Alliance and termination status in couple therapy: A comparison of methods for assessing discrepancies

Much of the empirical data available about therapeutic alliance and its relationship to termination status come from individual psychotherapies. We know less about therapeutic alliance in couple therapy. A unique characteristic of alliance in couple or family therapy is the possibility of discrepancies in alliance between system members. In this study we sought to demonstrate three statistical techniques: standard deviations, the intraclass correlation to assess discrepancies in alliance over time during the initial stage of couple therapy, and the use of these various measures to predict termination status using a sample of 72 couples from a university-based training clinic. Differences in partners’ alliances operationalized either as categorical or continuous variables but when analyzed separately at each time point were not predictive of termination status. When multilevel modeling was used, a difference in the way the discrepancies changed over a period of time was related to termination status. Rashmi Gangamma is currently at Syracuse University

Relational ethics, depressive symptoms, and relationship satisfaction in couples in therapy

The purpose of this study was to examine depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction as problems related to relational ethics in one\u27s family of origin and current partner relationships in a sample of 68 other-sex couples seeking therapy at a large university clinic. We used the Actor Partner Interdependence Model to analyze dyadic data collected prior to beginning therapy. Specifically, we found significant actor effects between relational ethics in one\u27s family of origin and depressive symptoms, as well as between depressive symptoms and low relationship satisfaction for both male and female partners. We also found significant partner effects for relational ethics in current partner relationship, depressive symptoms, and low relationship satisfaction. Clinical application of contextual therapy theory is discussed

Environmentally friendly monolithic highly-porous biocarbons as binder-free supercapacitor electrodes

A simple, low-cost and environmentally friendly method has been used to obtain highly porous biomorphic carbon monoliths with a good combination of interconnected macro-, mesoand microporosity, and good electrical conductivity and mechanical strength, making these biocarbon materials interesting for electrochemical applications as binder-free electrodes. Highly porous monolithic biocarbons were obtained from beech wood precursors through pyrolysis and subsequent surface modification in a steam heated to 970°C with different activation times. The obtained biocarbons demonstrated good electrical conductivity and mechanical strength. They were studied as electrodes for supercapacitors in half cell experiments, demonstrating maximum gravimetric capacitance of 200 F g-1 in a basic media at scan rate 1 mV s-1. Galvanostatic charge-discharge experiments showed maximum capacitance of 185 F g-1 at current density of 0.15 A g-1 and ~100 F g-1 at current density of 0.75 A g-1. It has been shown that in addition to the developed porous surface, the micropores with diameters exceeding 1 nm play a key role for the enhanced electrochemical capacity. Long-cycling experiments demonstrated excellent stability of the monolithic biocarbon electrodes with no reduction of the initial capacitance values after 600 cycles in voltammetry.TSO thanks the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation for its support (Project No 3.3194.2017/4.6).Peer reviewe