instability and risk-taking behaviours that can lead to, among other things, an increased risk of developing pathological video-gaming and gambling habits. The aim of this Study is to assess the prevalence and type of video gaming and gambling habits in adolescent students attending Italian upper-secondary schools. The cross-sectional study was conducted via an online survey using validated questionnaires.

[Ketamine's fast-acting antidepressant mechanisms: state of the art and new research perspectives].

About a third of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) do not have an adequate response to first-line antidepressant treatment, i.e., develop a treatment-resistant depression (TRD).