Research suggests that cognitive and behavioral therapies produce significant benefits over medications alone in the treatment of severe, nonpsychotic major depression or primary psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. However, previous research has not demonstrated the efficacy of psychotherapy for major depression with psychotic features. In…

Negative symptoms cause functional impairment and impede recovery from psychosis, not least, because of limited developments in empirically validated treatments. This article details a pilot evaluation of a behavioral activation (BA) treatment with eight people presenting with psychosis and marked negative symptoms. The rationale for this…

Fear of flying (FF) is an impairing psychological disorder that is extremely common in developed countries. The most effective treatment for this particular type of phobia is exposure therapy. However, there are few studies comparing imaginal exposure (IE) and virtual reality (VR) exposure for the treatment of FF. The present study compared the…

The present study examines treatment length and timing of exposure from two child anxiety disorders clinics. Data regarding symptoms and treatment characteristics for 28 youth were prospectively obtained through self, parent, and therapist report at each session. Information regarding length of treatment, timing of exposure initiation, and…

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has many behavioral and cognitive features that would make it appear to be closely tied to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Obsessive-compulsive-related disorders (OCRDs) have been described in the literature as conditions that share a common phenomenology, neurobiology, and treatment response. The authors…

This article presents preliminary findings from use of a novel computer program that implements an evidence-based psychological intervention to treat depression based on behavioral activation (BA) therapy. The program is titled “Building a Meaningful Life Through Behavioral Activation”. The findings derive from an open trial with moderate to…

Eating disorders are among the most challenging disorders to treat, with even state-of-the-art cognitive-behavioral treatments achieving only modest success. One possible reason for the high rate of treatment failure for eating disorders is that existing treatments do not attend sufficiently to critical aspects of the disorder such as high…

Following from the seminal work of Ferster, Lewinsohn, and Jacobson, as well as theory and research on the Matching Law, Lejuez, Hopko, LePage, Hopko, and McNeil developed a reinforcement-based depression treatment that was brief, uncomplicated, and tied closely to behavioral theory. They called this treatment the brief behavioral activation…

Home visiting is a child abuse prevention strategy that seeks to optimize child development by providing mothers with support, training, and parenting information. Research has consistently found high rates of depression in mothers participating in home visiting programs and low levels of obtaining mental health treatment in the community.…

Although several theories exist to describe why patients improve in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), in only a limited number of studies has CBT skill acquisition been examined, particularly among patients with complex clinical profiles. Thus, the overarching aim of this research was to develop a tool to measure patients' use of CBT skills,…

Major depressive disorder is commonly treated in primary care settings. Psychotherapy occurring in primary care should take advantage of the unique aspects of the setting and must adapt to the problems and limitations of the setting. In this open trial, the authors used a treatment development model to adapt behavior therapy for primary care…

Determining the means by which effective psychotherapy works is critical. A generally recommended strategy for identifying the potential causal variables is to conduct group-level statistical tests of treatment mediators. Herein the case is made for also assessing mediators of treatment outcome at the level of the individual participant.…

Bridging the gap between lab and clinic has become a rallying cry for a generation of treatment researchers, and identifying and overcoming barriers to successful dissemination of best-practice treatment has become a major public mental health priority. In this review, the authors argue that a key limit to accomplishing this goal may be found back…

A randomized, controlled trial was conducted to examine the cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for panic disorder with agoraphobia. A total of 100 participants were randomly assigned to standard (n = 33), group (n = 35), and brief (n = 32) treatment conditions. Results show significant clinical and statistical improvement…

This report presents results of a treatment for panic disorder with moderate to severe agoraphobia (PDA-MS) called sensation-focused intensive treatment (SFIT). SFIT is an 8-day intensive treatment that combines features of cognitive-behavioral treatment for panic disorder, such as interoceptive exposure and cognitive restructuring with ungraded…