Predictors of Skill in Resistance Management in Psychotherapy

Appropriately responsive management of resistance in psychotherapy remains a foundational skill that is associated with positive client outcomes (Westra & Norouzian, 2018). Despite this, little is known about which individual differences contribute to successful management of resistance. Findings suggest that psychotherapy performance does not improve with experience (Goldberg et al., 2016), that psychotherapists lack humility due to positively biased self-assessment (Walfish et al., 2012), and that difficult moments in psychotherapy may dysregulate therapist emotions (Grecucci & Sanfey, 2014). This thesis therefore had two primary aims: 1) to identify whether psychotherapy training experience (n = 98 untrained participants and n = 76 trained participants) was associated with resistance management, and 2) to identify whether humility and difficulties regulating emotions in trained individuals (n = 76) were associated with resistance management (i.e., as operationalized using the Resistance Vignette Task – RVT; Westra et al., 2021). Results indicated that trained individuals performed significantly better on the RVT than untrained individuals, however, years of experience within the trained sample were not associated with RVT scores. Furthermore, humility and difficulties regulating emotions were each independently associated with resistance management in the trained group. These findings suggest the possibility of improving training to focus on key skills, such as resistance management, through supporting humility and emotion regulation in training. By identifying ways to improve therapist skill in resistance management (i.e., by introducing skill training and promoting humility and emotion regulation in therapists), client outcomes may subsequently improve

sj-docx-1-psp-10.1177_01461672221121508 – Supplemental material for Growing Together Through Our Cultural Differences: Self-Expansion in Intercultural Romantic Relationships

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-psp-10.1177_01461672221121508 for Growing Together Through Our Cultural Differences: Self-Expansion in Intercultural Romantic Relationships by Alexandria L. West, Hanieh Naeimi, Alyssa A. Di Bartolomeo, Maya Yampolsky and Amy Muise in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin</p

The development of Couple HOPES: a guided online intervention for PTSD and relationship satisfaction enhancement

Background: Couple HOPES (Helping Overcome PTSD and Enhance Satisfaction) was created to help overcome a range of barriers to accessing psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and commonly associated intimate relationship problems. Objective: Couple HOPES is a guided, online self-help intervention adapted from Cognitive-Behavioural Conjoint Therapy for PTSD that aims to improve PTSD and enhance relationship satisfaction. Method/Results: This paper describes the processes and principles used to develop the Couple HOPES intervention platform as well as the coaching model and manual used to promote engagement and adherence to the intervention. Conclusions: Current research and future directions in testing Couple HOPES are outlined

Initial outcomes of couple HOPES: A guided online couple intervention for PTSD and relationship enhancement

Couple HOPES (Helping Overcome PTSD and Enhance Satisfaction) is a guided, online couple intervention adapted from Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It was created to overcome a range of barriers to accessing evidence-based treatments for PTSD and the intimate relationship problems associated with it. This manuscript describes initial outcomes of the intervention in a series of 10 couples. Participants were military, veteran and first responders with probable PTSD and their intimate partners. Couples completed the program and measurements of PTSD, relationship satisfaction, and secondary outcomes at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Mean satisfaction for the program was high and it was completed by seven of ten couples. Participants with PTSD evidenced significant and large pre- to post-intervention effect size improvements in PTSD symptoms (g = 0.80) and perceived health (g = 1.13). They also exhibited non-significant but medium effect size pre- to post-intervention improvements in quality of life (g = 0.62), and depression (g = 0.53), and small effect size pre- to post-intervention improvements in argumentativeness (g = 0.43), anger (g = 0.31), and anxiety (g = 0.31). Partners reported significant and moderate pre- to post-intervention effect size improvements in relationship satisfaction (g = 0.68), and medium but not significant effect size improvements in accommodation of PTSD (g = 0.56). Results provide initial support for the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of Couple HOPES for improving PTSD and relationship satisfaction. However, more testing in larger samples, including with randomized controlled designs, is needed. •Couple HOPES is an online, self-help couple intervention for PTSD.•Feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of Couple HOPES was tested with 10 couples.•10 couples with a military member/veteran/first responder with PTSD participated.•Couple HOPES was feasible, acceptable, and resulted in reductions in PTSD symptoms.•It improved relationship satisfaction for partners and several secondary outcomes

An Uncontrolled Trial of Couple HOPES: A Guided Online Couple Intervention for PTSD and Relationship Enhancement

Novel interventions that overcome limited access to empirically supported psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are sorely needed. Couple helping overcome PTSD and enhance relationships (HOPES), a guided, online couple intervention drawing from cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy (CBCT) for PTSD (Monson, 2012), was designed to decrease PTSD symptoms and improve relationship satisfaction. The present study is the first uncontrolled trial of 17 couples in which one partner was a military member, veteran, or first responder and had probable PTSD (PTSD+ partner) based on self-report assessment. Intent-to-intervene analyses revealed significant improvements from pre- to postintervention in PTSD+ partners' self-reported PTSD symptoms (g = .72), as well as their intimate partner's relationship satisfaction (g = .34) and behavioral accommodation of PTSD symptoms (g = .84). There were also significant improvements in PTSD+ partners' depression (g = .43) and perceived relationship arguments (g = .62). There were similar results found in the completer sample. There were no adverse events and high satisfaction with the intervention in those who completed the evaluation. These findings provide additional initial data on the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of Couple HOPES. The similarities of intent-to-intervene and completer results, as well as the need for randomized controlled trial designs to test Couple HOPES, are discussed