Abnormal brain structure in youth who commit homicide.

Background: Violence that leads to homicide results in an extreme financial and emotional burden on society. Juveniles who commit homicide are often tried in adult court and typically spend the majority of their lives in prison. Despite the enormous costs associated with homicidal behavior, there have been no serious neuroscientific studies examining youth who commit homicide.

To what extent is alliance affected by transference? An empirical exploration.

Will patients project their representations of significant others onto the therapist in a way that influences the formation of the therapeutic alliance? To address this issue, the current study explored the following questions: (1) To what extent are pretreatment representations of others projected onto the therapist and thereby predict the development of alliance throughout the course of treatment? (2) To what extent are these projections affected by the real relationship? (3) Are there specific representations of others that are more prone to be projected onto the alliance? To this end, data on 134 patients from a randomized controlled trial for depression comparing dynamic supportive-expressive therapy with supportive clinical management combined with pharmacotherapy or placebo were used. Findings demonstrated that the patients' pretreatment representations of significant others predicted a substantial part of the alliance with the therapist throughout the course of treatment. However, the representations of others were not automatically projected onto the alliance but rather the projections were also influenced by the real relationship with the therapist.

Development of the Crying Proneness Scale: associations among crying proneness, empathy, attachment, and age.

Crying is a unique form of human emotional expression that is associated with both positive and negative evocative antecedents. This article investigates the psychometric properties of a newly developed Crying Proneness Scale by examining the factor structure, test-retest reliability, and theoretically hypothesized relationships with empathy, attachment, age, and gender. Based on an analysis of data provided by a Dutch panel (Time 1: N = 4,916, Time 2: N = 4,874), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggest that crying proneness is a multidimensional construct best characterized by four factors called attachment tears, societal tears, sentimental/moral tears, and compassionate tears.

Psychodynamic techniques related to outcome for anxiety disorder patients at different points in treatment.

Although psychodynamic therapy has a well-articulated model of therapeutic change for anxiety, few empirical studies have examined specific treatment interventions related to symptom improvement. We examined the degree of adherence to a psychodynamic model of therapy (Blagys and Hilsenroth [Clin Psychol 7:167-188, 2000) related to changes in anxiety symptoms across early treatment process. Secondary analyses also examined the use of specific psychodynamic techniques across early treatment process in relation to symptom change.

Relationship between SWAP-200 patient personality characteristics and patient-rated alliance early in treatment.

Research on the therapeutic alliance suggests patient personality characteristics to be plausible correlates of alliance formation. To date, research has largely focused on the relationship between the alliance and facets of patient personality measured via patient self-report, versus personality syndromes.In the present study, we assess patient personality using a clinician-rated measure-the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 (SWAP-200; Shedler and Westen [Assessment 5:335-355, 1998; Am J Psychiatry 161:1350-1365, 2004; Am J Psychiatry 161:1743-1754, 2004]; Westen and Shedler [Am J Psychiatry 156:258-272, 1999; Am J Psychiatry 156:273-285, 1999])-and investigate the extent to which empirically derived personality configurations correlate with patient-rated alliance.

Treatment adherence: the importance of therapist flexibility in relation to therapy outcomes.

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to disentangle within- and between-case variability in the adherence-outcome association. Specifically, we expected that increases or decreases in within-case adherence ratings would be positively associated with therapy outcomes.

Method: Seventy clients (74% women, 26% men; Mage = 29.

The Role of Dissociation in the Cycle of Violence.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the role of dissociation in the relationship between child maltreatment and intimate partner violence among 148 inner city women. It was proposed that dissociation would be a mediator in the relationship between child maltreatment and intimate partner perpetration. Overall, the hypothesis was supported.

Therapeutic alliance in the personal therapy of graduate clinicians: relationship to the alliance and outcomes of their patients.

Unlabelled: This is the first study to explore the relationship between aspects of a therapists' personal therapy and the subsequent psychotherapy process and outcome they perform. The participants were 14 graduate clinicians with various experiences in personal therapy, who treated 54 outpatients engaged in short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy at a university-based community clinic. Results demonstrated non-significant relationships between the duration of personal therapy as well as a graduate clinician's overall alliance in their personal therapy with alliance ratings made by themselves as therapists and their patients, as well as the number of psychotherapy sessions attended by patients.

Anxiety doesn't become you: how attachment anxiety compromises relational opportunities.

Although research has shown that attachment anxiety is detrimental to ongoing relationships, less is known about whether and how it affects the earliest stages of relationship initiation. How does attachment anxiety affect an initial interaction with a potential relationship partner? The present investigation explored the interpersonal outcomes associated with attachment anxiety in the context of various relational opportunities, testing a mediational model whereby interpersonal displays characteristic of state social anxiety-social disengagement and manifest anxiety-were proposed as mechanisms of interpersonal failure. In Study 1, participants engaged in speed-dating.

The physician-patient working alliance and patient psychological attachment, adherence, outcome expectations, and satisfaction in a sample of rheumatology patients.

Over the past twenty years, the physician-patient relationship (eg, the physician-patient working alliance) has emerged as an integral component to the treatment of patients for a myriad of health conditions. Psychological, emotional, and behavioral dimensions of patients' working alliance with their physicians, along with patients' attachment styles, were examined in relation to rheumatology patients' adherence to treatment plans, outcome expectations, and satisfaction. Study participants were 101 adult outpatients from a rheumatology clinic.

Patient Crying in Psychotherapy: Who Cries and Why?

Aim: The aim of the present study is to further the understanding of who cries in therapy and the relation of technique with crying behaviour in therapy.

Method: Psychological assessment feedback sessions, prior to the initiation of formal therapy for 52 patients beginning psychotherapy at a university-based clinic were coded for discrete crying segments. Data about patient characteristics and the process of the session were collected at the time of the session.

Does alliance predict symptoms throughout treatment, or is it the other way around?

Objective: Scholars increasingly recognize that therapeutic alliance and symptomatic change are associated with one another. A common assumption is that alliance predicts symptomatic change. However, the issue is far from settled.

Process and technique factors associated with patient ratings of session safety during psychodynamic psychotherapy.

This study investigates the relationships between patient ratings of in-session safety with psychotherapeutic techniques and process. Ninety-four participants received Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (STDP) at a university-based clinic. Patient experiences of therapeutic process were self-assessed early in treatment using the Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ Stiles, 1980).

Client and therapist therapeutic alliance, session evaluation, and client reliable change: a moderated actor-partner interdependence model.

Actor-partner interdependence modeling (APIM; Kashy & Kenny, 2000) was used to study the early therapeutic alliance in 74 clients being treated by 29 therapists to explore the relationship between the alliance and treatment progress, while prioritizing the dyadic nature of the alliance. The APIM examines collaboration/influence by modeling the impact of one dyad member's alliance ratings on the other member's session impact rating (partner effects). In terms of the alliance, the results revealed significant client-actor effects for client ratings of session depth and positivity as well as significant therapist-actor effects for therapist ratings of session smoothness and positivity.

Changes in well-being and quality of life in a randomized trial comparing dynamic psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for major depressive disorder.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with a decrease in quality of life (QOL) and well-being. Therefore, researchers are increasingly complementing traditional symptom measurements with QOL and well-being assessments in order to broaden the evaluation of treatment outcomes. The current prospective study investigated the effectiveness of supportive-expressive therapy (SET), antidepressant medication (MED) and placebo (PBO) in improving QOL and well-being in patients with MDD.

Personality disorder and early therapeutic alliance in two time-limited therapies.

This study examined the relationship of pre-treatment personality disorder diagnosis to the quality of early therapeutic alliance in 145 patients randomly assigned to either cognitive behavioral therapy or brief relational therapy. The pre-treatment diagnosis was established by DSM-IV (SCID) and Wisconsin Personality Inventory. Quality of the alliance was assessed by patient and therapist reports using the 12-item Working Alliance Inventory, Session Evaluation Questionnaire, and direct questions of ruptures.

Severe multisensory speech integration deficits in high-functioning school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their resolution during early adolescence.

Under noisy listening conditions, visualizing a speaker's articulations substantially improves speech intelligibility. This multisensory speech integration ability is crucial to effective communication, and the appropriate development of this capacity greatly impacts a child's ability to successfully navigate educational and social settings. Research shows that multisensory integration abilities continue developing late into childhood.

Interpersonal problems as predictors of alliance, symptomatic improvement and premature termination in treatment of depression.

Background: Previous studies reported inconsistent findings regarding the association of interpersonal problems with therapy outcome. The current study investigates if interpersonal problems predict process and outcome of three different treatments for depression.

Methods: The data originate from a randomized clinical trial comparing supportive-expressive psychotherapy, antidepressant medication and pill-placebo for treatment of depression.

A six-year follow-up study of social network changes among African-American, Caribbean, and U.S.-born Caucasian urban older adults.

This study explores dynamic changes in network size and composition by examining patterns of older adults' social network change over time, that is: types of movements; the reason for the loss of network members; and the relation of movement and composition in concert. This study is a 6-year follow up of changes in the social networks of U.S.

Intact inhibitory control processes in abstinent drug abusers (I): a functional neuroimaging study in former cocaine addicts.

Neuroimaging studies in current cocaine dependent (CD) individuals consistently reveal cortical hypoactivity across regions of the response inhibition circuit (RIC). Dysregulation of this critical executive network is hypothesized to account for the lack of inhibitory control that is a hallmark of the addictive phenotype, and chronic abuse is believed to compound the issue. A crucial question is whether deficits in this circuit persist after drug cessation, and whether recovery of this system will be seen after extended periods of abstinence, a question with implications for treatment course and outcome.

Psychotherapy and the Mormon faith.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, is a Christian faith with a large presence across the globe. Although Mormon doctrine suggests that faith in Jesus allows people to overcome weakness and heal from pain, Mormon people are not immune from experiencing periods of mental and emotional suffering. The deeply held religious beliefs of Mormons can influence the nature of the psychological difficulties a Mormon individual is prone to experiencing, how and when they choose to seek treatment, as well as the types of treatment that may be most beneficial.

Aberrant paralimbic gray matter in incarcerated male adolescents with psychopathic traits.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between brain structure and psychopathic traits in maximum-security incarcerated male adolescents, and to examine whether the associations between brain volumes in paralimbic and limbic regions and psychopathic traits observed in incarcerated adult men extend to an independent sample of incarcerated male adolescents.

Method: A structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of regional gray matter volumes by using voxel-based morphometry in maximum-security incarcerated male adolescents (N = 218) assessed for psychopathic traits using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL-YV). All analyses controlled for effects of age, substance use, and brain size.

Relationship between patient pre-treatment object relations functioning and psychodynamic techniques early in treatment.

Unlabelled: This study explored the relationship between patient pre-treatment object relations (OR) functioning and psychodynamic techniques employed during two early sessions (third and ninth). The sample consisted of 76 outpatients engaged in short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. Results showed that lower levels of patient pre-treatment OR functioning, particularly in the identity and affective domains, were related to a greater use of psychodynamic-interpersonal techniques in sessions.

The adaptive functions of sexual plasticity: the suppression and surreptitious expression of human sociosexuality.

Tendencies toward non-monogamy and bisexual expression may constitute primate-wide predispositions that have been conserved in humans. This observation is supported by studies of sexual development and behavior in our primate relatives and sexually permissive premodern tribal cultures including hunter-gatherers. Nevertheless, even in sexually permissive societies, there may be considerable sexual possessiveness and jealousy as well as attempts at parental control of children's marital choices.