Main description:

Some therapists are more effective than others, that much is clear; why they are more effective is less clear.

Editors Louis Castonguay and Clara Hill have gathered a panel of expert researchers and practitioners from diverse theoretical backgrounds to answer this complicated question. Synthesizing the rich literature on therapist effects in this comprehensive volume, they explore how various effects can help or hinder clients in therapy. They then propose practical strategies that mental health practitioners can use to improve their own effectiveness.

Castonguay, Hill, and their contributors first lay the empirical foundations for understanding therapist effects and why they are important. They also acknowledge the massive variability that exists among therapists and the complexities of studying therapist effects.

Drawing from this fundamental knowledge, they then carefully examine specific therapist characteristics, attitudes, and skills that are relevant in any therapeutic setting.

Topics include:

therapists' responsiveness, presence, attachment, and technical interventions
cultural factors
negative emotions
humor
creativity

Exciting new studies about therapist effects in the treatment of specific disorders, including depression and generalized anxiety, are also presented. The closing chapters translate the book's general themes and takeaways into broader applications for research, intervention, training, and policy, including the role of routine outcome monitoring.

Contents:

Contributors
Preface
Introduction
I. Empirical Foundations
1. Therapist Effects, Effective Therapists, and the Law of Variability
2. What Characterizes Effective Therapists?
3. Who Works for Whom and Why: Integrating Therapist Effects Analysis Into Psychotherapy Outcome and Process Research
II. Conceptual Contributions
4. Appropriate Responsiveness as a Contribution to Therapist Effects
5. Therapist Presence, Absence, and Extraordinary Presence
6. Inner Experience and the Good Therapist
7. The Role of the Therapist's Attachment in the Process and Outcome of Psychotherapy
8. The Role of Therapist Skills in Therapist Effectiveness
9. The Contributions of Client Culture to Differential Therapist Effectiveness
10. Therapist Negative Reactions: How to Transform Toxic Experiences
11. Professional Expertise in Psychotherapy
12. Gaining Therapeutic Wisdom and Skills From Creative Others (Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Dancers)
III. Empirical Contributions
13. Effective Therapists in Psychodynamic Therapy for Depression: What Interventions Are Used and How?
14. Effective and Less Effective Therapists for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Are They Conducting Therapy the Same Way?
15. Something to Laugh About: Humor as a Characteristic of Effective Therapists
IV. Implications and Conclusions
16. The Implications of Therapist Effects for Routine Practice, Policy, and Training
17. Therapist Effects: Integration and Conclusions
Index
About the Editors