Transtheoretical principles of change that promote growth in clients lie between theory and technique. Identification of such principles can contribute to an integrative approach that reduces divisiveness across therapeutic orientations and supports both implementation of effective practices in psychotherapy and development of the field of evidence-based psychotherapy practices.
Five principles are commonly identified across theoretical orientations of psychotherapy: These include, but are not limited to, creating conditions for positive and reality-based expectancies and emotional information processing; a therapeutic alliance in which the path to obtaining such expectations is specific and agreed upon, increased awareness and insight, and more. These principles and associated constructs that often are repackaged and renamed by those of differing orientations have also been the focus of his Talking Therapy You Tube channel and Spotify podcast with friend & colleague Allen Frances, M.D. Talking Therapy offers a living history from two wise mental health professionals whose influence on the fields of diagnosis and therapy have been immense.
In 2021and 2022 close to 2000 practitioners, researchers, and trainees spanning orientations responded to an online assessment about how important these principles are in routine clinical practice and whether or not they are common to diverse psychotherapy orientations. Many on PBTA's contact list of practitioners, researchers, and graduate student trainees were invited to participate in the research that is summarized this open-access article:
Twomey, C., O'Reilly, G., & Goldfried, M. R. (2023). Consensus on the perceived presence of transtheoretical principles of change in routine psychotherapy practice: A survey of clinicians and researchers. Psychotherapy, 60, 219-224.
At this virtual CE journal club from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET we will be joined by both Drs. Goldfried & Twomey, integrative clinical scientist s and co-authors of the featured open-access journal article to inquire into the findings of this article and implications for future research and practice. Both will also respond to questions about the findings in the open-access article that is the focus of this journal club. Come prepared for respectful dialogue as we inquire into the factors that support and impede consensus and progress across orientations. This is intended to be an interactive inquiry!
CE Learning Objectives
Following this presentation, participants will be able to:
Describe one of five transtheoretical principles of change that support growth in clients.
Describe one barrier to obtaining consensus about principles of change across diverse psychotherapy orientations.
Required Reading (click for PDF)
Twomey, C., O'Reilly, G., & Goldfried, M. R. (2023). Consensus on the perceived presence of transtheoretical principles of change in routine psychotherapy practice: A survey of clinicians and researchers. Psychotherapy, 60, 219-224.
Suggested Reading from previous journal club
"Obtaining Consensus in Psychotherapy: What Holds Us Back?"
Presenters
Dr. Goldfried is a Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at Stony Brook University. He investigates the process of change in psychotherapy, comparing different theoretical orientations for both common and unique processes. He is cofounder of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration; founding Editor of In Session: Psychotherapy in Practice; Past President of the Society for Psychotherapy Research; and recipient of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division of Clinical Psychology's 1998 award for Distinguished Research Contributions to Clinical Psychology, the Division of Psychotherapy's award for Distinguished Psychologist in the year 2000, the 2001 APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Knowledge, the 2002 Division 1 States Award for Contributions Toward Unifying Psychology, the 2003 Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy Award for Outstanding Clinical Contributions, the 2004 APA Award from the Society for the Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues, and the 2005 Society for Psychotherapy Research Distinguished Career Award. Recipient of the 2018 APA/American Psychological Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for the Application of Psychology.
He also is committed to clinical and research issues associated with gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals, and has developed a network of psychologists who have come out in open support of their lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender family members. (For more information about AFFIRM: Psychologists Affirming their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Family, see: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/affirm/).
Conal Twomey, HDipPsych MLitt PCAP Ph.D.
Conal Twomey, Ph.D. is a Senior Clinical Psychologist at St Patrick's Mental Health Services, Dublin, Ireland (working therapeutically with adults) and also Adjunct Associate Professor at University College Dublin (UCD) where he lectures on the clinical psychology training programme. His clinical work is mainly guided by transtheoretical principles of change, and the models of compassion focused therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, and therapeutic personality assessment - which he endeavours to work with in a flexible and integrative manner in order to match individual patient needs. Regarding research, Dr. Twomey's interests are wide-ranging and include therapeutic personality assessment, Internet-delivered CBT, the application of open source principles to psychotherapy science, and most recently, transtheoretical principles of change. Dr. Twomey had the honour of collaborating with Dr. Goldfried on the paper covered in the present workshop; and he is co-ordinating a follow-up survey project which aims to match clinical techniques to the 5 principles of change first proposed by Dr. Goldfried in the 1980s.
Target Audience
This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and graduate student trainees seeking licensure and with some clinical experience. The instructional level of this presentation is Beginner.
Continuing Education
- Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
- This program provides one and a half (1.5) hours of CE credits.
- PBTA is also an authorized provider of CE credits for Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Clinical Social Workers licensed in the state of Pennsylvania.
- Full attendance with video display is required to obtain CE credit for this program. APA guidelines do not permit PBTA to issue partial CE credits. No refunds are provided for CE programs. No exceptions allowed.
- * PBTA does not currently offer CE to practitioners licensed in the state of New York.
- Those requiring accommodations please email 48-hours in advance to notify PBTA at PBTAcontinuingeducaiton@gmail.com
- Zoom link is sent 48 hours before event, following registration close.
- Please plan to join WITH VIDEO & audio access.
