Editor: Sara Maltzman, PhD
Publisher: Oxford University Press – 577 pages
Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram
What treatment approaches are effective, and which ones are not, for different psychological problems that people have? This book provides answers to your questions. In it, psychologists and other specialists use known facts from a variety of disciplines including biology, pharmacology, psychology, sociology, and other disciplines to test and find out what works and what does not, in helping their patients.
It essentially provides a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial approach to studying the mental makeup of, and treating patients effectively. It is useful to clinical, developmental, and school psychologists in their study and practice with their clients, to counselors and therapists, to researchers, to staffers at mental health clinics, to social workers, and to government oversight bodies.
This book contains results of new research in various specialties within psychology, particularly in fast-growing new fields such as neuro-imaging and psychopharmacology.
Sixty-four specialists in behavioral sciences, child development, education, psychology and allied fields, from the United States and seven other countries – Brazil, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden – authored the 26 chapters of this book, which is organized into eight Sections, namely:
- Section 1 – Introduction – Treatment Processes and Outcomes in Psychology: A Multidisciplinary, Biopsychosocial Approach
- Section 2 – Biopsychosocial Influences
- Section 3 – Therapist Variables
- Section 4 – Process Variables in Treatment
- Section 5 – Treatment
- Section 6 – Mechanisms of Change
- Section 7 – Treatment Goals and Assessment of Treatment Outcomes
- Section 8 – Conclusions: A Multidisciplinary, Biopsychosocial Approach to Treatment Implications for Research and Practice.
Among its important features, this book:
- Emphasizes the development of individual differences in resilience and mental health concerns, including social, environmental, and epigenetic influences across the lifespan, particularly during childhood
- Offers detailed discussions that expand on areas of research and practice that already have a substantive research base such as self-regulation, resilience, defining evidence-based treatment, and describing client-related variables that influence treatment processes
- Shows treatment outcomes such as evaluating therapist effectiveness, assessing outcomes from different perspectives, and determining the length of treatment necessary to attain clinical improvement
- Provides a broad overview to research and hands-on guidance and practical suggestions for practice and oversight, making this book a valuable resource to psychology enthusiasts, graduate students, researchers, practitioners, and staffers at agencies.
Chapter 6, Therapist Characteristics and Interventions: Enhancing Alliance and Involvement with Youth, authored by Krister W. Fjermestad, Bryce D. McLeod, Carrie B. Tully, and Juliette M. Liber, is an interesting one to look into, in Section 3, Therapist Variables.
The chapter reviews literature to find empirical evidence on factors that might (or might not) influence the development and maintenance of an alliance (between client and therapist) in youth therapy. Among these factors are: therapist characteristics and competence, specific therapeutic interventions, client involvement, relationships between client and therapist
Researchers and clinicians have asserted for example that a strong client-therapist alliance is a critical ingredient of successful therapy with children and adolescents. They have asserted further that tailoring treatment to an individual youth’s personal, developmental, and cultural needs is important component of evidence-based practice (EBP) in having a successful outcome.
The authors conclude: “Based on the research reviewed herein, we conclude that there is not yet any evidence of specific therapist characteristics directly influencing alliance and/or client involvement.”
Other chapters test different hypotheses. The authors of the chapters look at what outcomes result from different types of treatments. This is an excellent book that in general explores what works and what does not work in psychology. Its chief values lies in using empirical evidence rather than guesswork.
Editor:
Sara Maltzman, PhD is a senior staff psychologist for San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency in San Diego, California. Dr. Maltzman received her doctorate in psychology with a minor in neuroscience from the University of Minnesota in 1992.
Her professional career has centered on public service mental health, including provision of direct services to children, adolescents, and adults with combined physical and mental health concerns, consultation to local government agencies regarding government-supported treatments and best practices, and the development of continuous quality improvement and treatment evaluation programs that reflect a multidisciplinary, biopsychosocial perspective.
