A consensual qualitative-research strategy was used to examine data from 127 interviews conducted with eight psychologists immediately following their brief therapy sessions with eight clients. Frequency of categories within three domains (origins, triggers, and manifestations) were analyzed within and across cases. Discussion centers on practice,…

Argues that the healer acts as the muse of the humanities, while the humanities function as healer's creative force. Describes how the author reached the crossroads of the humanities and healing (as an English professor and a psychotherapist), and examines the work of John Keats. Shows how poetry therapists stand at the crossroads where emotion…

Presents a response to D. A. Helminiak's (2001) article from the perspective of K. Wilber's integral psychology. Discusses a summary of integral psychology; various conceptual issues; and usefulness to mental health practitioners (MHPs). Argues that K. Wilber's model is more comprehensive, clear, coherent, and helpful to MHPs than Helminiak's…

The Developmental Career Counseling model incorporates the following principles of Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy: life-span approach, limited time, working alliance, rapid and early assessment, central focus, active and directive counselor participation, therapeutic flexibility, and termination issues. The model enables career and personal…

Explores forgiveness as a key component of spiritual pastoral care and as one of the spiritual interventions most frequently used by psychotherapists. Examines some of the implications of the use of forgiveness in therapeutic practice and puts forward guidelines for the use of forgiveness in psychotherapy are based on the work of the Forgiveness…

Examines the four existential realities of isolation, meaninglessness, death, and freedom as a framework for understanding Dante's "Divine Comedy." Argues that studying this text and its metaphors offers an enriched understanding of the dilemmas of human existence which can refine the understanding of the therapeutic relationship.…

Lorie Ritschel received her undergraduate degrees in French and psychology from the University of Georgia in 1999. In 2002, she received her MA in clinical psychology from the University of Kansas, where she currently is pursuing a doctoral degree. Lorie is the clinic systems coordinator and a therapist at the University of Kansas Psychological…

With depression estimated to exist in as much as 10% of the population, it may be the most prevalent problem facing counselors today. S. D. Hollon, M. E. Thase, and J. C. Markowitz (2002) reviewed the extensive research comparing various psychotherapeutic and pharmaceutical approaches to treating depression. They concluded that certain…

Drawing on contemporary evidence in the counselling and psychotherapy research field, this paper argues that there is growing support for a relationship-orientated approach to therapeutic practice. The paper reviews findings from a range of meta-analytical and individual studies which provide strong evidence for the centrality of relational…

Starting from the acknowledged gap between research and practice in child psychotherapy, this paper offers an historical perspective on the relation between these two activities, and suggests that qualitative approaches to research may offer new ways of bringing them together. After introducing the fundamental concepts of qualitative analysis,…

Qualitative analyses of 2 clients' psychotherapies (client centered and process-experiential) investigated the developmental progression from formulating a problem to achieving an understanding of it. The results elaborated one segment in the 8-stage Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Sequence (APES), through which problematic parts of a…

Research designed to establish the empirical underpinnings of psychotherapy relies heavily on arbitrary metrics, and researchers often do not know if clients receiving an evidence-based treatment have improved in everyday life or changed in a way that makes a difference, apart from the changes the arbitrary metrics may have shown. In other words,…

Gerontologic research in the past 40 years has shown that caring for an older, disabled person affects the health and well-being of the caregiver. This important contribution led to a wide range of programs and services designed to buffer caregivers from the effects of stressors. Many of these programs have been quite innovative. Although…

In October 2006, the California Men's Colony (CMC) in San Luis Obispo, faced with staff recruitment and retention difficulties, took an innovative step to utilize long-term sentenced inmates as peer mentors and primary counselors to lead their prison-based therapeutic community (TC) program. The program was designed, developed, and implemented…

It is well known that psychoanalysis has over the years had a significant impact on the education of children with mental health problems. Its contribution to the theory and practice of mainstream education is less well documented. This paper gives an account of the five-year (1924-1929) history of the Malting House School in Cambridge. The school…