Psychotherapy

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O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F D I V I S I O N 2 9 O F T H E
A M E R I C A N P S Y C H O L O G I C A L A S S O C I AT I O N

www.divisionofpsychotherapy.org
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In This Issue

Brief Relational Therapy and the Resolution of

Ruptures in Therapeutic Alliance
L
Interview with Mathilda Cantor, Ph.D. L
Official Bylaws Voting Ballot
E
Candidate Statements

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VOLUME 40 NO. 1
 Division of Psychotherapy  2005 Governance Structure
President
Leon VandeCreek, Ph.D.
117 Health Sciences Bldg.
School of Professional Psychology
Wright State University
Dayton, OH 45435
Ofc: 937-775-3944 Fax: 937-775-5795
E-Mail: Leon.Vandecreek@Wright.edu
President-elect
Abraham W. Wolf, Ph.D.
Metro Health Medical Center
2500 Metro Health Drive
Cleveland, OH 44109-1998
Ofc: 216-778-4637 Fax: 216-778-8412
E-Mail: axw7@po.cwru.edu
Secretary
Armand Cerbone, Ph.D., 2005
3625 North Paulina
Chicago IL 60613
Ofc: 773-755-0833 Fax: 773-755-0834
email: arcerbone@aol.com
Treasurer
Jan L. Culbertson, Ph.D., 2004-2006
Child Study Ctr
University of Oklahoma Hlth Sci Ctr
1100 NE 13th St
Oklahoma City , OK 73117
Ofc (405) 271-6824, ext. 45129
Fax: (405) 271-8835
Email: jan-culbertson@ouhsc.edu
Past President
Linda F. Campbell, Ph.D.
University of Georgia
402 Aderhold Hall
Athens, GA 30602-7142
Ofc: 706-542-8508 Fax: 770-594-9441
E-Mail: lcampbel@uga.edu
COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCES
COMMITTEES
Fellows
Chair: Lisa Porche-Burke
Office Address: Phillips Graduate
Institute
5445 Balboa Blvd.
Encino , CA 91316-1509
Ofc: 818-386-5600 Fax: 818-386-5695
Email: lpburke@aol.com
Membership
Chair: Rhonda S. Karg, Ph.D.
Research Triangle Institute
3040 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Ofc: (919) 316-3516 Fax: (919) 485-5589
Student Development Chair
Adam Leventhal, 2005
Department of Psychology
University of Houston
Houston, Texas 77204-5022
Voice: 713-743-8600 Fax: (713) 743-8588
E-mail: aleventhal@uh.edu
ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS
Board of Directors Members-at-Large
Norman Abeles, Ph.D. , 2003-2005
Michigan State Univ., Dept. of
Psychology
E. Lansing, MI 48824-1117
Ofc: 517-355-9564 Fax: 517-353-5437
Email: Norman.Abeles@ssc.msu.edu
James Bray, Ph.D., 2005-2007
Dept of Family & Community Med
Baylor College of Med
3701 Kirby Dr, 6th Fl
Houston , TX 77098
Ofc: 713-798-7751 Fax: 713-798-7789
Email: jbray@bcm.tmc.edu
Charles Gelso, Ph.D., 2005-2006
University of Maryland
Dept of Psychology
Biology-Psychology Building
College Park, MD 20742-4411
Ofc: 301-405-5909 Fax: 301-314-9566
Email: Gelso@psyc.umd.edu
Jon Perez, Ph.D. 2003-2005
IHS
Division of Behavioral Health
12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Ste 605
Rockville, MD 20852
Office: 202-431-9952
Email: jperez@hqe.ihs.gov
Alice Rubenstein, Ed.D. , 2004-2006
Monroe Psychotherapy Center
20 Office Park Way
Pittsford, New York 14534
Ofc: 585-586-0410 Fax: 585-586-2029
Email: akr19@aol.com
Nominations and Elections
Chair: Abe Wolf, Ph.D.
Professional Awards
Chair: Linda Campbell, Ph.D.
Finance
Chair: Jan Culbertson, Ph.D.
Education & Training
Chair: Jeffrey A. Hayes, Ph.D.
Counseling Psychology Program
Pennsylvania State University
312 Cedar Building
University Park, PA 16802
Ofc: 814-863-3799
E-mail: jxh34@psu.edu
Continuing Education
Chair: Steve Sobelman, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Loyola College in Maryland
Baltimore, MD 21210
Ofc: 410-617-2461
E-mail: sobelman@loyola.edu
Libby Nutt Williams, Ph.D., 2005-2007
Associate Professor of Psychology
Coordinator of Women, Gender, &
Sexuality Studies
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
18952 E. Fisher Rd.
St. Mary’s City, MD 20686
Phone: 240- 895-4467 Fax: 240-895-4436
Email: enwilliams@smcm.edu
APA Council Representatives
Patricia M. Bricklin, Ph.D. 2005-2007
470 Gen. Washington Road
Wayne, PA 19087
Ofc: 610-499-1212 Fax: 610-499-4625
Email: pmb0001@mail.widener.edu
Norine G. Johnson, Ph.D., 2005-2007
13 Ashfield St.,
Roslindale, MA 02131
Ofc: 617-471-2268 Fax: 617-325-0225
Email: NorineJ@aol.com
John C. Norcross, Ph.D., 2005-2007
Department of Psychology
University of Scranton
Scranton, PA 18510-4596
Ofc: 570-941-7638 Fax: 570-941-7899
E-mail: norcross@uofs.edu
Diversity
Chair: Jennifer F. Kelly, Ph.D.
Atlanta Center for Behavioral Medicine
3280 Howell Mill Road Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30327
(404) 351-6789 Fax: (404) 351-2932
E-mail: jfkphd@aol.com
Program
Chair: Alex Siegel, Ph.D., J.D.
915 Montgomery Ave. #300
Narbeth, PA 19072
Ofc: 610-668-4240 Fax: 610-667-9866
E-mail: ams119@aol.com
Psychotherapy Research
Chair: William B. Stiles, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
Voice: 513-529-2405 Fax: 513-529-2420
Email: stileswb@muohio.edu
 PUBLICATIONS BOARD
Chair: John C. Norcross, Ph.D., 2003-2008 Psychotherapy Journal Editor
Department of Psychology Charles Gelso, Ph.D. 2005-2011
University of Scranton Psychology 4
Scranton, PA 18510-4596 University of Maryland
Ofc:570-941-7638 Fax:570-941-7899 College Park, MD 20742
norcross@scranton.edu Ofc: 301-405-5909
gelso@psych.umd.edu
Jean Carter, Ph.D., 1999-2005
3 Washington Circle, #205 Psychotherapy Bulletin Editor
Washington, DC 20032 Craig N. Shealy, Ph.D.
Ofc: 202-955-6182 Department of Graduate Psychology
jeancarter5@comcast.net James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807-7401
Lillian Comas-Dias, Ph.D., 2001-2006 Voice: 540-568-6835
Transcultural Mental Health Institute Fax: 540-568-3322
908 New Hampshire Ave. N.W., #700 shealycn@jmu.edu
Washington, DC 20037
Ofc: 202-775-1938 Internet Editor
cultura@erols.com Bryan S. K. Kim, Ph.D.
Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology Program
Raymond A. DiGiuseppe , Ph.D., 2003-2008 Department of Education
Psychology Department University of California
St John’s University Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9490
8000 Utopia Pkwy Ofc & Fax: 805-893-4018
Jamaica , NY 11439 bkim@education.ucsb.edu
Ofc: 718-990-1955
DiGiuser@STJOHNS.edu Student Website Coordinator:
Nisha Nayak
Alice Rubenstein, Ed.D. , 2000-2006 University of Houston, Dept of Psychology (MS 5022)
Monroe Psychotherapy Center 126 Heyne Building
20 Office Park Way Houston, TX 77204-5022
Pittsford, NY 14534 E-mail: nnayak@uh.edu
Ofc: 585-586-0410 Fax 585-586-2029 Phone: 713-743-8600 or -8611
akr19@aol.com Fax: 713-743-8633

George Stricker, Ph.D., 2003-2008

Institute for Advanced Psychol Studies
Adelphi University
Garden City , NY 11530
Ofc: 516-877-4803 Fax: 516-877-4805
stricker@adelphi.edu

PSYCHOTHERAPY BULLETIN
Psychotherapy Bulletin is the official newsletter of Division 29 (Psychotherapy) of the American Psychological
Association. Published four times each year, Psychotherapy Bulletin is designed to: 1) inform the membership of
Division 29 about relevant and upcoming events, awards, and professional opportunities; 2) provide articles and
commentary regarding a range of issues that are of interest to psychotherapy theorists, researchers, practitioners,
and trainers; 3) establish a forum for students and new members to offer their contributions and perspectives; and,
4) facilitate opportunities for dialogue and collaboration among the diverse members of our association.
Contributors are invited to send articles (up to 4,000 words), interviews, commentaries, letters to the editor, and
announcements as well as suggestions or questions regarding the newsletter to Craig N. Shealy, Ph.D., Editor,
Psychotherapy Bulletin. Please note that Psychotherapy Bulletin typically does not publish book reviews (these are
published in Psychotherapy, the official journal of Division 29). All submissions for Psychotherapy Bulletin should
be sent electronically to shealycn@jmu.edu; please ensure that any articles conform to APA style. Deadlines for
submission are as follows: February 1; May 1; August 1; November 1. Past issues of Psychotherapy Bulletin may
be viewed at our website: wwwdivisionofpsychotherapy.org. Other inquiries regarding Psychotherapy Bulletin
(e.g., advertising) or Division 29 should be directed to Tracey Martin at the Division 29 Central Office (assn-
mgmt1@cox.net or 602-363-9211).

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 PSYCHOTHERAPY BULLETIN
Official Publication of Division 29 of the
American Psychological Association
PSYCHOTHERAPY BULLETIN
Volume 40, Number 1
Published by the
DIVISION OF
PSYCHOTHERAPY
American Psychological Association CONTENTS
6557 E. Riverdale
President....................................................................2
Mesa, AZ 85215
602-363-9211
e-mail: assnmgmt1@cox.net Student Feature ........................................................4

Mid-Winter Board of Directors Meeting ..............8

EDITOR
Craig N. Shealy, Ph.D.
Ad Hoc Committee on Psychotherapy ................9

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Interview ................................................................11
Washington Scene
Patrick DeLeon, Ph.D. Feature: Brief Relational Therapy and the
Resolution of Ruptures in the Therapeutic
Practitioner Report
Ronald F. Levant, Ed.D.
Alliance ................................................................13

Education and Training Board of Directors Activities ................................18

Jeffrey A. Hayes, Ph.D.

Psychotherapy Research
Psychotherapy Education and Training ............19
William Stiles, Ph.D.
Official Bylaws Voting Ballot ..............................23
Student Feature
Adam Leventhal
Report of APA Council Representatives ............27

STAFF
Washington Scene ..................................................28
Central Office Administrator
Tracey Martin
Practitioner Report ................................................34

Candidate Statements ..........................................40

Website
www.divisionofpsychotherapy.org

N O F P S Y C H O THE
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PRESIDENT
Leon VandeCreek, Ph.D.
I am pleased to
begin my term of
office as President
of Division 29. I
have been involved
with governance
activities with the
Division for several
years, beginning as
the Chair of the
Membership
Committee when
divisional membership was strong and
budgets were substantial, at least com-
pared to now. During the past 15 years,
practitioners have seen their incomes level
off or decline, opportunities for employ-
ment in traditional practice have shrunken,
and graduate programs have faced strong
pressures to diversify their training into
new areas. Psychotherapy has been under
attack, or just ignored, on many fronts.
In early 2003, then President Pat Bricklin
and President-elect Linda Campbell began
conversations about the state of the field of
psychotherapy in terms of research, teach-
ing, and practice. The discussion turned on
such questions as, What do we know in
each of these areas? What are psychothera-
pists excited about? What discourages
them? What are the training innovations?
What are the external challenges? These
questions formed the foundation for a
series of initiatives for the Division of
Psychotherapy that continued through
Linda Campbell’s presidency and now
throughout my year as President.
As you know from reading Linda’s
President’s Columns, a task force has gath-
ered data from researchers, trainers, practi-
tioners, students, and new career profes-
sionals. At meetings of the Board of
Directors, we rank ordered a long list of
possible initiatives and assigned several
items to committees and the continuing
2
Task Force as action items for the year.
Committee chairs will report on their
progress on these initiatives throughout
the year in the Bulletin.
Several other projects are also important to
report. In this issue of the Bulletin is a bal-
lot for voting on changes to the Bylaws.
Voting on changes to Bylaws often is not a
high priority activity; I often do not fully
understand the point of changes. But, in
this case, I urge you to read the ballot and
to vote. As you will read, the Board has
approved a change to the name of the
Division to “The Society for Psycho-
therapy: Division 29 of the American
Psychological Association.” We will most
often refer to it as “The Society for Psycho-
therapy.” The proposed name change
reflects the interest of the Board in attract-
ing new members, including those who
are not now members of the APA. We
recognize that many psychologists with
interests in psychotherapy are not mem-
bers of APA and we hope to draw them
into the activities of the Division. A name
change is not essential to do that (we could
just change our Bylaws to admit non-APA
members), but we believe that the pro-
posed name reflects our broader vision
of potential members. If approved by
the membership, we will initiate a strong
membership campaign.
The Division also is completing a policy
and procedures manual. Matty Canter has
been working on this project for some time,
and we are getting close to the end. For
some, this is about as exciting as reading
about changes to Bylaws. But, if the
Division is to attract new faces to gover-
nance and if new officers are to hit the
ground running, then we need a set of poli-
cies and procedures that are clear and that
do not need to be reinvented by each new
officer. We currently have a disjointed col-
lection of policies and procedures that have
accumulated over the years; by summer I
hope we will have a formal manual (paper
and online) that guides the work of each
officer and board member.
At the last meeting of the Board, we agreed
to reinstitute sending liaisons to other gov-
ernance groups in psychology. A few years
ago, we dropped this practice, due in large
part to budget constraints. We are now in
somewhat better fiscal shape, but more
importantly the Board was convinced that
the Division’s interests are often shared
with other groups and that sometimes
other groups move in directions that are
not in our best interests. We intend to be at
the table wherever and whenever relevant
issues arise.
For the past several years, Abe Wolf has
served as the Division’s Internet Editor. If
you have checked our web page recently
you will recognize that it has been signifi-
cantly upgraded and expanded. Abe has
been elected to serve as President-elect and
Find Division 29 on the Internet. Visit our site at
www.divisionofpsychotherapy.org
Bryan Kim has been selected as the new
Internet Editor. On behalf of the Division, I
want to express our deep gratitude to Abe
for his tireless efforts as Internet Editor and
welcome Bryan to that role. Watch the web
page for further developments.
Finally, I hope you will make plans to attend
the 2005 APA convention in Washington,
DC. The Division has selected a very strong
set of symposia and posters. For the first
time, many of the Division’s programs will
be available for continuing education credits
through the APA’s CE office.
I begin my year of presidency with enthu-
siasm and a sense of pride in what the
Division represents—the broad spectrum
of psychologists with interests in research,
practice, theory, and training in psy-
chotherapy. If you are interested in being
involved in the Division’s activities, contact
me at leon.vandecreek@wright.edu. I hope
to see many of you at the APA convention.
3
STUDENT FEATURE
Attrition in Child Treatment:
The Contribution of Child, Family, and Service Factors
Gregory S. Chasson, University of Houston
Introduction
Client dropout is a
pervasive problem
in providing men-
tal health care.
Regardless of type
of treatment or the-
oretical-orienta-
tion, premature ter-
mination from psy-
chotherapy pre-
sents a host of
problems, none more troublesome than the
client’s failure to receive services that are
necessary for recovery. The literature on
client attrition suggests that approximately
47% of clients engaged in psychotherapy
terminate prematurely (Wierzbicki &
Pekarik, 1993). In addition, a myriad of
variables have been implicated in predict-
ing dropout with adult clients, including
specific demographics and therapist and
client expectations (for an excellent review,
see Garfield, 1994). Children have demon-
strated similar dropout rates (Wierzbicki &
Pekarik, 1993), with reports as high as 60%
- 70% (Pekarik & Stephenson, 1988; Singh,
Janes, & Schechtman, 1982). Compared to
adult literature, however, there is a relative
paucity of studies on predictors of child
attrition. Indeed, only 1-2% of attrition
studies focus on child dropout (Kendall &
Sugarman, 1997).
There are at least two reasons for the lack
of research in this area compared to adult
attrition. One, many people may assume
that child dropout occurs for the same rea-
sons as adult dropout. Evidence from
Pekarik & Stephenson (1988), however,
suggests that these two types of attrition
should be investigated independently,
implying that factors contributing to adult
dropout do not necessarily generalize to
4
predictors of child dropout. Two, with
investigations of adult attrition, there are
only two major domains of interest: client
and service variables. For instance, client
variables such as gender, service variables
such as treatment fees, or their interaction
may contribute to premature termination.
Isolating these variables for investigation is
difficult enough, but the child attrition
studies must also incorporate an addition-
al element, since the client variables must
be bifurcated into family factors and child
factors. Children may provide unique con-
tributions to child attrition that are inde-
pendent of parent or family factors. For
example, varying levels of children’s anxi-
ety may result in differential rates of
dropout (Kendall & Sugarman, 1997).
Similarly, parental age may contribute to
the child’s premature termination (Kazdin,
Mazurick, & Bass, 1993). As with the adult
literature, each of these domains of vari-
ables (child, family, and service) must be
explored, including their interactions.
Most of the research on child attrition has
yielded conflicting or non-significant find-
ings, indicating that child terminators and
continuers exhibit few salient differentiat-
ing characteristics. Among others, three
significant problems have contributed to
the ambiguous or null findings, many of
which are mirrored in the adult dropout lit-
erature. First, there has been inconsistency
in the operational definition of dropout
(Garfield, 1994; Kendall & Sugarman,
1997). Some investigations included in the
definition those children who set an initial
appointment but refused to come. Others
only considered those children who
attended at least one session (e.g., Pina et
al., 2003). Evidence from Kendall &
Sugarman (1997), however, suggests that
these two types of child dropouts may
have different types of reasons for drop-
ping out and should be studied separately.
Second, many studies fail to specify the
populations under investigation, or they
include a heterogeneous mix of children,
such that attrition is studied with a joint
sample of children with unrelated prob-
lems. Kendall & Sugarman (1997) suggest
that different populations of children differ
in their reasons for dropout, which may
contribute to the non-significant results
found in the literature, implying that dif-
ferent types of populations of children
should be studied independently. While
problems one and two have been addressed
in current investigations of child dropout, a
third problem remains that has not been
addressed, namely that most dropout stud-
ies focus on pretreatment variables rather
than those variables at the time of dropout.
For example, a child’s pretreatment level of
depression is likely not going to contribute
to dropout a year later as much as the level
of depression a week prior to premature ter-
mination. This poses a methodological
problem for researchers, however, as it is
difficult to maintain continual process data
throughout treatment. Nonetheless, research
on variables assessed at the time of dropout is
sorely needed.
Despite current limitations in the study of
child attrition, many investigations have
uncovered variables that may contribute to
dropout. As mentioned above, each of the
variables can be classified in the family,
child, or service domains. While there are
no definitive predictors of dropout, some
investigations have provided solid evi-
dence for specific variables predicting attri-
tion. Below, a selection of variables from
each of these domains will be discussed.
Finally, some specific actions a therapist
can take to minimize the likelihood of
dropout will be discussed.
Child Factors
Many child factors have been examined in
child attrition studies. The results of most
investigations suggest that age does not
predict dropout from child treatment
despite differing types of samples (Kendall
& Sugarman, 1997; Kazdin et al., 1993;
Minty & Anderson, 2004; Pina et al., 2003).
Similarly, most data suggest that gender
does not differentiate dropouts from com-
pleters (Armbuster & Fallon, 1994; Kazdin
et al., 1993; Kendall & Sugarman, 1997).
Interestingly, however, an interaction was
found between age and gender in a sample
of suicidal adolescents. Older males were
more likely to dropout than younger
males, though there was no difference in
age-related dropout risk for females
(Piacentini et al., 1995). While this interac-
tion needs replication, it may provide help-
ful information for clinicians who provide
services to adolescents at risk for suicide.
Often a heated topic, minority status has
also been explored in the prediction of
child dropout. Like most variables in the
child attrition literature, the evidence is
conflicting. While some investigations sug-
gest there is no link between minority sta-
tus and dropout (Dierker, Nargiso,
Wiseman, & Hoff, 2001; Garcia & Weisz,
2002), this is not consistent. In a sample of
children with anxiety, being a minority pre-
dicted dropout (Kendall & Sugarman,
1997), and the same result was found in a
sample of children with externalizing
problems (Kazdin et al., 1993). Thus, since
some evidence indicates minority status
may forestall premature termination in
varying populations of children, treatment
providers should strive to be sensitive to
cultural issues.
Child demographics are not the only vari-
ables explored in child attrition studies.
For example, some evidence indicates that
pretreatment childhood depression or sui-
cidal ideation does not predict dropout
(Dierker et al., 2001), nor does initial exter-
nalizing behavior (Kendall & Sugarman,
1997; Pina et al., 2003). However, Kendall
and Sugarman (1997) reported a counterin-
tuitive result; terminators were more likely
to report less pretreatment anxiety than
completers. While this result needs replica-
tion, it may imply that the clients with
lower levels of anxiety are the ones drop-
ping out of treatment, maybe because of a
lack of need or motivation for services.
5
Family Factors
Many family factors have been studied in
child treatment dropout. There is some cor-
roborating evidence that children living in
single parent homes are at higher risk for
dropout (Kazdin et al., 1993; Kendall &
Sugarman, 1997; Minty & Anderson, 2004).
In addition, evidence is still conflicted
regarding family socioeconomic status (SES)
and income. Some data suggest lower SES
portends dropout from child treatment
(Armbuster & Fallon, 1994; Kazdin et al.,
1993), while other results imply no relation
between SES and attrition (Garcia & Weisz,
2002; Pina et al., 1993). Most evidence also
indicates that parental psychopathology is
unrelated to premature treatment termina-
tion (Dierker et al., 2001), including depres-
sion (Kazdin et al., 1993) and anxiety
(Kendall & Sugarman, 1997).
A large area of focus is parent’s perceptions.
For example, in study of children with exter-
nalizing disorders, Kazdin, Holland,
Crowley, and Breton (1997) suggest that par-
ents of child dropouts perceived more barri-
ers to treatment than the parents of treat-
ment completers. In addition, parent’s per-
ception of problem severity plays a role.
Parents perceiving their child’s problems as
less severe predicted dropout. Also, there
was no difference found between com-
pleters and dropouts in parent perception of
stigma associated with treatment or the per-
ception that problems should be handled
inside the family (McCabe, 2002).
Service Factors
Service factors play a role in dropout as
well, which is constructive news for clini-
cians because it affords more control than
other characteristics such as a client’s gen-
der. There is evidence that children placed
on wait-lists are more likely to drop out
(Kendall & Sugarman, 1997), even though
the amount of time on the wait-list does
not appear to be important (Minty &
Anderson, 2004). An investigation by
Weisz, Weiss, and Langmeyer (1987) tested
many important service factors. Based on
their results, therapist gender and age did
not predict dropout, nor did the number of
6
miles between the treatment setting and
the client’s home (Weisz et al., 1987). As an
interesting interaction between client and
service variables, some evidence indicates
attrition is predicted by therapist and client
ethnic mismatch (Armbuster & Fallon,
1994; McCabe, 2002). In addition, the ther-
apists of dropouts were more likely to per-
ceive barriers to treatment than therapists
of non-dropouts (Kazdin et al., 1997).
Conclusion
For clinicians concerned about clients
dropping out, many of the variables above
are difficult to address. A clinician cannot
easily derive a strategy for altering a
child’s gender, a family’s SES, or whether
there are enough resources to avoid using a
waitlist. Relatively unalterable variables
are best used as information to guide the
therapist. Clinicians should be cognizant of
the factors associated with dropout. In par-
ticular, they should watch for signs of pre-
mature termination in children that exhibit
numerous risk factors, since evidence from
Kazdin et al. (1993) suggests a relationship
between multiple risk factors and the like-
lihood of dropping out.
Luckily, certain variables that contribute to
dropout are subject to change. For exam-
ple, Minty & Anderson (2004) found evi-
dence to suggest that lower quality referral
letters predicted dropout. Similarly, refer-
ral letters without specific requests also
predicted dropout (Minty & Anderson,
2004). It seems it would behoove clinicians
to provide solid referrals that contain ade-
quate information. In addition, while there
is no specific evidence for this, it might be
worthwhile to provide some semblance of
services for children on a waitlist, such as
brief phone calls to the parents or struc-
tured activities such as filling out a partic-
ular assessment each week.
While rare, some of the investigations
uncovered some evidence for effective
strategies for limiting attrition. For
instance, Kendall & Sugarman (1997) found
that their time-limited and structured treat-
ment plan assisted with decreasing attri-
tion, which they reported was only 23%. In
order to prevent dropout, perhaps more
timely and structured interventions are in
order if numerous risk factors are uncov-
ered for a particular child. Also, Minty &
Anderson (2004) found that contacting the
client with a confirmation letter or a call
prior to the initial appointment helped
decrease premature termination. In addi-
tion, including a reply card with a confir-
mation letter also protected against
dropout (Minty & Anderson, 2004). Finally,
Kazdin et al. (1997) introduced a validated
measure for assessing barriers to treatment
called the Barriers to Treatment
Participation Scale. Use of this instrument
with a child and his or her family may facil-
itate the development of child-specific
strategies for preventing dropout. Thus,
while there appears to be a number of vari-
ables that influence dropout, there are some
strategies a clinician can utilize for address-
ing this concern in his or her own practice.
References
Armbuster, P., & Fallon, T. (1994). Clinical,
sociodemographic, and systems risk fac-
tors for attrition in a children’s mental
health clinic. American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry, 64(4), 577-585.
Dierker, L., Nargiso, J., Wiseman, R., & Hoff, D.
(2001). Factors predicting attrition within a
community initiated system of care. Journal of
Child and Family Studies, 10(3), 367-383.
Garcia, J. A., & Weisz, J. R. (2002). When
youth mental health care stops:
Therapeutic relationship problems and
other reasons for ending youth outpa-
tient treatment. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 70(2), 439-443.
Garfield, S. L. (1994). Research on client
variables in psychotherapy. In A. E.
Bergen & S. L. Garfield (Eds.), Handbook
of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change,
4th Edition (pp. 190-228). Oxford, UK:
John Wiley & Sons.
Kazdin, A. E., Holland, L., Crowley, M., &
Breton, S. (1997). Barriers to Treatment
Participation Scale: Evaluation and vali-
dation in the context of child outpatient
treatment. Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, 38(8), 1051-1062.
Kazdin, A. E., Mazurick, J. L., & Bass, D.
(1993). Risk for attrition in treatment of
antisocial children and families. Journal of
Clinical Child Psychology, 22(1), 2-16.
Kendall, P. C., & Sugarman, A. (1997).
Attrition in the treatment of childhood
anxiety disorders. Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology, 65(5), 883-888.
McCabe, K. M. (2002). Factors that predict
premature termination among Mexican-
American children in outpatient psy-
chotherapy. Journal of Child and Family
Studies, 11(3), 347-359.
Minty, B., & Anderson, C., (2004). Non-
attendance at initial out-patient appoint-
ments at a hospital-based child psychi-
atric clinic. Clinical Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, 9(3), 403-418.
Pekarik, G., & Stephenson, L. A. (1988).
Adult and child client differences in ther-
apy dropout research. Journal of Clinical
Child Psychology, 17(4), 316-321.
Piacentini, J., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Gillis,
J. R., Graae, F., Trautman, P., Cantwell,
C., Garcia-Leeds, C., & Shaffer, D. (1995).
Demographic predictors of treatment
attendance among adolescent suicide
attempters. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 63(3), 469-473.
Pina, A. A., Silverman, W. K., Weems, C. F.,
Kurtines, W. M., & Goldman, M. L.
(2003). A comparison of completers and
noncompleters of exposure-based cogni-
tive and behavioral treatment for phobic
and anxiety disorders in youth. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(4),
701-705.
Singh, H., Janes, C. L., & Schechtman, J. M.
(1982). Problem children’s treatment
attrition and parents’ perception of the
diagnostic evaluations. Journal of
Psychiatric Treatment Evaluation, 4, 257-
263.
Weisz, J. R., Weiss, B., & Langmeyer, D. B.
(1987). Giving up on child psychothera-
py: Who drops out? Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology, 55, 916-918.
Wierzbicki, M., & Pekarik, G. (1993). A
meta-analysis of psychotherapy dropout.
Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice, 24(2), 190-195
7
 DIVISION OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
MID WINTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
January 15-16, 2005 – Miami, Florida

Armand Cerbone, Jan Culbertson, Leon VandeCreek,

Linda Campbell, Craig Shealy, Tracey Martin,
John Norcross, and Abe Wolf

Armand Cerbone, Leon VandeCreek, Jan Culbertson, James

Bray, Alice Rubenstein, Abe Wolf

Pat Bricklin, Norine Johnson,

Craig Shealy, John Norcross, and
Jeffrey Hayes and Bill Stiles
Adam Leventhal

8
AD HOC COMMITTEE ON PSYCHOTHERAPY
Division Commitment to Research
Linda Campbell, Ph.D., Co-Chair
The Presidential
Initiative conduct-
ed during my
presidency and that
continues during
Leon VandeCreek’s
presidency is being
implemented as the
Ad Hoc Committee
on Psychotherapy.
There are so many
initiatives that the
membership identified for action that the
Board decided to move forward through
this ad hoc committee rather than a contin-
uance as a presidential initiative. At the
Board meeting in January, we reviewed the
actions recommended and took stock of
their status and course of action recom-
mended. Leon and I hope to keep the
membership involved and participating by
including articles in the Bulletin that
update the progress of our initiatives. This
is our first update article.
The Ad Hoc Committee on Psychotherapy
is pursuing actions in the areas of research,
practice, and training in psychotherapy
and also included the two member groups
of students and early career psychologists.
Several action items are already afoot.
Research
Our committee will be working with APA
and with the North American Society for
Psychotherapy Research in exploring
strategies to remove barriers to federal
grant awards for psychotherapy research.
Our psychotherapy researchers are often
investigating factors that could be classi-
fied as process factors, common and rela-
tional factors, and data that are not collect-
ed through controlled clinical trials. This
research is most important and serves a
usefulness that cannot be accomplished
through other methodologies. Division 29
is committed to assisting our researchers
proactively in their pursuit of support for
expanded funding considerations. The
APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence
Based Research includes our members Jean
Carter and John Norcross and is co-chaired
by our members Ron Levant and Carol
Goodheart. This commitment by Ron
Levant to bring researchers together in a
collaborative and to advance the definition
and development of research also pro-
motes the Division 29 interests.
Our research focus groups identified a
need for a clearinghouse or common site
for researchers, practitioners, and students
of research to be able to find others of like
interests and to be able to pair up individ-
uals who may work on common projects.
Our Research Committee and the Internet
Editor, Brian Kim, are working to develop
a listing of all opportunities for individual
studies, practice research networks, and
other research collaboratives to be posted
on our Website.
And lastly, but very importantly, our
research and practice focus groups identi-
fied the need to develop a vehicle to sum-
marize and synthesize research that is
applicable to the practice of psychotherapy.
In response to this need, our journal editor,
Charles Gelso, with the support of our
Publications Board, chaired by John
Norcross, will develop a clinician’s
research concept in our journal,
Psychotherapy. This feature will identify
current relevant research and address what
that research contributes to the practice of
psychotherapy, the implications of the
findings, and the application of the find-
ings to practice. These are some of the
activities well underway in the Division,
specifically in the area of research. If any
9
of our members are interested in involve-
ment in any activities described here,
please contact Linda Campbell (lcamp-
bel@uga.edu) or Leon VandeCreek
(Leon.VandeCreek@Wright.edu) and we can
steer you to the person conducting the activ-
10
ity. We will be highlighting an area of the Ad
Hoc Committee focus in each Bulletin. In the
next issue we will update you on the activi-
ties going on in practice. Please stay tuned
and stay connected to these important initia-
tives for psychotherapy.
INTERVIEW
AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. MATHILDA CANTER
Anna McCarthy, University of Houston
Dr. Mathilda
(Matty) Canter has
been involved with
Division 29, almost
since its inception
over 35 years ago,
and has dedicated
countless hours to
mentoring students
and young profes-
Mathilda Canter, Ph.D. sional psycholo-
gists. Dr. Canter
became involved in Division 29 activities
through her husband, Aaron, a charter
member of the Division. Since that time,
she has held the positions of Treasurer,
Administrative Liaison, Board Member-at-
Large, and Council Representative, and
was the first woman to be elected president
of Division 29. She also was appointed
council representative to APA. In APA
governance, she has chaired the Ethics
Committee, and the Policy and Planning
Board, and served on the Committee for
the Advancement of Professional Practice
(CAPP) and the APA Board of Directors.
She was appointed chair of the APA ethics
committee in 1990. She is currently on the
APA Membership Committee.
Despite all of these distinguished roles and
accomplishments, Dr. Canter’s first love
remains the Division of Psychotherapy. In
fact, she considers herself to be the “institu-
tional memory” of Division 29 after such
long and varied involvement in Division
activities, and indeed considers many mem-
bers of the Division to be part of her family.
Her continued interest in the Division
comes from her conviction that it is an
organization committed to innovation and
a creative spirit. She pointed out,
We were the first Division to start award-
ing student travel scholarships; we had a
successful membership drive for student
and minority recruitment in 1987, a year
before APAGS was established with the
help of some of our leaders; we were the
first to have a mid-winter meeting and
the first Division to have a hospitality
suite at the APA convention. In fact, we
even were the first Division to hire some-
one to go through our journal’s issues to
make sure there was no sexist language in
them. We were one of the first Divisions
to address women’s and ethnic minority
issues and to give early career awards.
Dr. Canter also stated that she really enjoys
working with people who share her profes-
sional interests. And she particularly
derives enormous pleasure from watching
young people “move on up.” As she looks
around her, today, and sees some of our top
leaders, she smiles, remembering how they
were when they started out, and recalls the
satisfaction of seeing them blossom over
time into their current professional maturi-
ty. She recalls one of them (to remain name-
less), who was afraid to open her mouth
and speak up at Division 29 meetings.
Now that person is “a most articulate
Division past president!” When asked
about where her commitment to mentoring
students and young professionals comes
from, Dr. Canter replied, “I had a great role
model….it comes from being mentored by
my husband. He always believed that if
you know something and can help some-
one who needs to know then you help
them—he was always willing to help.”
Indeed, despite being “semi-retired,” Dr.
Canter continues to mentor students
through the Arizona Consortium.
11
 The first mentee assigned to me has
earned her PsyD and is doing a post doc.
She has joined Division 29 (surprise!) and
is working with me on the Division’s
Policy and Procedures Manual. Another
student was assigned to me this semester,
and we are talking up a storm!
She is also a supporter of the Division 29
Student Membership Committee’s attempts
to create a web-based, members-only, men-
tor-protégé database, describing it as a
“worthwhile project for the Division.”
Although Dr. Canter’s tenure as a member-
at-large, and hence her last official role for
the Division, has come to a close, she is still
an avid supporter of Division 29:
It is important that this division have a
voice in the APA Council. We represent
the finest in psychotherapy as a result of
the breadth of our interests…. We take
into account all of what makes psy-
chotherapy what it is: theory, practice,
research, training. Other divisions don’t
do that.
Indeed, at a time when many Arizonian
octogenarians may spend their days enjoy-
ing a bridge game with friends, Matty
12
Canter continues to flourish in many
professional arenas.
I must be bad at adding fractions. I’m
semi-retired and so I’m still in private
practice. I’m very active in the Arizona
Psychological Association, and in other
professional organizations….I think this
adds up to more than one full time job…
But all these activities have rewarded
me beyond my wildest dreams.
In fact, rewards for her dedication to the pro-
fession of psychology go far beyond intrinsic
– she has been honored with the Gold Medal
Award for Life Achievement in the Practice
of Psychology by the American Psycho-
logical Foundation, the Distinguished
Mentor Award by the Arizona Psychological
Association, and the Distinguished Psycho-
logist of the Year award by the APA’s
Divisions of Psychotherapy and Inde-
pendent Practice, amongst many others.
As one talks to Dr. Mathilda Canter it is
easy to understand why she is so revered
amongst colleagues. Her energy, dedica-
tion, enthusiasm, and drive are extraordi-
nary. She truly is an inspiration to a new
generation of psychotherapy researchers,
theorists, practitioners, and trainers.
FEATURE
Brief relational therapy and the resolution of
ruptures in the therapeutic alliance
Jeremy D. Safran Ph.D., New School University
J.C. Muran, Ph.D., Beth Israel Medical Center
After approximately a half century of psy-
chotherapy research, one of the most con-
sistent findings is that the quality of the
therapeutic alliance is the most robust pre-
dictor of treatment success (Horvath &
Symonds 1991; Martin, Garske & Davis,
2000). This has been evident across a wide
range of treatment modalities. A related
finding is that poor outcome cases show
greater evidence of negative interpersonal
process (i.e., hostile and complex interac-
tions between therapists and patients) than
good outcome cases (e.g., Henry et al.,
1993). There is also a growing body of evi-
dence demonstrating the relationship
between resolving alliance ruptures and
treatment outcome (e.g., Stiles et al., 2004;
see Safran et al., 2002, for a review).
Another relevant line of research has
demonstrated that some therapists are con-
sistently more helpful than others; differ-
ences in therapist ability seem to be more
important than therapeutic modality; and
the more helpful therapists appear better
able to facilitate the development of a ther-
apeutic alliance (e.g., Luborsky et al., 1997).
Process and Outcome Research
The focus of our clinical research program
is on clarifying the principles involved in
resolving ruptures in the therapeutic
alliance and developing training strategies
to facilitate rupture resolution. A rupture
in the alliance consists of a period of ten-
sion, misunderstanding or lack of collabo-
ration between patient and therapist. In
this article, we will briefly describe some of
our research findings as well as practice
guidelines and training strategies that we
have developed and tested for resolving
ruptures in the alliance. The interested
reader is referred to Safran and Muran
(2000) for an extensive presentation of clin-
ical theory, practice and training, and to
Safran and Muran (1996), Safran et al. (in
press), and Muran et al. (in press) for some
examples of our research efforts.
Over the last decade, we have investigated
the processes through which alliance rup-
tures can be resolved at various levels at
analysis. At the level of psychotherapy
process, we have devoted considerable
effort to the study of alliance rupture reso-
lution as a critical change event. This effort
has included the development of assess-
ment strategies to identify psychotherapy
sessions in which such change events
occur (e.g., patient- & therapist-rated post-
session questionnaires), as well as those to
assess the interactional sequences of vari-
ous patient states and therapist interven-
tions in the resolution process (e.g., observ-
er-based measures of interpersonal behav-
ior and emotional experience). Common
elements of the resolution process identi-
fied incude: 1) Therapist identifying and
drawing attention to the rupture, 2) explor-
ing patient feelings about the rupture that
are being avoided, 3) exploring patient
fears and expectations interfering with the
expression of feelings about the rupture,
and 4) patients expressing underlying
wishes (Safran & Muran, 1996).
At the level of overall outcome, we have
conducted research evaluating the efficacy
of a treatment approach that has been
influenced by our process research as well
as recent developments in relational psy-
choanalysis. This approach is referred to as
brief relational therapy (BRT). In one study
13
we evaluated the efficacy of BRT relative to
two more traditional models of short-term
treatment: one psychodynamic (STDP) and
one cognitive-behavioral (CBT). All three
brief psychotherapies were designed to
treat patients with personality disorder
diagnoses. Results indicated that the three
treatments were equally effective on stan-
dard statistical analyses of change, includ-
ing those conducted on repeated measures
and residual gain scores. Some significant
differences were indicated regarding clini-
cally significant change and reliable
change, favoring the BRT and CBT models.
In addition, there was a significant differ-
ence regarding dropout rates, favoring
BRT, which suggests that BRT may be more
effective in dealing with the type of
alliance ruptures that lead to treatment
dropout (Muran et al, in press). This find-
ing will need to be replicated. In a second
study we found preliminary evidence in a
small sample of the unique effectiveness of
BRT for patients who had previously
demonstrated difficulties in establishing a
working alliance in another treatment con-
dition (Safran, et al, in press). These find-
ings will of course need to be replicated on
larger samples.
Clinical Guidelines
Some of the key features of BRT are as fol-
lows: 1) It assumes that alliance ruptures
take place when both patient and therapist
contribute unconsciously to an interper-
sonal cycle that is taking place between
them, 2) there is an intensive focus on the
here and now of the therapeutic relation-
ship, 3) there is an ongoing collaborative
exploration of both patients’ and thera-
pists’ contributions to the interaction, 4) it
emphasizes in-depth exploration of the
nuances of patients’ experience in context
of the therapeutic relationship, and is cau-
tious about inferring generalized relational
patterns, 5) it emphasizes the subjectivity
of the therapist’s perceptions, 6) it assumes
that the relational meaning of interven-
tions (i.e., the idiosyncratic way in which
each patient construes the therapist’s inter-
vention) is as important if not more impor-
14
tant than the content of the intervention,
and 7) it makes intensive use of therapist
self-disclosure and collaborative explo-
ration of what is taking place in the thera-
peutic relationship for purposes of coming
to understand and unhook from the uncon-
scious interpersonal cycle taking place
between the patient and therapist, which
we refer to as therapeutic metacommunica-
tion (adopted from Kiesler, 1996).
The therapist’s task when engaging in this
type of exploration is to identify his or her
own feelings and use them as a point of
departure for collaborative exploration.
Different forms of exploration are possible.
The therapist may provide the patient with
feedback about his or her impact on others.
For example: “I feel cautious with you…as
if I’m walking on eggshells.” Or “I feel like
it’s difficult to really make contact with
you. On one hand, the things you’re talking
about really seem important. But on the
other, there’s a subtle level at which it’s dif-
ficult for me to really feel you.” Or “I feel
judged by you.” Such feedback can also
pave the way for the exploration of the
patient’s inner experience. For example, the
therapist can add: “Does this feedback
make any sense to you? Do you have any
awareness of judging me?” It is often useful
for therapists to pinpoint specific instances
of patients’ eliciting actions. For example: “I
feel dismissed or closed out by you, and I
think it may be related the way in which
you tend not to pause and reflect in a way
that suggests you’re really considering
what I’m saying.” Below are described a
number of general principles that are used
to guide therapists administering BRT in
our research:
1.) Explore with skillful tentativeness and
emphasize one’s own subjectivity.
Therapists should communicate observa-
tions in a tentative and exploratory fashion.
The message at both explicit and implicit
levels should be one of inviting patients to
engage in a collaborative attempt to under-
stand what is taking place, rather than one
of conveying information with objective
status. It is also important to emphasize the
subjectivity of one’s perceptions since this
encourages patients to use the therapist’s
observations as a stimulus for self-explo-
ration.
2.) Ground all formulations in awareness of
one’s own feelings and accept responsibili-
ty for one’s own contributions. All observa-
tions and formulations should attempt to
take into account what the therapist is feel-
ing. Failure to do so increases the risk of a
distorted understanding that is influenced
by unconscious factors. It is critical to take
responsibility for one’s own contributions
to the interaction. We are always unwitting-
ly contributing to the interaction, an impor-
tant task consists of clarifying the nature of
this contribution in an ongoing fashion. In
some situations, the process of explicitly
acknowledging responsibility for one’s
contributions to patients can be a particu-
larly potent intervention, helping patients
become aware of unconscious or semi-con-
scious feelings that they have difficulty
articulating and reducing therapist need for
defensiveness.
3.) Focus on the concrete and specific and
the here and now of the therapeutic rela-
tionship. Whenever possible, questions,
observations and comments should focus
on concrete instances in the here and now
rather than generalizations. This promotes
experiential awareness rather than abstract,
intellectualized speculation. For example,
“I experience you as pulling away from me
right now. Do you have any awareness of
doing this?”
4.) Start where you are. Collaborative
exploration of the therapeutic relationship
should take into account feelings, intuitions
and observations that are emerging for the
therapist in the moment. What was true one
session may not be true the next and what
was true one moment may change the next.
Two therapists will react differently to the
same patient, and each therapist must
begin by fully accepting and making use of
his or her own unique experience.
5.) Do not assume a parallel with other rela-
tionships. Therapists should be wary of
prematurely attempting to establish a link
between the interpersonal cycle that is
being enacted in the therapeutic relation-
ship and other relationships in the patient’s
life. Attempts to make links of this type
(while useful in some contexts) can be expe-
rienced by patients as blaming and can
serve a defensive function for therapists.
Instead the focus should be on exploring
patients’ internal experience and actions in
a nuanced fashion, as they emerge in the
here and now.
6.) Collaborative exploration of the thera-
peutic relationship and unhooking take
place at the same time. It is not necessary
for therapists to have a clear formulation
prior to metacommunicating. In fact, the
process of thinking out loud about the
interaction often helps the therapist to
unhook from the cycle that is being enacted
by putting into words subtle perceptions
that might otherwise remain implicit.
Moreover, the process of telling patients
about an aspect of one’s experience that one
is in conflict over, can free the therapist up
to see the situation more clearly.
7.) Remember that attempts to explore what
is taking place in the therapeutic relation-
ship can function as new versions of an
ongoing unconscious interpersonal cycle. It
is critical to track the quality of patients’
responsiveness to all interventions and to
explore their experience of interventions
that have not been facilitative. Does the
intervention deepen the patient’s self-
exploration or lead to defensiveness or
compliance? The process of exploring the
way in which patients experience interven-
tions that are not facilitative helps to refine
the understanding of the unconscious inter-
personal cycle that is taking place.
Training and Supervision
Training in BRT and rupture resolution
includes an important emphasis on experi-
ential learning and self-exploration.
15
Therapists are trained to attend to and
explore their own feelings as important
sources of information about what is going
on in the therapeutic relationship. We often
use role-playing exercises in order to pro-
vide therapists with the opportunity to sim-
ulate working with difficult patients and
experimenting with metacommunication.
The purpose of these exercises is not just to
provide them with the opportunity to prac-
tice technical skills, but also to provide
them with the opportunity to develop the
skill of exploring their own feelings and
internal conflicts as they emerge during
alliance ruptures. These are referred to as
“awareness-oriented role plays” (Safran &
Muran, 2000). Supervisors monitor the role-
plays carefully and intervene at critical
moments to direct therapists’ attention to
their inner experience, and encourage them
to put unarticulated feelings and intuitions
into words. Supervision also employs
mindfulness training for purposes of help-
ing therapists refine their capacity to
observe their own inner experience as well
as the nature of their own contributions to
alliance ruptures. Mindfulness practice
involves learning to direct one’s attention
in a disciplined fashion, in order to become
aware of one’s thoughts, feelings, fantasies,
or actions as they take place in the present
moment. Through this training, therapists
learn to refine their capacity to investigate
their own experience and observe their
own actions in a detached fashion. In fact,
we conceptualize metacommunication as a
type of “mindfulness in action” (Safran &
Muran, 2000). An important byproduct of
mindfulness practice is the discovery of
internal space. This consists of the loosen-
ing of attachment to one’s cognitive-affec-
tive processes –an ability to see them as
constructions of the mind. This in turn
reduces the experience of constriction
resulting from an over identification with
these processes and allows one to reflect on
them and to use them therapeutically.
Conclusion
To date we have accumulated preliminary
evidence regarding some of the processes
16
involved in the resolution of alliance rup-
tures and the effectiveness of brief relation-
al therapy. Future research will be needed
to further refine our understanding of the
rupture resolution process and to evaluate
the effectiveness of brief relational therapy
in other samples.
Address all correspondence to:
Jeremy D. Safran, Ph.D.
Psychology Department
New School University, 65 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10003, U.S.A.
Safranj@newschool.edu
References
Henry, W.P., Strupp, H.H., Butler, S.F.,
Schacht, T.E., & Binder, J.L. (1993). Effects
of training in time-limited psychothera-
py: Changes in therapist behavior.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 61, 434-440.
Horvath, A.O., & Symonds, B.D. (1991).
Relation between working alliance and
outcome in psychotherapy: A meta-
analysis. Journal of Counseling
Psychology, 38, 139-149.
Kiesler, D.J. (1996). Contemporary
Interpersonal Theory & Research. NY:
John Wiley.
Luborsky, L., McLellan, A.T., Diguer, L.,
Woody, G., & Seligman, D.A. (1997). The
psychotherapist matters: comparison of
outcomes across twenty-two therapists
and seven patient samples. Clinical
Psychology: Science and Practice. 4, 53-
65.
Martin, J.D., Garske, J.P., Davis, M,K.
(2000). Relation of the therapeutic
alliance with outcome and other vari-
ables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 68, 438-450.
Muran, J.C., Safran, J.D., Samstag, L.W., &
Winston, A. (in press). Evaluating an
alliance-focused treatment for personali-
ty disorders. Psychotherapy.
Safran, J.D. & Muran, J.C. (2000).
Negotiating the therapeutic alliance: A
relational treatment guide. New York:
Guilford Press.
Safran, J.D. & Muran, J.C. (1996). The reso-
 lution of ruptures in the therapeutic
alliance. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 64, 447-458. Stiles, W.B., Glick, M.J. Osatuke, K., Hardy,
Safran, J.D., Muran, J.C., Samsag, L.W., &
Stevens, C. (2002). Repairing alliance rup-
tures. In J.C. Norcross, Ed.,
Psychotherapy Relationships that Work
(pp. 235-254). New York: Oxford
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Safran, J.D., Muran, J.C., Samstag, L.W., &
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Mesa, AZ 85215
alliance-focused treatment for potential
treatment failures. Psychotherapy.
G.E., Shapiro, D.A., Agnews-Davies, R.
Rees, A. & Barkham, M. (2004). Patterns
of alliance development and rupture-
repair hypothesis: Are productive rela-
tionships U-shaped or V-shaped? Journal
of Counseling Psychology, 51, 81-92.
Deadlines for Submission
August 1 for Fall Issue
November 1 for Winter Issue
February 1 for Spring Issue
May 1 for Summer Issue
All APA Divisions and Subsidiaries (Task
Forces, Standing and Ad Hoc Committees,
Liaison and Representative Roles) materials
will be published at no charge as space allows.
17
 DIVISION OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIVITIES

Leon VandeCreek recognizes Abe Wolf, Bill Stiles, and Craig Shealy
Linda Campbell for her
presidential year

John Norcross, Armand Cerbone, Linda Campbell,

Leon VandeCreek and Jam Culbertson

James Bray, Alice Rubenstein, and Abe Wolf

18
PSYCHOTHERAPY, EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Critical Events in Psychotherapy Supervision
Nicholas Ladany, Lehigh University

Psychotherapy supervision is arguably the place in supervision are potentially limit-

primary means of facilitating supervisee
development as a therapist. Unlike psy-
chotherapy, which has garnered a relative-
ly long history of theoretical and empirical
attention, supervision has received limited
consideration either theoretically or empir-
ically. To be sure, it stands to reason that we
cannot train someone in psychotherapy
until we know what works in psychothera-
py, or at the very least, have a general sense
and a decent conviction about what we
think works in psychotherapy. All said, it
seems we have indeed reached the point of
formulating and providing models of
supervision.
The purpose of this article is to review the
Critical Events-Based Supervision model
(Ladany, Friedlander, & Nelson, in press), a
new supervision model that is theoretically
grounded in the supervision realm, is
informed by the empirical supervision liter-
ature, and is clinically meaningful to the
supervision practitioner. While a full review
of the model is beyond the scope of this arti-
cle, my intent is to provide an overview of
the primary tenants of the model and illus-
trate it with a clinical example.
less, we focus on those we believed were
key critical and reoccurring events in
supervision: remediating skill difficulties
and deficits, heightening multicultural
awareness, negotiating role conflicts,
working through countertransference,
managing sexual attraction, repairing gen-
der-related misunderstandings and missed
understandings, and addressing problem-
atic supervisee emotions and behaviors. A
process model based on each of these criti-
cal events has been constructed.
For each critical event, there are four prima-
ry constructs to consider: (a) the supervisory
working alliance, (b) marker, (c) task environ-
ment, and (d) resolution (see Figure 1 for an
illustration of the model). The supervisory
FIGURE 1

The Critical Events-Based Supervision

model is intended to be pantheoretical and
assumes that supervision can be under-
stood as an interpersonal approach toward
teaching psychotherapy. The model is
based on the task-analytic approach of
understanding psychotherapy, the super-
vision theoretical and empirical literature,
and our own supervisory practice. Another
assumption of the model is that supervi-
sion can be thought of as consisting of a
series of events that can take place within a
session or across multiple sessions. While
the number of critical events that can take

19
working alliance is considered the founda-
tion upon which the effectiveness of super-
vision is based and serves as the figure-
ground object in the model. Early in the
supervisory work and when difficult times
arise, the alliance becomes the figure. At
other times it is the ground. We largely base
our conceptualization of the alliance on
Bordin’s (1983) model which identifies the
supervisory working alliance as consisting
of three factors: a mutual agreement
between the supervisee and supervisor on
the goals of supervision (e.g., increase con-
ceptualization skills), a mutual agreement
between the supervisee and supervisor on
the tasks of supervision (e.g., listening to
audiotapes), and an emotional bond
between the supervisee and supervisor (i.e.,
mutual caring, liking, and trusting).
Having considered the supervisory work-
ing alliance as the foundation, the next
thing to look for in supervision is a marker.
A marker is like a trigger or signal to the
supervisor that the supervisee needs some-
thing and a particular critical event is
about to take place. For example, in reme-
diating a skill deficit event, the supervisor
may notice from an audiotape review that
a supervisee is self-disclosing too frequent-
ly with a client and that the self-disclosures
do not appear to be in the service of the
client. The self-disclosures are the marker
of the critical event.
Once the marker has been identified, the
supervisory work proceeds into the task
environment, which is comprised of interac-
tion sequences. These interaction sequences
pertain to the supervisor’s actions and the
supervisee’s reactions. The most common
interaction sequences include: (a) normal-
izing experience, (b) attend to parallel
20
process, (c) focus on skill, (d) focus on ther-
apeutic process, (e) focus on self-efficacy,
(f) exploration of feelings, (g) focus on the
supervisory alliance, (h) assessing knowl-
edge, (i) focus on evaluation, (j) case dis-
cussion, (k) focus on multicultural aware-
ness, and (l) focus on countertransference.
For each critical event, there are common
interaction sequences that make up the
task environment. Figure 1 shows the like-
ly interaction sequences for the supervisee
who is self-disclosing inappropriately.
Finally, following the task environment
comes the resolution of the event. A resolu-
tion pertains to the extent to which the
supervisor successfully or unsuccessfully,
influences the supervisee’s self-awareness,
knowledge, or skills.
As mentioned previously, this article is
only able to provide a cursory overview of
the Critical Events Supervision model.
Hopefully, the model will serve as a stimu-
lus for further thought in relation to psy-
chotherapy supervision.
Reference
Ladany, N., Friedlander, M. L., & Nelson,
M. L. (in press). Critical events in psy-
chotherapy supervision: An interpersonal
approach. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
Correspondence concerning this chapter
should be directed to Nicholas Ladany,
Ph.D., 111 Research Drive, Counseling
Psychology Program, Department of
Education and Human Services, Lehigh
University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
18015. Electronic mail may be sent to
nil3@lehigh.edu.
2004 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Three former Division of

Psychotherapy presidents --
John C. Norcross, James Bray, and
Robert J. Resnick --
presenting at the 2004 International
Congress of Psychology in Beijing,
China.

21
22
PROPOSED REVISIONS TO EXISTING BYLAWS
At the Division’s midwinter meeting on January 15–16 2005, the Board of Directors voted
on changes to the Bylaws of the Division. The most substantive revisions are 1) changing
the name of the Division to “The Society for Psychotherapy: Division 29 of the American
Psychological Association” and 2) adding a new membership category, Psychologist
Affiliate, which will allow doctoral-level psychologists who are not members of APA to
join the Division. Other changes addressed dated procedural issues. Finally, formatting,
grammar, and spelling problems were corrected. A full listing of all the changes is
available on the Division web site at
http://www.divisionofpsychotherapy.org/bylawschanges.pdf .

1) CHANGING THE NAME OF THE DIVISION

The name of the Division will be changed from “The Division of Psychotherapy” to “The
Society for Psychotherapy: Division 29 of the American Psychological Association.” The
references to “The Division” in the Bylaws will be changed to reflect this.

Pro: A name change will maintain our status as an APA Division while broadening our
appeal and membership. Non-APA psychologists would be more likely to join a Society,
as opposed to an APA Division.

Con: A name change may dilute the historical character of the Division. A new name that
is similar to an existing organization, such as the Society for Psychotherapy Research, may
lead to confusion.

2) ADDING A MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY

A new membership category of Psychologist Affiliate is being added to the existing
bylaws categories of Member, Fellow, and Student Affiliate

ARTICLE II SECTION E
The minimum qualification for election to the category of Psychologist Affiliate shall be
an earned doctoral degree from a program recognized on the designated doctoral pro-
grams in psychology list jointly maintained by the National Register of Health Service
Providers in Psychology and the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards.

ARTICLE III, SECTION D

Psychologist Affiliates of The Society shall be entitled to attend and to participate in the
meetings of The Society and shall receive its publications. While Psychologist Affiliates
are not eligible to vote in Society elections and are not eligible to hold elected office in The
Society, they may chair ad hoc committees or task forces and may serve as voting mem-
bers of all Society committees or task forces.
A majority affirmative vote on these sections will have the effect of adding “Psychologist
Affiliate” to all instances where classes of membership are specified.

Pro: Division 29 could expand its membership base and increase its revenue by inviting
non-APA psychologists to join. They would receive the Journal and receive the Bulletin in
exchange for their membership dues. Our publishing contract with APA stipulates that
APA will send the journal free of cost to up to 4,000 members. Members over 4,000 will be
billed to the Division at $11.50 per member per year. Unless we exceed the 4,000 limit, the

23
journal cost to the Division for non-APA psychologists would be essentially zero.

Con: Perhaps a few Division 29 members will drop their APA membership, but this has
rarely occurred when other divisions have added similar membership categories. The
change would require a few extra hours per month for our administrative officer in
maintaining the membership list.

3) ARTICLE II SECTION B
Delete:
As described in Article XI Section G of these bylaws, there shall be a Membership
Committee. This committee shall review new applications for Member, Associate
Member, or Student Affiliate status. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of this committee shall
determine the membership status for each applicant and accept new members. The
Board of Directors shall be notified about such determinations.

Pro: Persons may submit application for membership to the Society’s administrative
office. The administrative office will review the applicant’s credentials and inform the
applicant about the status of that application. The Membership Committee no longer
votes on division membership. The status of applicants is reviewed by the Central Office.

Con: None identified

4) ARTICLE IV SECTION C
From:
Resigned members of the Division shall be eligible for reinstatement upon request in
writing to the Secretary and upon payment of any back dues or assessments.

To:
C. Resigned members of The Society shall be eligible for reinstatement upon reapplication.

Pro: Resigned members are automatically reinstated upon payment of dues.

Con: None known

5) ARTICLE V SECTION E (Secretary Duties)

Delete:
shall inform the membership of actions taken by the Board of Directors; shall notify
applicants for membership and fellowship about the status and outcome of their appli-
cations;

Pro: The first section is redundant, since the Secretary informs the membership of
actions taken by the Board of Directors in the minutes of those meetings. The second
section is performed by the Central Office.

Con: None identified.

24
 OFFICIAL BYLAWS VOTING BALLOT

1) CHANGING THE NAME OF THE DIVISION

 YES  NO

2) ADDING A MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY

 YES  NO

3) ARTICLE II SECTION B

 YES  NO

4) ARTICLE IV SECTION C

 YES  NO

5) ARTICLE V SECTION E (Secretary Duties)

 YES  NO

25
 Name (Printed)
______________________________________

Signature
______________________________________

FOLD THIS FLAP IN.

Fold Here.

__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________

Division29
Central Office
6557 E. Riverdale St.
Mesa, AZ 85215

Fold Here.
REPORT OF APA COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
The APA Council of Representatives met
February 17-20, 2005 in Washington, DC.
The Division of Psychotherapy was repre-
sented by the three of us, and this report
was prepared specifically for members of
Division 29.
APA Presidential Initiatives. 2005 APA
President Ron Levant provided outstanding
leadership during the 2.5 day meeting. He
respectfully promoted open discussions
while moving a full agenda forward. The
meeting opened with Dr. Levant introduc-
ing his presidential Initiatives: Promoting
Health Care for the Whole Person; Making
Psychology a Household Word; Presidential
Task Force to Explore the Ethical Aspects of
Investigations Related to National Security;
and Presidential Task Force on Evidence-
Based Practice in Psychology
APA’s Delegation to the UN Conference
in Durbin, South Africa 2001. Governance
provided an effective and moving model
for conflict resolution. Extensive time was
allocated for debate, testimonials, and dis-
cussion of the recommendations presented
by a Task Force appointed by Dr. Diane
Halpern to consider the difficult issues.
Council approved unanimously a substi-
tute motion that, in addition to acknowl-
edging the outstanding work of the APA
delegation, provided the following:
APA’s President is requested to appoint a
working group to develop a resolution con-
demning anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish and
other religious, religion-related, and/or reli-
gion-derived prejudice and discrimination
for adoption by Council. Also, the APA
President was requested to appoint a work-
ing group to develop a resolution condemn-
ing prejudice and discrimination in all its
form for adoption by Council.
The report of the APA Delegation was
received. The Task Force on the World
Conference against Racism was directed to
create an annotated version of the UN
Declaration.
APA Priorities and Psychotherapy. Division
29 Council Representatives during brain-
storming break-out sessions were able to
add Psychotherapy to a list of probable APA
priorities for guiding the Association. If you
are a member of Division 29 but represent
another division or state, please consider
giving psychotherapy advocacy some of
your votes on the priority lists. If you are a
member of your state association or another
division, please ask other council representa-
tives to consider giving the item on psy-
chotherapy consideration. It is important
that APA reassert the importance of
Psychotherapy for all of Psychology.
Finances. “I am happy to report that our
finances have stabilized following some
uncertain times and a major restructuring
of our real estate debt.” Dr. Norman
Anderson, APA’s CEO, announced during
the meeting. After seeing the precise fig-
ures and open discussion lead by Carol
Goodheart, APA’s Treasurer, and Jack
McKay, APA’s CFO, Council approved a
$98,500,000 plus budget for 2005 with a
projected small surplus. Those interested
in more detail are welcome to back channel
any of the Division 29 representatives.
Task Forces. Council approved and funded
a number of Task Forces. If you are inter-
ested in being considered for any of these
task forces, here they are with the specific
APA Directorate you should contact.
Public Interest Directorate:
1) Socioeconomic status; 2) Sexualization of
girls; 3) Gender identity, Gender variance
and intersex conditions; 4) Urban psychol-
ogy; 5) Psychoactive medication for chil-
dren and adolescents; and 6) Empirically
supported sex education and HIV preven-
tion programs for adolescents.
Education Directorate:
1) Strengthening the teaching and learning
of undergraduate psychological sciences 2)
Continued on page 33
27
WASHINGTON SCENE
A Renewed Vision For Psychology
by Pat DeLeon, former APA President
On September 20, 1963 President John F.
Kennedy addressed the United Nations
General Assembly. “Never before has man
had such capacity to control his own des-
tiny, to end thirst and hunger, to conquer
poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy
and massive human misery. We have the
power to make this the best generation of
mankind in the history of the world – or
make it the last.” Psychology is one of the
“learned professions” and as such, we
have a collective responsibility to provide
visionary leadership. Our colleague Henry
David has accepted (and personified) this
important challenge over the years with
distinction.“The 28th International
Congress of Psychology convened, just
after the APA Hawaii convention, in
Beijing, provided a welcome opportunity
to revisit China after 22 years. Our first
visit, in 1982, had been as members of a
group of psychologists led by Ray Fowler.
On this trip we were primarily in Beijing
and Shanghai with a visit to Guilin and a
Yangtze river cruise in between.
“We will recount some personal observa-
tions on the many changes we noted. In
1982, China was (and still is) the world’s
most populous nation with over one billion
people. At that time, we were engulfed by
men and women wearing shapeless blue
grey unisex Mao suits; in 2004 we saw
none. In 1982 the never-ending flow of
bicycles was interspersed by an occasional
black government car; today cars clog con-
gested streets with drivers often ignoring
the ‘zebra’ crossings and endangering
pedestrians. We were told that in Shanghai
alone there are more than one million cars,
including 48,000 taxis, all contributing to
pervasive smog. Twenty-two years ago the
shops were mostly government owned and
operated, selling primarily Chinese pro-
duced goods; in 2004 they are largely indi-
28
vidually owned enterprises. High rise
glitzy shopping malls feature prestigious
European boutiques with foreign made
clothes and other luxury goods. The old
‘Friendship’ stores still exist but offer no
bargains. The red banner propaganda
posters of earlier years have been replaced
by outdoor bill boards displaying western
models with advertisements using English
subtitles to increase marketing appeal. The
only portrait of Mao we saw was the famil-
iar one in Tiananmen Square. There were
no portraits of government or party offi-
cials in the hotels, offices, or shops we vis-
ited. Starbucks and McDonalds are every-
where. The dynamic economic growth is
reflected in the towering cranes, the new
glass and marble office buildings, and the
super modern hotels and new or remod-
eled cultural centers such as the Shanghai
Museum. All this is in stark contrast to life
in the countryside. But even there, some
farmers have turned their simple homes
into accredited (by local authorities)
rentable accommodations for weekend
guests. Along the banks of the Yangtze
river, in areas flooded as part of the gigan-
tic Three Gorges Dam development, vil-
lagers have been moved into apartment
buildings with elevators installed only if
the building rises eight floors or higher.
“The physical and political changes we
observed were dramatic. Since Deng
Xiaoping’s famous statement of a quarter
century ago, ‘To get rich is glorious,’ China
has seen the greatest burst of wealth cre-
ation in human history. Per capita income
has increased significantly while income
inequality between urban rich and rural
poor has widened to a worrisome degree.
Urban residents earn on average three or
more times as much as migrant workers or
farmers. The relentless ‘march to capital-
ism’ has greatly influenced Communist
Party policies. A socialist market economy
is replacing the centrally planned economy.
There is a widespread belief that economic
growth will solve all problems. This is
unsettling for a government that likes to
identify itself as ‘socialist’ though many
Chinese joke privately that presently the
United States has a better claim to that
description. Millions of migrants, largely
unemployed peasants displaced by devel-
opment projects or workers dismissed
from state-owned enterprises, are pouring
into urban centers, providing cheap labor.
Of Shanghai’s 16.4 million inhabitants,
three million are migrant workers. Most
are unregistered as city dwellers and ineli-
gible for many social services. Prostitution,
officially illegal, is tolerated. Aggressive
beggars and scam artists prey on visitors.
Air pollution has become an acknowl-
edged urban environmental problem.
Water pollution exists primarily in rural
areas where some of the dirtiest polluting
industries have been relocated. A new
book on China’s environment documents
how the air quality in two-thirds of
Chinese cities is below World Health
Organization standards. Some public
health observations: cigarette smoking was
banned in the Congress halls and in our
hotels. We saw little on the streets of
Beijing and Shanghai. We also noted very
few obese Chinese.
“One of the purposes of our 1982 visit was
to learn about the dramatic social action
program designed to curb population
growth. In 1979 China became the first
country in history to restrict the right to
procreate, a policy enforced through state-
and party-guided incentives and disincen-
tives. The psychologists we met at that
time endorsed the rationale for the one-
child family policy but wondered about
longer term effects, emphasizing the need
for research on physical and intellectual
development as well as on the personality
of only children.
“Professor Ching (now Jing) was the
President of the very well organized 2004
International Congress. He welcomed sug-
gestions for symposia on reproductive
health and sexuality topics. Two symposia
and a Conversation Hour, organized under
the auspices of the World Federation for
Mental Health Committee on Responsible
Parenthood, attracted participants from
several countries and a culturally diverse
audience. We were impressed by the many
English-speaking Chinese students at the
Congress. English is the second language
of the educated (many trained in the U.S.)
and of international commerce. In
Shanghai, English instruction begins in the
third grade.
“At the Conversation Hour a Chinese psy-
chologist reported on her research, noting
that well educated young Beijing couples
seldom want more than one child because
the cost of education has become a burden.
Families have to pay rising school related
fees from kindergarten through college. In
Shanghai, tuition is free up to the 9th grade
but parents must pay for books, uniforms,
and food. Several psychologists in urban
areas are focusing their studies on parental
stress and coping behavior. Another prob-
lem is that previously free public health
services have deteriorated. For example,
China is currently the only country in the
Western Pacific Region which relies on par-
ents to finance childhood immunizations.
The underfunding of health services has
led to ‘red packets’ (bribes) to assure good
treatment from physicians and nurses.
Underfunding is not, however, the sole rea-
son for public health service problems. A
Beijing-based economist told us that it was
a combination of a choice for market-based
funding and price regulations. Some health
services and products can be offered at
prices that allow hospitals and physicians
to earn a profit. Other services and prod-
ucts can only be provided at a loss – for
which hospitals and physicians may then
request additional compensation.
“We wondered about urban university-
educated only children now in their mid-
twenties. They belong to the first cohort of
29
Chinese youth whose formative years were
spent amid rapid economic growth and an
explosion of commercialism. The priva-
tions and turmoil of the Maoist years and
the Cultural Revolution are often merely a
part of family lore. Parental resources do
not have to be shared with siblings. Often
they still live at home, even when married,
postpone having a baby, and are not afraid
to borrow money. Keenly aware of fashion,
brands, and quality, they crowd the bou-
tiques on Nanjing Road in Shanghai.
“Hardee, Xie, and Gu reported some of the
effects of the one-child family policy (mod-
ified over the years) on women’s lives in
rural areas. They used survey and focus
group data collected in 1996 and 1998 with
three generations of women. The oldest
women had more children than they want-
ed and regretted not having access to mod-
ern contraceptives. Middle age women had
desired fewer children but would have
preferred making their own fertility deci-
sions. The youngest women had grown-up
with and were largely resigned to the
restrictions on family size. Across genera-
tions, the majority of women believed fam-
ily planning had a positive effect on
women’s lives, citing better health, less
household work, and more educational
and career opportunities for their children.
All women, regardless of age, felt strong
pressure to have a son. Currently, rural
families are permitted to have two children
if the first is a girl or if the first child has a
disability or died. Moreover, if couples
themselves are only children, they may
have a second child. Members of minori-
ties may also have two children and
Tibetans are allowed three.
“During one day of the Congress,
Baochang Gu, Deputy Executive Director
of the Chinese Family Planning
Association (with a Ph.D. in sociology and
demography from the University of Texas
in Austin) and co-author of the rural
inquiry, drove us to a regional family plan-
ning center located about one hour north of
Beijing. The three story air-conditioned
facility dispenses contraceptives free of
30
charge to all who request them without
inquiring about age or marital status. (An
attractively packaged box of condoms
included the word ‘condom’ printed in big
English capital letters.) Additional services
include free once-a-year health checks,
ultrasound screening, and abortion via
vacuum aspiration. In the Conference
Room a very large wooden plaque pro-
claimed in huge gold colored Chinese char-
acters ‘Control Population Quantity;
Improve Population Quality.’ Great efforts
are devoted to strengthen reproductive
health services and HIV/AIDS prevention
programs in the surrounding countryside
but sexuality education continues to be a
very sensitive topic. It is embarrassing for
teachers and parents. Abortion of unwant-
ed pregnancies among unmarried adoles-
cents has increased and premarital sex has
become the norm.
“Over the years the Chinese Family
Planning Association (CFPA), affiliated
with the International Planned Parenthood
Federation, has become one of the largest
nongovernmental organizations in the
country. It works in close cooperation with
the government and receives major fund-
ing from the state. In Shanghai, local CFPA
leaders told us about devoting consider-
able resources to improving sexuality
education, reinforcing the fight against
HIV/AIDS, and developing specialized
counseling services for unmarried
adolescent migrant women (among other
activities).
“While the one-child family policy resulted
in an estimated 300 million fewer births
over the last 10 years, one of the unintend-
ed consequences has been a growing gen-
der imbalance. Chinese census figures for
2000 show 117 boys born for every 100
girls, described as ‘the largest, highest, and
longest’ gender imbalance in the world.
Many couples abort female fetuses, hoping
to try again for a boy. Nearly all babies
placed for adoptions abroad are girls. The
gender gap has led to warnings by social
scientists that in coming years some 40 mil-
lion men might not find wives, fueling
social tensions. The Chinese call such men
‘bare branches’ of the family tree that will
never bear fruit. There have already been
press reports of kidnapping as bachelors
try ‘purchasing’ wives.
“To reduce the imbalance in the next 10
years, the government has banned the use
of ultrasound for sex determination and
sex-selective abortion. Such a policy is dif-
ficult to enforce when physicians are
increasingly dependent on private income.
Programs are being launched in more than
a dozen of China’s poorest provinces to
foster more respect and concern for women
and girls, teaching rural families to value
their daughters more. Financial aid is being
expanded to farmers 60 years of age and
older, living in poor areas, who have no
children, no son, or just one child, or two
daughters, or whose children are deceased
or disabled. There is a shift in policy from
using disincentives, punishing families
who have too many children, to rewarding
those who had fewer children and abided
by the one-child policy. Still looming
ahead, however, is the ‘demographic time
bomb’ created by rising longevity and
falling fertility. Some cities are relaxing the
one-child family policy to permit the birth
of a second child under certain conditions.
As Gu indicates ‘there is no road map yet
on how to achieve the goal of a normal sex
ratio’ in China.
“When discussing China, the sensitive
question of free access to information
inevitably arises. Newspapers are cen-
sored, some books and movies are banned.
Satellite TV is available in four and five star
hotels but requires special permission for
home installation. Controversial Web sites
and internet servers are blocked. Sexual
mores can only be pushed so far: homosex-
ual bars remain officially taboo, magazine
sex columnists are shut down when they
become too prominent, and a museum on
ancient Chinese sex culture was moved
from Shanghai to a town a two-hour drive
away. Political activists risk imprisonment.
However, there seems to be a greater gov-
ernmental and party willingness to accept
criticism when related, for example, to
environmental disasters, long term govern-
mental planning, or corruption. Many peo-
ple believe that, over time, economic
growth will inevitably bring greater free-
dom and democratic reforms. A new gen-
eration is emerging adept in accessing the
Internet. Their capacity to disseminate
once ‘secret’ information was proven dur-
ing the SARS epidemic. As one conse-
quence, governmental actions on health
policy and HIV/AIDS prevention
improved significantly.
“One amusing personal note. We were sur-
prised by how many people approached us
to inquire about our ages. Most Chinese
women and men of a certain age dye their
hair black. We have never changed our hair
color. When one woman stared at Tema’s
white hair and asked her age, she replied:
‘75 and my husband standing over there is
81.’ The woman looked surprised and
blurted out in English: ‘Oh, an antique!’
“Two weeks of revisiting Beijing and
Shanghai and seeing a bit of the country-
side do not make us China specialists. We
found our Chinese hosts most hospitable,
invariably courteous, and very willing to
answer our many questions, even when we
inquired about their personal contracep-
tive preferences (mostly IUDs and con-
doms). We came away with an apprecia-
tion of an ancient people, whose culture
has evolved over more than 40 centuries.
China is an awakening giant whose eco-
nomic, political, and military influence in
the region and in world affairs will grow
steadily in the foreseeable future.”
With former APA President “Dr. Bob”
Resnick present at the 28th International
Congress of Psychology, the issue of psy-
chology prescribing (RxP) naturally arose.
Back in April, 2003 Dr. Bob authored a fea-
tured article in The Psychologist, pub-
lished by the British Psychological Society.
“To Prescribe Or Not To Prescribe – Is That
The Question? The professional practice of
psychology began about a hundred years
ago. At each step in its evolution internal
31
opposition from psychologists and vehe-
ment opposition by medicine have routine-
ly occurred. Psychology’s interest in pre-
scription privileges is no exception. When
the First World War catapulted American
psychology into testing, many psycholo-
gists were concerned and opposed. Testing
went on to become a staple of professional
practice and training. The end of the
Second World War brought an urgent need
for psychotherapy for returning military
personnel and their families, and training
of psychologists as psychotherapists
began. Again, training to be psychothera-
pists was not quickly or unanimously
embraced within psychology. As with psy-
chological testing, it took years, but even-
tually psychotherapy became mainstream
psychology. By the late 1960s and early
1970s psychologists had become the pre-
eminent and dominant providers of psy-
chotherapy. Psychological practice has con-
tinued to evolve from outpatient therapists
to hospital-based practice, in nursing
homes, residential treatment centers, and
so on. Wherever there are mental health
services, you will find psychologists. So the
evolutionary next step towards prescribing
medications is not surprising. Indeed it is
the logical next step as we embrace, and no
longer deny, the mind/body integration
that has been so amply demonstrated by
the brain/behaviour research of the last 25
years....
For almost a hundred years American psy-
chology has debated the expansion of its
competence and scope of practice. While
never achieving unanimity, it has matured
as a healthcare profession and will contin-
ue to do so.... Finally, I would argue that
the best reason for psychologists having
the ability to prescribe medications is not
that it is good for psychology, but that it is
good for the consumers. Psychologists
have not entered this area of practice
quickly or impulsively, but did so with
deliberation and debate beginning in 1984.
As a result, the additional training required
for psychologists to prescribe medications
has crucial differences from medical school
training. Our training model is not disease-
32
based. We include intensive and extensive
training in the interaction of psychothera-
py and medication, stressing when one is
therapeutically superior to the other and
when the use of both is in the best interest
of the patient. In the final analysis, isn’t this
what this should be about? Isn’t it what is
best for the individuals, families and pub-
lic we serve? It should be.”
John Norcross serves as the President of the
International Society of Clinical Psychology
(ISCP) which is the “first independent inter-
national organization dedicated to the
largest specialization in psychology – clini-
cal psychology.” In Beijing, John discussed:
“More Accessible, Psychological and
Integrated Pharmacotherapy: Prescription
Privileges for Psychologists.” His vision is
very similar to Dr. Bob’s. “In a nutshell, my
argument is that prescription privileges for
psychologists will provide more accessible,
psychologically oriented, and integrated
care to the populace. That is why we should
acquire prescription privileges. However,
multiple arguments abound that we can or
could prescribe. These weak arguments con-
fuse whether we could secure prescription
privileges with whether we should do so....
“‘(S)trong’ arguments are based on sound
principles of science and practice and are,
in my view, strong arguments precisely
because they serve the common good.
1. Public accessibility: Psychologists’ pre-
scription privileges will promote increased
public access to trained prescribers of psy-
chotropic medications....
2. Psychological model: Psychologists will
use – or choose not to use – pharmacother-
apy based on a psychological model of
treatment in contrast to a medical one....
The ability to prescribe is also the ability to
discontinue the use of inappropriately or
ineffectively prescribed medicines by other
providers....
3. Integrated treatment: Psychologists’ pre-
scriptive authority will enhance the sophis-
ticated and efficient integration of psy-
chotherapy and pharmacotherapy....
4. Evidence-based care: Prescribing psy-
chologists are more likely to understand,
adhere and apply the scientific literature....
“In closing: Having ambivalently swum in
these turbulent waters for many years now,
I have arrived at a few definite conclusions,
which serve as my summing up today. The
debate on prescription privileges has been
characterized by professional histrionics,
confusing terminology, weak arguments
and several strong arguments. The pre-
scription privileges debate must be dedi-
cated on the basis of scientific and practice
evidence pertaining to patient care, not on
Council Report, continued from page 27
Impact of elementary & secondary school
zero tolerance policies 3) Revisions of
learner-centered psychological principles.
Ethics Office: Presidential Task Force to
explore the ethical aspects of investigations
related to national security.
Policy Issues. The discussion of the estab-
lishment of a new APA Division — the
Society for Human-Animal Studies
occurred in executive session. The motion
to approve the new division failed.
You may go to the APA web site or back
channel any of your Div 29 council reps for
information on the following policies that
were approved at the February 2005
Council: APA Policy Formulation on
Mental Illness and the Death Penalty;
Guidelines for Education and Training at
the Doctoral and Postdoctoral Level in
Consulting Psychology/Organizational
professional rivalries, not on emotional
reactions, not on financial motives. Adding
medication to psychologists’ armentarium
will entail tradeoffs in our identity, training
and scope of practice.... At the same time,
prescription privileges promise more
accessible, psychological, integrated, and
empirically supported care for the popu-
lace. And those, my friends, are scientifi-
cally and morally compelling reasons to
acquire prescription privileges for psychol-
ogists.” Aloha,
Consulting Psychology; Recognition of
Clinical Geropsychology as a Proficiency in
Professional Psychology. The Policy and
Planning Board 5-year report will be pub-
lished. This very thoughtful report includes
areas of concern for all psychology.
Diversity Training. An informative pre-
sentation by John F. Dovidio, PhD, on
understanding and combating implicit
racism focused on helping Council
Representatives to take individual respon-
sibility in their sphere of influence in
increasing diversity across APA.
Thank you for your support in allowing us
to represent the Division of Psychotherapy
at APA Council. Please keep us informed of
the issues that you want Council to
address.
Pat Bricklin, Ph.D., Norine G. Johnson,
Ph.D., & John C. Norcross, Ph.D.
33
PRACTITIONER REPORT
Year of the Whole Person
Ilene Serlin
In 2005, the Practitioner Report—Dr. Ron
Levant’s popular column—will instead feature
periodic perspectives on his initiatives as
President of the American Psychological
Association.
A feature article in the June issue of the
APA Monitor recently stated that the “pub-
lic is hungry for mind/body alternative
and complementary interventions”
(Dittman, 2004, p. 42). In the same issue,
another article quotes David Myers (2000)
that “Compared with their grandparents,
today’s young adults have grown up with
much more affluence, slightly less happi-
ness and much greater risk of depression
and assorted social pathology” and that
“consumer culture has reached a fever
pitch”(p. 53). Finally, the January 2005
issue of the Monitor focused on the
epidemic of obesity, showing the range and
cost of this problem. What do alternative
and complementary interventions, con-
sumer culture and obesity have in common?
What they have in common is that they are
aspects of a paradigm shift, a new holistic
perspective on psychology that is needed
to address symptoms of mind, body and
spirit. Psychology has celebrated the
“Decade of Behavior” and the “Year of
Cognition:” it is time for a psychology of
the “Whole Person.” Behavior and cogni-
tion have been polarized in the past, but
the new paradigm of the Whole Person
brings behavior and cognition together in a
dialectical relationship through conscious-
ness. A psychology of the Whole Person
integrates behavior, cognition and con-
sciousness, or body, mind and spirit. For
example, while depression and obesity
have biological dimensions, they are symp-
toms of a consumer culture of increasing
34
speed, lack of connections and social sup-
port, and personal inner emptiness. The
recent film “Super Size Me” shows the lack
of real nourishment from a diet of
McDonalds and consumer culture where
“more” is bigger but not necessarily better.
Cynthia Belar, APA’s Executive Director for
Education, called for an integrative psy-
chology in the September 2000 issue of the
Monitor:
I have spent years educating physicians
and other health professionals that psy-
chology had a scientific knowledge base
and practice relevant to both ‘mental’
and ‘physical’ health…the biopsychoso-
cial model cannot be segmented into its
component parts without attention to
interactive efforts… (p. 49).
The theme of the Whole Person is a center-
piece of APA’s President-Elect, Ron
Levant’s, presidential initiative. It was also
the title of a Presidential mini-convention
that was co-sponsored by Division 32
(Humanistic) and Division 43 (Family) in
2001 on Healthy Families, Healthy Society
and Healthy Workplace called “Healthy
families: A dialogue between holistic and
systemic-contextual approaches,” and was
published as an article called “Year of the
Whole Person” (Serlin, 2001, 2002). What is
the approach of the Whole Person and why
is this important for psychologists today?
The Whole Person approach is integrative,
and considers the person in the context of
his or her world. It seeks to understand the
meaning of symptoms such as obesity, as
well as its biological and behavioral causes.
Learning Whole Person approaches is
important for psychologists because the
public and patients are already clamoring
for integrative approaches and finding
them in medicine, but not psychology.
People are turning to healthcare practition-
ers to reduce stress through meditation,
yoga, and acupuncture; psychologists can
make a valuable contribution by contextu-
alizing behavioral techniques in the frame-
work of a therapeutic relationship and
process. The recent popularity of the Bill
Moyers’ show on alternative healing and
the revelation in the January 28, 1993 issue
of The New England Journal of Medicine
that over one-third of Americans utilize
unconventional medicine signals a major
shift in attitudes toward healing. The
National Institutes of Health funded an
Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) to
support research into alternative approach-
es, whose budget has been growing yearly.
The NIH issued a “Roadmap” with an
emphasis on prevention and education.
The Consortium of Academic Medical
Centers for Integrative Medicine (CAM-
CIM), consists of 23 medical schools with
programs in integrative medicine that have
educational, research and clinical training.
The work of Candace Pert has shown that
the processing of emotions often affects
physical illnesses and the ability to heal.
Research on healthy humans as well in can-
cer and HIV-positive patients has shown
significant increases in immune function or
positive health outcomes with emotional
expression (Pert, 1997). A holistic perspec-
tive on psychology and a holistic concept of
the self is central to humanistic psychology,
positive psychology, and wellness health
psychology. Since the movement toward
integrative healthcare in inevitable, it is
time for psychology as a primary health-
care profession to bring its unique contri-
bution to a multi-disciplinary approach.
New approaches would also revive the
morale and effectiveness of practitioners,
and help provide new opportunities for
practice. Integrative psychology thus
addresses a three-fold crisis in healthcare:
1) the “completely disgruntled healthcare
consumer,” 2) a “disenfranchised, disillu-
sioned physician,” and 3) our “healthcare is
a broken model” (Gazella, 2004, p. 86).
An integrative approach is urgent to
address today’s complex health issues. For
example, one-third of California’s 2 million
teens are very overweight or risk becoming
obese and are at risk for life-threatening ill-
nesses by the time they reach 30. The high-
est rates were among Latino and African
Americans. In addition, the death rate
among young Americans due to cardiac
arrest rose during the 1990’s, especially
among women and African Americans,
and seems to be related to the epidemic of
obesity (Haney, 2001). Since these lifestyle
issues include too much junk food and
video games, increased stress, and lack of
role-modeling and social support, an edu-
cational campaign stressing healthy
lifestyles would be beneficial.
In a study carried out by the US
Department of Agriculture, over one-half
of all American adults are considered over-
weight or obese, spending about $33 bil-
lion each year on diet books, diet pills and
weight loss programs (Squires, 2001). Both
taking and keeping weight off are psycho-
logical issues. These require understanding
of motivation, stress factors, coping mech-
anisms, and social support. In fact, an
encouraging study at UCSF suggests posi-
tive results from a non-medical approach
to weight loss (PRNewswire, 2000), in
which sustained weight loss resulted from
training people in two basic internal skills
of self-nurturing and limit setting. Non-
medical interventions are also extremely
relevant for regulating mood. The use of
anti-depressants is at an all-time high for
Americans. Studies have shown a relation-
ship between changes in energy and anxi-
ety levels and eating and exercise habits.
The relationship is not a simple causal one,
but a complex interactive one, in which
mood affects behavior, and behavior affects
mood. Using psychological interventions
gives people more conscious control over
their lives, and improves their self-esteem
and sense of meaning. In an increasingly
speeding world, we can no longer coast on
data points (“knowledge”), but need wis-
dom to make constructive choices, and
establish and maintain priorities.
The overuse of psychotropic medications
among preschoolers is another problem
35
where a Whole Person approach would be
helpful. In response to an article in the
Journal of the American Medical
Association showing a dramatic increase in
the use of psychotropic medications for
preschoolers between 1991 and 1995, Levant
advised First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
that psychological and pharmacological
interventions for children need equal atten-
tion. Finally, psychosocial support groups
used to treat cancer show increased quality
of life and survival time (Fawzy et al., 1993;
Spiegel et al., 1989). Supportive-expressive
group therapies are existentially based and
aim to help patients live their lives more
fully in the face of a life-threatening illness.
A wellness model would focus on how to
help healthy individuals cope with these
extraordinary circumstances. Support
groups can address questions of meaning,
mortality and expression.
New Paradigm
Roger Sperry, an eminent psychobiologist
who died in 1994, described the paradigm
shift from “scientific materialism” to a
holistic, non-mechanistic, bidirectional
model. Instead of prediction and control,
this model provided “...a more realistic
realm of knowledge and truth, consistent
with science and empiric verification”
(Sperry, 1991b, p. 255), and including an
“ultimate moral basis” (Sperry, 1995, p. 9)
of environmental and population sustain-
ability. In Sperry’s interactionist, nondual-
istic model of mental and physical states,
causation is determined upward from
physical states, as well as downward from
mental states.
Consciousness, which brings together the
physical and mental states, comprises the
area of meaning, beliefs, and existential
choice. An illness such as breast cancer, for
example, involves the meaning of the
breast for a woman, her attitude and spiri-
tuality, as well as her confrontation with
death and mortality. Out of this confronta-
tion with mortality can come a renewed
will to live. Hardiness and optimism sup-
port coping patterns (Maddi & Hightower
1999). Stories of death and rebirth, descent
36
into sadness and ascent into joy, and dis-
connection and reconnection are ancient
myths common to all humankind. With the
courage to create (May, 1975), our new nar-
ratives create a self that moves from decon-
struction to reconstruction (Feinstein &
Krippner, 1988; May, 1989; Sarbin, 1986;
Gergen, 1991). Healing narratives are expe-
rienced as coherent and meaningful, and
the use of narrative therapies has been
gaining attention in family therapy
(Epston, White & Murray, 1992; Howard,
1991; Omer & Alon, 1997; Polkinghorne,
1988; Rotenberg, 1987). The act of telling
stories has always helped human beings
deal with the threat of non-being, and
sometimes the expressive act itself has a
healing effect (Pennebaker, 1990). Not all
expressive acts are verbal, however; a
Whole Person psychotherapy would
embrace diversity of technique and
approaches that include non-verbal and
multi-modal modalities like the expressive
therapies and mindfulness meditation (Jon
Kabat-Zinn, 1994). Bringing the body and
community into therapy also serves diver-
sity by re-balancing the dominance of a
white, individualistic European male ver-
bal psychological tradition. Whole Person
goals include achieving a gender balance
of emotional empathy, emotional self-
awareness, assertiveness and instrumental
problem-solving (Levant, 2001).
Ultimate questions about the nature and fate
of human beings are religious or spiritual
dimensions that need to be brought back in
to a Whole Person psychology. Spirituality
as a way of knowing adds to the diversity in
psychology. One of the three major themes
at APA’s 1999 National Multicultural
Conference and Summit was “spirituality as
a basic dimension of the human condition”
and it recommended that:
psychology must break away from being
a unidimensional science... that it must
recognize the multifaceted layers of exis-
tence, that spirituality and meaning in
the life context are important, and that
psychology must balance its reduction-
istic tendencies with the knowledge that
the whole is greater than the sum of its
 parts. Understanding that people are
cultural and spiritual beings is a neces-
sary condition for a psychology of
human existence (Sue, Bingham, Porche-
Burke, Vasquez, 1999, p. 1065).
Further, a psychology that separates sci-
ence from spirit is culturally narrow, and
“may not be shared by three quarters of the
world nor by the emerging culturally
diverse groups in the United States” (Sue
et al, p. 1065). Spiritually based rituals
have been shown to be effective coping
strategies for dealing with life stresses
(Pargament, 1997) and serious trauma
(Frankl, 1959). However, while a national
survey showed that 92% of all American
reported that “my religious faith is the
most important influence in my life”
(Bergin &Jensen, 1990, p. 5), most psychol-
ogists are unprepared to deal with these
issues (Shafranske &Malony, 1990).
In conclusion, training psychologists in
Whole Person therapies would not only
help psychologists become more inclusive,
therefore, but would revitalize our work. In
the new paradigm of the whole person, psy-
chologists would rediscover our modern yet
ancient roles as healers of the psyche.
Address all correspondences to:
Ilene A. Serlin, Ph.D., ADTR
Union Street Health Associates, Inc.
2084 Union Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 931-3819
In Sonoma: (707) 235-7959
iserlin@ileneserlin.com
www.ileneserlin.com
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39
CANDIDATE STATEMENTS
President-elect
Jean Carter, Ph.D.
There are a number of
responsibilities inher-
ent in the honor and
opportunity of serving
as President of Divi-
sion 29. The president
should be committed
to:
• Leadership in the
Division, in APA and
in psychology in sup-
• porting, enhancing and promoting psych-
otherapy—theory, research and practice;
• Leadership in enhancing the Division’s
ability to be responsive to the needs of
members and serve as a good home for
the range of psychologists who are com-
mitted to psychotherapy as an enter-
prise; and
• Leadership in ensuring the effective
organizational management of the
Division.
Issues that the Division faces include 1)
continuing the efforts of current leadership
of the Division to reinvigorate and enhance
the commitment to psychotherapy; 2 main-
taining influence within APA to ensure
appropriate attention to the role of psy-
chotherapy and its protection in the health-
care system; 3) continuing the commitment
fiscal and organizational soundness; 4)
promoting activities that enhance the
Division’s ability to be responsive to mem-
bers and their needs; 5) ensuring that APA
policies are based on respect for psy-
chotherapy process, the therapeutic rela-
tionship and multiple sources of evidence,
including policies around accreditation
and practicum issues, evidence based prac-
tice initiatives, and healthcare.
40
First and foremost, I have maintained a
successful psychotherapy practice in
Washington, DC, for over 25 years. I
understand and love the practice of psy-
chotherapy, and am deeply committed to
it. In addition, I am committed to the
teaching and research on psychotherapy. I
have served on several editorial boards
and have a history of publication on the
psychotherapy relationship and on the
integration of science and practice. I serve
as an Adjunct member of the Graduate
Faculty in the counseling psychology pro-
gram at the University of Maryland—
College Park.
A Division president must also understand
and work well with the larger APA system
and with other Divisions. Some of my rel-
evant experience includes service as
Member at Large and the Publications
Board for Division 29; Vice President for
Professional Practice and President (1999-
2000) of The Society of Counseling Psychology
(Division 17); and President (2002),
Secretary and Council Representative of
Psychologists in Independent Practice
(Division 42). I have just completed a term
as co-chair of CAPP (Committee for the
Advancement of Professional Practice), as
well as having chaired the Committee on
Division/APA Relations. I also serve on the
2004 APA Presidential Task Force on
Evidence Based Practice in Psychology.
I enjoy participating in volunteer gover-
nance within APA. It is an opportunity to
serve and enhance the profession and
build strong relationships with good
friends and colleagues. I would be hon-
ored to receive your vote for me for
President of Division 29.
President-elect continued
Sandra R. Harris, Ph.D., ABPP
As a Fellow of Division
29, I am honored to
be nominated for
President-Elect and it
would be a privilege to
serve, if elected.
My professional life for
27 years has been spent
primarily as a practi-
tioner of psychothera-
py in both private and public sectors of
psychology. After 21 years in University
Counseling Services at California State
University, Northridge (CSUN), I retired
in 2002, and am Emeritus Clinical
Psychologist at CSUN.
Presently I work full-time as a Clinical
Psychologist at the VA Greater Los Angeles
Health Care System. As a VA psychologist, I
conduct groups for men and women veter-
ans and individual psychotherapy for clien-
tele ranging from World War II to Iraq War
veterans. I am grateful to be able to serve
those who have given so much and who
need the help that psychotherapy offers.
On a part-time basis, I was in independent
practice for 11 years, and as an adjunct pro-
fessor, taught theory and interventions
courses at the California School of
Professional Psychology in Los Angeles,
now Alliant University and as a Lecturer at
CSUN. My research interest has been in
performance anxiety reduction, and at
CSUN I conducted a study using virtual
reality therapy for treatment of public
speaking anxiety.
I feel passionately about psychology and
strive to be an advocate for our profession
and the people we serve. My leadership
roles and recognition for service include:
• President of the California Psychological
Association (CPA), 1996; CPA’s
Distinguished Contribution to
Psychology Award, 1999.
• Elected for third term representing
California on the APA Council of
Representatives, 2005-2008, 1998-2002;
APA’s Karl F. Heiser Award for advoca-
cy, 2001.
• President of Division 31, State and
Provincial Psychological Association
Affairs, 2000; Outstanding Psychologist
Award, Division 31, 2003.
• Board of Directors, Women in
Psychology for Legislative Action, 1998-
2002; Exceptional Service Citation, 2004.
I hope to have the opportunity to serve
Division 29’s 3700 members by building on
the outstanding leadership of those who
have served the Division as President and
Board members. We are the fourth largest
of APA’s 55 Divisions. Our strength is in
the diversity of the field of psychotherapy,
encompassing research, education, train-
ing and practice from differing theoretical
orientations, which provides opportunities
for collaboration among members from
these diverse fields.
An important goal is to attract new
professionals, to increase and sustain our
Division. The focus groups conducted
recently by Dr. Linda Campbell and Dr.
Leon VandeCreek point to important
opportunities to advance and advocate for
psychotherapy, including:
• Utilizing advances in the Division’s
technological capabilities to mentor new
professionals, by linking groups of men-
tors with those seeking mentoring;
• Seeking ways to assist with obtaining
grant and funding support for psy-
chotherapy researchers;
• Affirming the Division’s support for
future psychologists by including an
APAGS Student Representative on the
Division Board.
I am always available at srhphd@earth-
link.net to answer your questions and to
hear your ideas. I would appreciate your
support and pledge to fulfill the responsibil-
ities of this office to the best of my ability.
41
Secretary
Lisa Porche-Burke, Ph.D.
My nomination for
Secretary of Division 29
is an honor, and I would
consider it a pleasure to
serve the APA Division
which, after so many
years of professional
growth, continues to
feel like home. My ser-
vice in Division 29 cov-
ers a span of over 20
years. I started my involvement in APA
through the Division of Psychotherapy as a
student and then became Chair of the
Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee. Having
served on a number of committees within
the APA governance structure including the
Council of Representatives, I am aware of
the myriad of issues confronting psycholo-
gy in general and practitioners more specif-
Armand Cerbone, Ph.D.
Any office in Division
29 is one that carries
with it responsibilities
important to the life and
interests of the Division.
It also provides oppor-
tunities for furthering
those interests. Any
Secretary, then, must
bring to the table a com-
mitment to service,
vision, and both experience and demonstrat-
ed effectiveness in governance and leader-
ship. I have a substantial history of leader-
ship and effectiveness in APA and in my
home state of Illinois. I am a past president
of Division 44 and one of its present repre-
sentatives to Council. I am the Chair-elect of
the Board for the Advancement of
Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI)
and a former chair of the Committee on
Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns
(CLGBC). As president of the Illinois
Psychological Association, as a former mem-
42
ically. We are facing many challenges as a
profession and it is critical that we come
together as a discipline to develop strategies
and solutions to ensure that the field of psy-
chology continues to grow and prosper.
As an educator and trainer of practicing
psychologists, I realize the changes that
managed care has brought to the field and
the impact it has had on its ability to attract
future practitioners. Also, I am keenly
aware that today’s practitioners, as they
increasingly work with diverse popula-
tions, are confronting challenges in the
development of effective interventions and
treatment strategies. If elected, I shall con-
tinue to strive for the advancement and
unification of the field of professional psy-
chology and to help ensure that the disci-
pline remains dynamic, relevant, and
rewarding for those who choose it as their
life’s work.
ber of the Committee on Professional
Practice and Standards, and as a longtime
independent practitioner in Chicago, I
would also bring to the Division a deep and
comprehensive understanding of the issues
affecting the provision of clinical services.
I consider my most satisfying contributions
to the profession to date my co-authoring
APA Guidelines on Psychotherapy with
Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients, adopted
as APA policy in 2000 and my chairing the
task force that drafted the policies on gay
marriage and gay families, adopted by
APA in July of this year.
Over the more than 30 years as a psycholo-
gist, my enthusiasm for the profession and
my respect for so many of our colleagues
has continued to swell. To work with the
present leadership, to foster the develop-
ment of new leadership, to contribute to
the advancement of the field, would be a
very great pleasure. It would also afford
an opportunity to thank Division 29 for
electing me a Fellow last year.
Member-at-Large
J G. Benedict, Ph.D.
My interest in serving
Div 29 as a member at
large to the Board of
Directors reflects my
longstanding concern
about the process of
psychotherapy in pub-
lic as well as private
practice venues, con-
cern about the rele-
vance of various treatment approaches,
and concerns about the evidence based
treatment demands on practitioners to
more and more tailor their intervention
techniques to a narrower and more restric-
tive set of treatment techniques for a DSM
condition. The diagnostic classifications
within DSM IV, although the best we have,
are still of too low reliability to restrict
practice. It has been the hallmark of Div 29
to maintain an active dialogue among
practicing psychologists in all practice and
training environments about effective ther-
apy techniques. The exploratory and inter-
active discussions have supported a search
for effective and efficient use of familiar
Irene Deitch, Ph.D.
I appreciate the oppor-
tunity to continue serv-
ing our Division. A
long standing member,
Fellow and Chairperson
of several Committees,
Researcher, Practitioner
and Educator, I believe I
have demonstrated that
I can make a positive
contribution in the interest of our division’s
future. I welcome your support.
I am a Professor Psychology, City University
of New York, College of Staten Island.
Producer and Host of Cable TV: “Making
Connections” (featuring Psychologists/
Psychological Issues); Practicing Psycho-
therapist; Certified Thanatologist (Grief
old approaches and new or specially devel-
oped ones for the treatment of new adap-
tive problems. The utility of diagnosis in
determining therapy strategies may still be
awaiting an alternative to the DSM, such as
the ICIDH-2.
I have been involved in treatment, practice,
training, and publication issues for psy-
chologists for the past 43 years in a Denver
public then private practice setting and am
currently on the consulting editorial staff
of Professional Practice: Research and
Practice. I have served on a various gover-
nance committees and boards of APA and
its clinical divisions representing the con-
cerns of practitioners for preserving exist-
ing treatment strategies and developing
new ones. As a member of the National
Academy of Practice, I am also concerned
about the broader issues of treatment
involving other disciplines besides
Psychology. I continue to supervise psy-
chology graduate students, keeping aware
of the needs and issues that new profes-
sionals as well as experienced psycholo-
gists face in their work.
Therapist, Death Educator); Edited books,
published extensively; Supervise intern-
ships; Mentor culturally diverse students.
DIVISION OF PSYCHOTHERAPY:
Organized /Chaired: Coalition of
Psychologists Working with Elderly
(COPE)
Organized /Chaired: Psychologists
Enhancing Quality of Life Experiences.
(EQUAL)
Convention Presenter/ Reviewer/ CE
Workshops
Recipient of Divisional Award
APA:
Chair: Public Information Committee
Member: Committee International
Relations in Psychology
Chair: Membership Committee
43
Member-at-Large, continued
Deitch, continued
Trained as Legislative Advocate
Practitioners’ Public Education Campaign
Task Force on Violence Prevention
Task Force to Write “ What Psychologists
Need to Know to Work with Older Adults”
DIVISIONAL GOALS:
• Increase Membership Retention through
opportunity for divisional service,
involvement, advancement
• Address Cultural Diversity issues
through training, practice, education
• Increase division’s visibility & member-
Susan M. Neral, Ph.D.
It is an honor to be
nominated and to have
the opportunity to
seek this position of
responsibility with the
Division of Psycho-
therapy. Due to the
changes in my career
over the past year, I am
in a position to accept
this challenge.
After 20 years as faculty with the
Department of Psychiatry and Human
Behavior, Division of Psychology, at The
University of Mississippi Medical Center, I
transitioned to a solo private practice in
June of 2004. Relinquishing the teaching
and administrative duties of the depart-
ment and medical school, diminishing the
research-oriented responsibilities, and
focusing completely on clinical work,
allows me the time to give something back
to Division 29.
At UMC, my establishment, administra-
44
ship outreach, through greater use of
media, public information, convention
and mid-year workshops.
• Establish inter-divisional coalitions for
projects and programs
• Greater use of Divisional User-Friendly
Internet Listserve Information
• Promote /support, research and train-
ing i.e. retirement, caregiving, New
Americans, terrorism, disasters, death
and dying, working with community
health needs, diversity sensitivity
• Create welcoming climate to graduate
students, early career psychologists,
culturally diverse members.
tion, and staffing of the first Medical
Center Academic Counseling Service con-
tributed to the acceptance of psychological
treatment. In my private practice and while
teaching residents and fellows, I developed
and taught a note-taking system with focus
on empirical assessment of outcomes in
psychotherapy. Adapted now to meet
HIPPA guidelines, this system isolates fac-
tors for multidisciplinary treatment,
enables protection of confidential monitor-
ing of process, and promotes assessment of
goal-oriented treatment.
In the last century of health care, psycho-
therapy was the revolution that enabled
individuals to gain insight into the power to
influence lives by changing ideas and per-
ceptions. In this century, our challenge is the
refinement of that revolution and the devel-
opment of further proof of efficacy.
It would be my privilege to serve as mem-
ber-at-large. Win or lose, I look forward to
contributing to our division over the com-
ing years.
Member-at-Large, continued
Matthew B.R. Nessetti, M.D., Ph.D., ABMP
I am honored to be
nominated for the
Division 29 board. Our
division has a history of
advancing theory, prac-
tice, research, and train-
ing in psychotherapy,
and we hold a unique
position to advocate for
the integration and uti-
lization of psychotherapeutic interventions
within mental health, medical, and other
professional environments. I will continue
this tradition by working for the develop-
ment of research-based protocols that inte-
grate biological, psychological, and social
domains. Psychotherapy is underutilized
and continuous research is necessary to bet-
ter understand psychotherapy‚s contribu-
tion to healing.
I have served in a number of leadership
positions. I was the first Director of
Steve Sobelman, Ph.D.
I have spent approxi-
mately three decades
teaching, practicing and
advocating for
Psychology through
leadership positions at
the National and State
levels and within the
academic arena. First
and foremost, I am a
strong proponent for the art of psychothera-
py through my full-time academic position
in the psychology department at Loyola
College in Maryland. I am currently the
President and Newsletter Editor of Division
49 (Group Psychotherapy), regularly attend
APA’s Educational Leadership Conference
and State Leadership Conference, served as
President of the Maryland Psychological
Association (MPA), continue to serve as the
Professional Affairs for the Nebraska
Psychological Association and served as its
treasurer. I have been active with APA as a
charter participant of the Business of
Practice Network, State Leadership
Conference participant. In addition, I
worked to create APA‚s newest division,
The American Society for the Advance-
ment of Pharmacotherapy. I am president
of this division and served on its executive
board member and as the convention chair.
I hope to be a liaison among to other divi-
sions in APA to promote research and prac-
tice protocols..
Psychotherapy is central to my profession-
al work. As a practitioner, I am awed by its
power to ease psychological illness and
pain. As the director of an internship and
residency program, I am gratified in
observing the growth and development of
early career psychologists is rewarding. I
look forward to assisting the division in
promoting psychotherapy within and out-
side of psychology.
Federal Advocacy Coordinator for
Maryland, and remain in touch with APA
policy and advocacy. Additionally, I was the
founder and clinical director of a large pri-
vate mental health facility.
If elected as a Member-at-Large, I will con-
tinue previous commitments to promote a
greater understanding of the needs of
Division 29. And, I will bring new chal-
lenges by providing: 1) increased member-
ship (especially graduate students); 2)
exposure to professionals and the public
through technological innovations; 3) con-
tinued support for research efforts; and, 4)
fiscal responsibility to our members.
I strongly believe that “if you want to get
something done, give it to a busy person.”
I’m a busy person and will “get it done” for
you. Thank you for your consideration and
I welcome your vote.
45
Student Development Chair
Per the bylaws changes that were approrved in 2004, the Division members have
authorized the position of Student Development Chair, a voting member of the Division
29 Board of Directors. The following students are candidates for Student Development
Chair. The election of the position will be held separately, with student members
receiving ballots.

Gregory Chasson
My name is Gregory the division, I will strive to expand Div 29
Chasson, and I am student relations and initialize services to
currently pursuing a facilitate student edification and transition
Ph.D. in Clinical into the professional world. For example, I
Psychology at the would push for continual Div 29 student
University of Houston. voice in the APAGS publication, effective-
My eclectic clinical and ly marketing Div 29 to a wider student
research interests audience and providing some credible,
include the treatment domain-specific material for publication.
of autism, defining a In addition, I would promote the develop-
professional standard ment of a division website forum to allow
for child custody evaluations, and treat- anybody, including Div 29 students and
ment effectiveness for children who have professional members, to interact on a
been physically and sexually abused. With more immediate basis. With proper
your support, I intend on continuing the marketing, this forum could also serve to
strong presence of student leadership expand Div 29 and its influences outside
within Division 29. In addition to main- of APA and serve a useful function to
taining student initiatives previously students and professionals needing some
implemented, as your student chair for guidance.

46
Michael Stuart Garfinkle
Psychotherapy is psy-
chology’s arm to soci-
ety, the incorporation
of the corpus of psy-
chological knowledge
and graduate students
planning to working in
mental health fieldsin
clinical psychology are
the future generation
of psychotherapy’s
champions. To that end, developing pro-
grams for the benefit of graduate students
in psychology is of the utmost importance
and to that end, I feel especially well suit-
ed to this essential task. Having served on
student governments and departmental
advisory boards in college matched with a
passion for psychology that translates into
a life project of advancing our profession
and increasing its reach, I bring research
experience and dedication that makes me
a suitable candidate for this position.
Developing opportunities for student
publications is an essential first step in
advancing psychological knowledge and
expanding membership in Division 29 is
part of that goal. From some discussion
with fellow graduate students in the New
York City area, the division’s visibility has
emerged as a first concern. Many graduate
students are not members of the APA and
of course, would have little to no idea that
our division exists and partnering our
division’s initiatives with broader APA
initiatives will be key in increasing our
exposure.
In sum, the achievement of our goals
requires dedication and commitment, both
only possible with passion for psychother-
apy and psychology and if elected, my
intention would be to tirelessly apply
myself to the ideals of the Division of
Psychotherapy.

Theodore M. Nnaji
My name is Theodore served as the Nigerian graduate student
M.Nnaji. I am a first union liaison officer to City College
graduate student in the gradute the student government, where I
(Psy.D) program at the had the opportunity to sharpen my net-
School of Professional working skills. Increasing student enroll-
Psychology, Wright ment and active participation in the divi-
State University sion will be some of my primary objec-
Dayton, Ohio. I am tives if elected, and I think my networking
running for the chair abilities and organizational skill will facili-
student development tate this. Another objective is to create a
committee because of forum where students can come together
believe that I can make a positive differ- and exchange ideas
ence and contribute to its growth. I have

47
48