Charles M Boisvert

Iatrogenic Symptoms in Psychotherapy - A Theoretical Exploration of the Potential Impact of Labels, Language, and Belief Systems

Charles W. Boisvert et al. — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:15:06 PST

Although the mental health professions are effective in ameliorating personal distress, treatment can sometimes have negative consequences. The authors explore causal mechanisms for iatrogenic symptoms in therapy by discussing the process by which clients may be socialized into therapy and the potential impact that psychiatric labels and language may have in influencing clients' self-perceptions. The authors review research that has examined possible negative effects of psychiatric labels and then examine other forms of language, categorization, and conceptualizations that may contribute to negative effects in therapy. Iatrogenic symptoms may originate through the overreliance on a belief system within which therapists interpret, reinterperet or label clients' characteristics or distress as pathological. Therapeutic communication that emphasizes pejorative language may introduce clients to this belief system. Iatrogenic symptoms may also provide clients and therapists with secondary gains. Possible approaches for minimizing iatrogenic symptoms are explored.

Practicing Psychologists’ Knowledge of General Psychotherapy Research Findings: Implications for Science–Practice Relations

Charles M. Boisvert et al. — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:15:04 PST

If you are a therapist, how knowledgeable are you and how knowledgeable do you need to be about psychotherapy research findings? In this study, the authors examined practicing psychologists’ knowledge of general psychotherapy research findings. Results revealed that some psychologists showed excellent familiarity with this body of outcome research, but many did not achieve this standard. Not infrequently, psychologists believed that research findings were less positive than is actually the case, perhaps explaining some of the negativity that practitioners sometimes express toward psychotherapy research. Research knowledge could not be predicted by years graduated, percentage of long-term clients, percentage of time conducting therapy, theoretical orientation, or perceived familiarity with research. The modest familiarity with research findings that therapists, in general, demonstrated may be understood, in part, through examination of the acquisition of research knowledge as a judgment task. The authors explore potential factors that may influence therapists’ judgments about the research. In addition, they examine possible relations between research knowledge and therapy outcome and their potential practice implications.

Leading Researchers’ Consensus on Psychotherapy Research Findings: Implications for the Teaching and Conduct of Psychotherapy

Charles M. Boisvert et al. — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:15:01 PST

We examined leading international psychotherapy researchers’ views on psychotherapy outcome research. Participants completed a questionnaire on which they rated level of research evidence for or against various assertions about psychotherapy processes and outcomes. Participants rated how confident they were that the assertions were supported by psychotherapy research. Strong, or relatively strong, consensus was achieved on several of the questionnaire items. Areas for which relative uniformity of opinion does or does not exist have potential implications for the teaching and conduct of psychotherapy and for the science–practice interface in psychotherapy. Additionally, consensus about psychotherapy findings can be used as a yardstick by which to measure practicing clinicians’ knowledge of the research.