Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T03:33:11.902Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Elegant Psychosocial Intervention: A Heuristic Conceptual Framework for Clinicians and Researchers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2008

Neville J. King  and
Thomas H. Ollendick
Neville J. King
Affiliation:
Monash University, Australia
Thomas H. Ollendick*
Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA
*
Reprint requests to Thomas H. Ollendick, Child Study Center, Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. E-mail: tho@vt.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Controlled efficacy/effectiveness trials throughout the world have reached a high standard from a methodological stance, but what do we regard as the ideal or elegant intervention in clinical psychology? This paper presents six key points as the gold standards of psychosocial interventions by which treatment efficacy/effectiveness research with children, adolescents and adults might be evaluated: (1) Theoretical rationale and conceptualization of clinical dysfunction; (2) Clear problem identification and target client group; (3) Program features such as realistic goal setting, flexibility, and time limited interventions; (4) Manual based treatments; (5) Research support including clinically significant outcomes; and (6) Acceptability/social validation of clients and society. Sound case formulation and therapeutic alliance are crucial to assessment-treatment interface. Finally, we discuss the usefulness of such a framework for mental health professionals and clinical-researchers.

Keywords

Interventionchildrenadolescentsadults
Type
Leading Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , May 2008 , pp. 253 - 261
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Barlow, D. H. (2001). Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders: a step by step manual (3rd ed). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Barlow, D. H., Hays, S. C. and Nelson, R. O. (1984). The Scientist Practitioner: research and accountability in clinical and educational settings. New York: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Barrett, P. and Ollendick, T. H. (Eds.) (2004). Handbook of Interventions that Work with Children and Adolescents: from prevention to treatment. Chichester, England: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellack, A. S. and Hersen, M. (Eds.) (1998). Behavioral Assessment: a practical handbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Carlbring, P., Westling, B. E., Ljungstrand, P., Ekselius, L. and Andersson, G. (2001). Treatment of a panic disorder via the internet: a randomized trial of a self help program. Behavior Therapy, 32, 751–764.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambless, D. L. (1996). In defense of dissemination of empirically supported psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 3, 230–235.Google Scholar
Chambless, D. L. and Ollendick, T. H. (2001). Empirically supported psychological interventions: controversies and evidence. Annual Review of Psychology, 5, 685–716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambless, D. L., Sanderson, W. C., Shoham, V., Bennett Johnson, S., Pope, K. S., Crits-Cristoph, P., Baker, M., Johnson, B., Woody, S. R., Sue, S., Beutler, L., Williams, D. A. and McCurry, S. (1996). An update on empirically validated therapies. The Clinical Psychologist, 49, 5–18.Google Scholar
Curwen, B., Palmer, S. and Ruddell, P. (2000). Brief Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. London: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dudley, A. L., Melvin, G., Williams, N., Tonge, B. and King, N. J. (2005). An investigation of consumer satisfaction with cognitive behaviour therapy and sertraline in the treatment of adolescent depression. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 39, 500–506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feltham, C. (1997). Time-limited Counselling. London: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flannery-Schroeder, E. and Kendall, P. C. (2000). Group and individual cognitive-behavioral treatments for youth with anxiety disorders: a randomized clinical trial. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24, 251–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flannery-Schroeder, E., Suveg, C., Safford, S., Kendall, P. C. and Webb, A. (2004). Co-morbid externalizing disorders and child anxiety treatment outcomes. Behaviour Change, 21, 14–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldfried, M. and Wolfe, B. E. (1996). Psychotherapy practice: repairing a strained alliance. American Psychologist, 51, 1007–1016.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Graham, P. (Ed.) (2005). Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy for Children and Families. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gullone, E. and King, N. J. (1989). Acceptability of behavioral interventions: child and caregiver perceptions. In Hersen, M., Eisler, R. M. and Miller, P. (Eds.), Progress in Behavior Modification (Vol. 24, pp.132–151). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Heimberg, R. C., Dodge, C.S, Hope, D. A., Kennedy, C. R., Zollo, L. J. and Becker, R. E. (1990). Cognitive-behavioral group treatment for social phobia: comparison with a credible placebo control. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubble, M. A., Duncan, B. L. and Miller, S. D. (1999). The Heart and Soul of Change: what works in therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, P. S., Knapp, P. and Mraazek, D. A. (2006). Towards a New Diagnostic System for Child Psychopathology. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Kanfer, F. H. and Schefft, B. K. (1988). Guiding the Process of Therapeutic Change. Champaign, Ill: Research Press.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1977). Assessing the clinical or applied importance of behavior change through social validation. Behavior Modification, 1, 427–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1984). Behavior Medication in Applied Settings. Howewood, Ill: Dorsey Press.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1992). Research designs in clinical psychology (2nd. ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. and Kendall, P. C. (1998). Current progress and future plans for developing effective treatments: comments and perspectives. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 217–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kendall, P. C. (2006). Child and Adolescent Therapy: cognitive-behavioral procedures (3rd. ed.). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Kendall, P. C., Ellsas, T. E., Kane, M. T., Kim, R. S., Kortlander, E., Ronan, K. R., Sessa, R. M. and Siqueland, L. (1992). Anxiety Disorders in Youth: cognitive-behavioral interventions. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
King, N. J. and Bernstein, G. (2001). School refusal in children and adolescents: a review of the past 10 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 197–205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, N. J. and Gullone, E. (1990). Acceptability of fear reduction procedures with children. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 21, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, N. J., Hamilton, D. I. and Ollendick, T. H. (1988). Children's Phobias: a behavioural perspective. Chichester, England: Wiley.Google Scholar
King, N. J., Muris, P. and Ollendick, T. H. (2005). Fears and phobias in children: assessment and treatment. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 10, 50–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, N. J. and Ollendick, T. H. (1998). Empirically validated treatments in clinical psychology. Australian Psychologist, 33, 89–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, N. J. and Ollendick, T. H. (2000). In defence of empirically supported psychological interventions and the scientist-practitioner model: a response to Andrews (2000). Australian Psychologist, 35, 64–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, N. J., Tonge, B. J., Heyne, D., Pritchard, M., Rollings, S., Young, D., Myerson, N. and Ollendick, T. H. (1998). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of school-refusing children: a controlled evaluation. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 395–403.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kraemer, H. C., Stice, E., Kazdin, A., Offord, D. and Kupfer, D. (2001). How do risk factors work together to produce an outcome? Mediators, moderators, independent, overlapping and pseudo risk factors. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 848–856.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kraemer, H. C., Wilson, G. T., Fairburn, C. G. and Agras, S. (2002). Mediators and moderators of treatment effects in randomised clinical trials. Archives of General Psychiatry, 9, 877–883.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lange, A. J. and Jakubowski, P. (1976). Responsible Assertive Behavior. Champaign: Ill: Research Press.Google Scholar
Lewinsohn, P. M., Antonuccio, D. O., Breckenridge, J. S. and Teri, L. (1984). The Coping with Depression Course. Eugene, OR: Castalia Publishing.Google Scholar
Marks, I., Shaw, S. and Parkin, R. (1998). Computer assisted treatments of mental health problems. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 5, 510–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mash, E. J. and Terdal, L. G. (1997). Assessment of Childhood Disorders (3rd. ed.). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Maxmen, J. S. and Ward, N. G. (1995). Essential Psychopathology and its Treatment (2nd ed. rev. for. DSM-IV). New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Meier, V. J. and Hope, D. A. (1998). Assessment of social skills. In Bellack, A. S. and Hersen, M.. (Eds.), Behavioral Assessment: a practical handbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melvin, G. A., Tonge, B. J., King, N. J., Heyne, D., Gordon, M. S., Rowe, L. and Klimkeit, E. in press. A comparison of cognitive-behavior therapy, sertraline and their combination for adolescent depression. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Norcoss, J., Beutler, L., and Levant, R. F. (Eds.) (2006). Evidence-Based Practices in Mental Health. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T. H. and Davis III, T. E. (2004). Empirically supported treatments for children and adolescents: where to from here? Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11, 289–294.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T. H. and March, J. S. (Eds.) (2004). Phobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents: a clinician's guide to effective psychosocial and pharmacological interventions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ollendick, T. H., Davis, T. E. and Muris, P. (2004). Treatment of specific phobia in children and adolescents. In Barrett, P. M. and Ollendick, T. H. (Eds.), Handbook of Interventions that Work with Children and Adolescents: prevention and treatment (pp. 273–299). London: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ollendick, T. H., Grills, A. E. and King, N. J. (2001). Applying the developmental perspective to the assessment and treatment of childhood disorder: does it make a difference? Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy: An International Journal of Theory and Practice, 8, 304–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ollendick, T. H. and King, N. J. (2000). Empirically supported treatment for children and adolescents. In Kendall, P.. (Ed.), Child and Adolescent Therapy: cognitive-behavioral procedures (2nd. ed.) (pp. 386–425). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T. H. and King, N. J. (2004). Empirically supported treatments for children and adolescents: advance towards evidence-based practice. In Barrett, P. and Ollendick, T. H.. (Eds.), Handbook of Interventions that Work with Children and Adolescents: from prevention to treatment (pp. 3–25). Chichester, England: Wiley.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T. H. and King, N. J. (2006). Empirically supported therapies typically produce outcomes superior to non-empirically supported therapies. In Norcoss, J. and Beuler, L.. (Eds.), Evidence-Based Practices in Mental Health: debate and dialogue on the fundamental questions (pp. 308–328). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Öst, L. G., Branberg, M. and Alm, T. (1997). One versus five sessions of exposure in the treatment of flying phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 987–996.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Öst, L. G., Svenson, L., Hellstrom, K. and Lindwall, R. (2001). One session treatment of specific phobias in youth: a randomised clinical trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 814–824.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, G. L. (1969). Behavior modification research: design and tactics. In Franks, C. M.. (Ed.), Behavior Therapy: appraisal and status. New York: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
Rogers, R. (2001). Handbook of diagnostic and structured interviewing (2nd ed). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Salkovskis, P. M. (2002). Empirically grounded clinical interventions: cognitive-behavioural therapy through a multi-dimensional approach to clinical science. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 30, 3–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, M. R. and Dadds, M. (1993). Behavioral Family Intervention. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N. and Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60, 410–421.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, E. W. L. (1995). A passionate rational response to the “manualization” of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Bulletin, 30, 36–40.Google Scholar
Spiegler, M. D. (1983). Contemporary Behavioral Therapy. Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing.Google Scholar
Strom, L., Pettersson, R. and Andersson, G. (2000). A controlled trial of self-help treatment of recurrent headache conducted via the internet. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 722–727.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strom, L., Pettersson, R. and Andersson, G. (2004). Internet-based treatment for insomnia: a controlled evaluation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 113–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tarrier, N. (2005). Co-morbidity and associated clinical problems in schizophrenia: their nature and implications for comprehensive cognitive cognitive-behavioural treatment. Behaviour Change, 22, 125–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Task Force on the Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures (1995). Training in and dissemination of empirically validated treatments: report and recommendations. The Clinical Psychologist, 48, 3–23.Google Scholar
Toth, S. L. and Cicchetti, D. (1999). Developmental psychopathology and child psychotherapy. In Russ, S. W. and Ollendick, T. H.. (Eds.), Handbook of Psychotherapies with Children and Families. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.Google Scholar
Wilson, G. T. (1998). Manual-based treatments: the clinical application of research findings. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 295–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, P. H. (1992). Principles and Practice of Relapse Prevention. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Wolf, M. M. (1978). Social validity: the case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior and analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 203–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization (1992). International Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders, Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines (10th. ed.). Geneva: Author.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.