Journal of clinical psychology
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Acceptance and mindfulness methods that emphasise the acceptance rather than control of symptoms are becoming more central to behavioural and cognitive therapies. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is the most developed of these methods; recent applications of ACT to psychosis suggest it to be a promising therapeutic approach. However, investigation of the mechanisms of therapy within this domain is difficult because there are no acceptance-based measures available specifically for psychotic symptoms. ⋯ Subsequent examination of construct validity showed the VAAS to correlate significantly in the expected directions with depression, quality of life, and coping with command hallucinations. It also discriminated compliance from non-compliance with harmful command hallucinations. Although these results are preliminary and subject to a number of limitations, the VAAS shows promise as a useful aid in the assessment of the psychological impact of voices.
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Randomized controlled trials of psychological treatment, principally cognitive therapy, for bipolar disorder have yielded inconsistent results. Given the status of this evidentiary base, we provide a more fine-grained analysis of the cognitive profiles associated with bipolar disorder to inform clinical practice. ⋯ Cross-sectional and prospective evidence suggest that negative cognitive styles are related to depression within bipolar disorder, but there also is evidence that bipolar disorder is related to an elevated focus on goals as well as to increases in confidence during manic states. With such findings as backdrop, we consider the outcomes of psychological treatments for bipolar disorder and advance several suggestions for clinical practice.
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B. E. Wampold, T. ⋯ Thus, B. E. Wampold et al.'s conclusion was not substantiated by their data, and is best characterized as powerful spin. .
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This study examined the relationship between therapists' grief related to the death of a loved one and clients' perceptions of the process of bereavement therapy. Mail survey data were obtained from 69 client-therapist dyads. ⋯ Therapist acceptance of the death of a loved one was unrelated to any of the dependent measures. Results are discussed in terms of countertransference and its management.
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Case Reports
Reaching the covert, fragile side of patients: the case of narcissistic personality disorder.
A multifaceted self allows selection of those sides that are most suited to a situation and an interpersonal context, thus improving adaptation. Patients suffering from personality disorders display a limited range of self-aspects, and their relationships are stereotyped and maladaptive. ⋯ We present a case of a psychotherapist working with a woman suffering from NPD by facilitating the emergence of the fragile part of her self, hidden by angry and scornful characters. We demonstrate, moreover, how reaching such a self-part is associated with an improvement in the patient's interpersonal relationships outside the consulting room.