Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Introduction to Psychotherapy Process Research

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Psychotherapy Research

Abstract

In this chapter we unpack what is meant by psychotherapy process research and what are the overarching aims of such research. We then look at types of process research and some of the methodologies that have been used in pursuit of these aims. The limitations of these methodologies are then discussed and some emerging methods are presented.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ablon JS, Jones EE (1999) Psychotherapy process in the national institute of mental health treatment of depression collaborative research program. J Consult Clin Psychol 67:64–75

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andrusyna DO, Luborsky L, Pham T, Tang TZ (2006) The mechanisms of sudden change in supportive-expressive therapy for depression. Psychother Res 16:526–535

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett-Lennard GT (1986) The relationship inventory now: issues and advances in theory, method and use. In: Greenberg LS, Pinsoff WM (eds) The psychotherapeutic process. Guilford, New York, NY, pp 439–476

    Google Scholar 

  • Benjamin LS, Karpiak CP (2002) Personality disorders. In: Norcross JC (ed) Psychotherapy relationships that work. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp 423–438

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett D, Parry G, Ryle A (2006) Resolving threats to the therapeutic alliance in cognitive analytic therapy. Psychol Psychother 79:395–418

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bergin AE, Garfield SL (eds) (1994) Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 4th edn. Wiley, New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Beutler LE, Malik M, Alimohamed S, Harwood MT, Talebi H, Noble S et al (2004) Therapist variables. In: Lambert MJ (ed) Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 5th edn. Wiley, Chicago, IL, pp 227–306

    Google Scholar 

  • Beutler L, Blatt SJ, Alimohamed S, Levy KN, Angtuaco L (2006) Participant factors in treating dysphoric disorders. In: Castonguay LS, Beutler LE (eds) Principles of therapeutic change that work. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp 13–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Brody EB, Newman R, Redlich FC (1951) Sound recording: the problem of evidence in psychiatry. Science 113:379–380

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Castonguay LG, Beutler L (2006) Principles of therapeutic change that work. Oxford University Press, New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke H, Rees A, Hardy GE (2004) The big idea: clients views of cognitive therapy. Psychol Psychother 51:81–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper M (2008) Essential research findings in counselling and psychotherapy. Sage/BABCP, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott R (1986) Interpersonal process recall (IPR) as a psychotherapy process research method. In: Greenberg LS, Pinsoff WM (eds) The psychotherapeutic process. Guilford, New York, NY, pp 503–527

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott R (1989) Comprehensive process analysis: understanding the change process in significant events. In: Packer M, Addison RB (eds) Entering the circle: hermeneutic investigation in psychology. SUNY Press, Albany, NY, pp 165–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott R, Shapiro DA (1988) Brief structured recall: a more efficient method for identifying and describing significant therapy events. Br J Med Psychol 61:141–153

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott R, Shapiro DA, Firth-Cozens J, Stiles WB, Hardy GE, Llewelyn S, Margison F (1994) Insight in interpersonal-dynamic therapy: a comprehensive process analysis. J Couns Psychol 41:449–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott R, Partyka R, Wagner J, Alperin R, Dobrenski R, Messer SB, Watson JC, Castonguay LG (2009) An adjudicated hermeneutic single-case efficacy design of experiential therapy for panic/phobia. Psychother Res 19:543–557

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grafanaki S, Mcleod J (1999) Narrative Processes in the construction of helpful and hindering events in experiential psychotherapy. Psychother Res 9:289–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg LS (1984) Task analysis: the general approach. In: Rice L, Greenberg LS (eds) Patterns of change. Guilford, New York, NY, pp 124–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg LS, Pinsoff WM (1986) The psychotherapeutic process: a research handbook. Guilford, New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill CE (1982) Counselling process research. Philosophical and methodological dilemmas. Counsel Psychol 10:7–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill CE, Knox S (2002) Self-disclosure. In: Norcross JC (ed) Psychotherapy relationships that work. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp 255–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill CE, Lambert MJ (2004) Methodological issues in studying psychotherapy processes and outcomes. In: Lambert MJ (ed) Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 5th edn. Wiley, Chicago, IL, pp 84–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill CE, Thames TB, Rardin DK (1979) Comparison of Rogers, Perls, and Ellis on the hill counselor verbal response category system. J Couns Psychol 26:198–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilliard RB, Henry WP, Strupp HH (2000) An interpersonal model of psychotherapy: linking patient and therapist developmental history, therapeutic process and types of outcome. J Consult Clin Psychol 68:125–133

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoglend P, Johansonn P, Marble A, Bogwald KP, Almo S (2007) Moderators of the effects of transference interpretations in brief psychotherapy. Psychother Res 17:162–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horvarth AO, Greenberg LS (1989) Development and validation of the working alliance inventory. J Couns Psychol 36:223–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubble M, Duncan BL, Miller SD (eds) (1999) The heart and soul of change: what works in therapy. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Kazdin AE (2009) Understanding how and why psychotherapy leads to change. Psychother Res 19:418–428

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kiesler DJ (ed) (1973) The process of psychotherapy: empirical foundations and systems of analysis. Aldine, Chicago, IL

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert MJ (ed) (2004) Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 5th edn. Wiley, Chicago, IL

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert MJ, Hill CE (1994) Assessing psychotherapy outcomes and processes. In: Lambert MJ (ed) Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 4th edn. Wiley, Chicago, IL, pp 72–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert M, Bergin G, Garfield SL (2004) Introduction and historical overview. In: Lambert M (ed) Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 5th edn. Wiley, New York, NY, pp 139–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Llewelyn S, Hardy GE (2001) Process research in understanding and applying psychological therapies. Br J Clin Psychol 40:1–21

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Macran S, Shapiro DA (1998) How does personal therapy affect therapists’ practice. J Couns Psychol 71:13–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer B, Pilkonis PA (2002) Attachment style. In: Norcross JC (ed) Psychotherapy relationships that work. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp 367–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Orlinsky DE, Ronnestad MH, Willutzki U (2004) Fifty years of psychotherapy process-outcome research: continuity and change. In: Lambert MJ (ed) Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 5th edn. Wiley, Chicago, IL, pp 307–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Panchankis JE, Goldfried MR (2007) On the next generation of process research. Clin Psychol Rev 27:760–768

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piper WE, Azim HFA, Joyce AS, McCallum M (1991) Transference interpretations, therapeutic alliance, and outcome in short-term individual psychotherapy. Arch Gen Psychiatry 48:946–953

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Polkinghorne DE (1988) Narrative knowing and the human sciences. SUNY, Albany, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Prochaska JO (1999) How do people change and how can we change to help many more people? In: Hubble M, Duncan BL, Miller SD (eds) The heart and soul of change: what works in therapy. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, pp 227–255

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rennie DL (1994) Client deference in psychotherapy. J Couns Psychol 41:427–437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers CR (1957) The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. J Consult Psychol 21:95–103

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Safran JD, Muran JC (2002) Negotiating the therapeutic alliance: a relational treatment guide. Guilford, New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Safran JD, Murran JC, Samstag LW, Stevens LC (2002) Repairing alliance ruptures. In: Norcross JC (ed) Psychotherapy relationships that work. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp 235–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Schielke HJ, Fishman JL, Osatuke K, Stiles WB (2009) Creating consensus on interpretations of qualitative data: the ward method. Psychother Res 19:558–565

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scholing A, Emmelkemp PMG (1996) Treatment of generalised social phobia: results at long-term follow-up. Behav Res Ther 34:447–452

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silberschatz G, Fetter PB, Curtis JT (1986) How do interpretations influence the process of therapy? J Consult Clin Psychol 54:646–652

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stile WB (1988) Psychotherapy process-outcome correlations may be misleading. Psychotherapy 25:27–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiles WB, Elliott R, Llewelyn S, Firth-Cozens J, Margison F, Shapiro DA, Hardy GE (1990) Assimilation of problematic experiences by clients in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy 27:411–420

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiles WB, Reynolds S, Hardy GE, Rees A, Barkham M, Shapiro DA (1994) Evaluation and description of psychotherapy sessions by clients using the session evaluation questionnaire and the session impacts scale. J Couns Psychol 41:175–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiles WB, Startup MS, Hardy GE, Barkham M, Rees A, Shapiro DA, Reynolds S (1996) Therapist intentions in cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic-interpersonal psychotherapy. J Couns Psychol 43:402–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiles WB, Barkham M, Twigg E, Mellor-Clark J, Cooper M (1998) Effectiveness of behavioural, person-centred, and psychodynamic therapies in UK primary-care routine practice: replication in a larger sample. Psychol Med 38:677–688

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang TZ, DeRubeis RJ (1999) Sudden gains and critical sessions in cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression. J Consult Clin Psychol 67:894–904

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    Gillian E. Hardy

  2. Isis Education Centre, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Headington, Oxford, UK

    Sue Llewelyn

Authors
  1. Gillian E. Hardy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sue Llewelyn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gillian E. Hardy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Salento, Lecce, Italy, and Sigmund Freud University, Vienna, Austria

    Omar C.G. Gelo

  2. Sigmund Freud University, Vienna, Austria

    Alfred Pritz

  3. Sigmund Freud University, Vienna, Austria

    Bernd Rieken

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Wien

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hardy, G.E., Llewelyn, S. (2015). Introduction to Psychotherapy Process Research. In: Gelo, O., Pritz, A., Rieken, B. (eds) Psychotherapy Research. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1382-0_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1382-0_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-7091-1381-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-1382-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation