----- Original Message -----
From: "Geoffrey Goodman" <Geoffrey.Goodman@liu.edu>
To: <caftr@psychotherapyresearch.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 4:04 PM
Subject: CaFTR some recently published child psychotherapy research

Hi Folks,

Nick has asked me to bring some of our recently published child
psychotherapy research to your attention:

Goodman, G., Midgley, N., & Schneider, C.  (in press).  Describing child
psychotherapy process in prototype sessions of cognitive-behavioral and
psychodynamic therapy:  Is mentalization a common process factor?
Psychotherapy Research.

Abstract
Background:  There is a paucity of valid measures that support research
examining the process of child psychotherapy both within and across
different treatment models.
Objective:  To investigate a) whether expert clinicians within psychodynamic
therapy (PDT) process and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)agree on key
features of child psychotherapy process using the Child Psychotherapy
Process Q-Set (CPQ); b) whether these two prototypes can be empirically
distinguished; and c) whether promoting mentalization (operationalized as
reflective functioning [RF]) is a shared component of the way expert
clinicians conceptualize these two treatment models.
Method:  Thirty-one raters with expertise in PDT, CBT and RF provided
ratings of the 100 CPQ items to describe an ideal prototype session that
adheres to the principles of their treatment model.  Two Q-factor analyses
with varimax rotation were conducted.
Results:  Expert clinicians reached a high level of agreement on their
respective PDT and CBT prototypes.  These prototypes loaded onto two
independent factors.  The RF process prototype loaded onto both factors.
Conclusions:  From the theoretical perspective of expert clinicians
representing PDT and CBT, these two child-focused treatment models can be
empirically distinguished; however, a focus on RF appears to be a common
process factor in the way both treatment models are conceptualized.

Goodman, G.  (2015).  Interaction structures between a child and two
therapists in the psychodynamic treatment of a child with borderline
personality disorder.  Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 41, 141-161.

Abstract
This study examined the constellation of interaction structures - repetitive
patterns of interactions between patient and therapist over the course of
treatment - that emerged in the psychodynamic therapy (PDT) of a child
diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and treated by two
doctoral-student therapists.  Identification of these interaction structures
can inform therapists of what might be expected from patients with
particular symptom or behavior patterns and how interactions change over
time.  This study also examined each session’s adherence to three session
prototypes:  PDT, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and reflective
functioning (RF) process.  The Child Psychotherapy Q-Set (CPQ; Schneider &
Jones, 2004) is a 100-item instrument that assesses the processes within a
single psychotherapy session.  Items reflect a wide range of therapist
attitudes and behaviors, patient attitudes and behaviors, and interactions
between therapist and patient.  Experts used the CPQ to define PDT, CBT, and
RF process session prototypes.  The results suggested that four distinct
interaction structures could be identified and that their constellations
differed between the two therapists and also differed over time within each
treatment.  Therapists were more structured and accommodating early on in
their treatments and more interpretive later.  Prototypical PDT process was
more prominent in the sessions than RF process, which in turn was more
prominent than CBT process.  Unique therapeutic processes are at work in
every dyad, despite holding the patient and theoretical orientation
constant.  An effective treatment in one dyad might not work in another due
to therapist-specific and dyad-specific effects.

Goodman, G., Reed, P., & Athey-Lloyd, L.  (2015).  Mentalization and play
therapy processes between two therapists and a child with Asperger's
disorder.  International Journal of Play Therapy, 24, 13-29.

Abstract
The British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT) provides a definition of
play therapy (PT) that emphasizes humanistic ideals such as using
nondirective play techniques to enable the child’s inner resources to bring
about growth and change.  These therapeutic change processes have never been
submitted to empirical testing in part because of the paucity of valid,
reliable instruments to assess child psychotherapy process.  Identifying
empirically supported change processes is crucial to discovering which
change processes work for which child.  For example, children with Asperger’s
disorder have deficits in mentalization—the ability to interpret the
behaviors of self and others as motivated by underlying mental states. Would
a mentalization-informed PT approach or a traditional PT approach be more
effective in treating such patients?  The Child Psychotherapy Q-Set (CPQ) is
a 100-item instrument that assesses the processes within a single
psychotherapy session. Items reflect a wide range of therapist attitudes and
behaviors, patient attitudes and behaviors, and interactions between
therapist and patient. To characterize PT process, 24 BAPT play therapists
were asked to use the CPQ to rate the prototypical PT session based on their
knowledge of PT operationalized by the BAPT definition.  The findings
indicated that according to these 24 raters, a therapist who is sensitive to
the child’s feelings and level of development characterizes British PT. Two
therapists treating a child with Asperger’s disorder over two years
decreased their session adherence to PT while maintaining their session
adherence to mentalization processes. The CPQ enables empirical treatment
comparisons with the PT definition of American play therapists.

Let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks.

Geoff

Geoff Goodman, Ph.D., ABPP, FIPA, CST, CSAT-S, CMAT-S, RPT-S
Associate Professor
Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program
Long Island University
720 Northern Blvd.
Brookville, NY 11548
(516) 299-4277
http://myweb.cwpost.liu.edu/ggoodman/home.htm