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Objective: The present study investigated the effectiveness of a newly developed 3-week self-compassion group intervention for enhancing resilience and well-being among female college students., Method: Fifty-two students were randomly assigned to either an intervention designed to teach skills of self-compassion (n = 27) or an active control group intervention in which general time management skills were taught (n = 25). Both interventions comprised 3 group meetings held over 3 weeks. To measure resilience and well-being gains, participants filled out a number of questionnaires before and after the intervention., Results: Results showed that the self-compassion intervention led to significantly greater increases in self-compassion, mindfulness, optimism, and self-efficacy, as well as significantly greater decreases in rumination in comparison to the active control intervention. Whereas both interventions increased life satisfaction and connectedness, no differences were found for worry and mood., Conclusion: These findings suggest that a brief self-compassion intervention has potential for improving student resilience and well-being., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Group therapy can facilitate changes for members with greater attachment anxiety who tend to struggle with negative self-perceptions, difficulties regulating emotions, poor reflective functioning, and compromised interpersonal relationships. A clinical example of a therapy group with members who had elevated attachment anxiety and who were diagnosed with binge eating disorder demonstrates how attachment theory can be applied to group treatment. The clinical material from the beginning, middle, and end of group is presented to highlight how attachment anxiety influences members' emotional reactions and behaviors in the group, how group factors facilitate change, and how the leader fosters the development of a secure base within the group. Pre- to posttreatment outcomes indicate positive changes in binge eating, depressive symptoms, and attachment avoidance and anxiety. To facilitate change in individuals with greater attachment anxiety, group therapists may foster a secure base in the group through group cohesion, which will facilitate down regulation of emotions, better reflective functioning, and relationships that are less preoccupied with loss and more secure., (© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objective(s): Treatment credibility and client satisfaction have received relatively little research attention, but extant findings indicate that some clients and therapists differ in their perceptions of what is helpful about therapy, with greater divergence related to poorer outcomes. This study examined relationships between treatment credibility, perceptions of therapy helpfulness, and treatment response., Method: Participants were 48 individuals (60.4% female; 53.2% Caucasian; mean age 32.79 years) with an anxiety disorder diagnosis. Participants completed a 12-week transdiagnostic treatment protocol; treatment credibility was rated after session 2, and treatment component helpfulness was rated posttreatment., Results: Treatment response was significantly correlated with perceived helpfulness of cognitive restructuring and exposure techniques, but not treatment credibility. Treatment responders recognized the helpfulness of factors considered to be important therapeutic processes., Conclusions: Findings emphasize the importance of client perceptions of cognitive and behavioral techniques in treatment and suggest the need to monitor client perceptions throughout the treatment process., (© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objective: Group psychotherapy research would benefit from an observational measure of group cohesion to complement existing self-report measures. This study introduces the Therapy Process Observational Coding System-Group Cohesion scale (TPOCS-GC), which observationally assesses cohesion between each member and the group., Method: In total 27 parents participated in a group parent-training social competency intervention for children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Independent coders double-coded group cohesion and the alliance in 144 client-sessions. Parents, teachers, and children completed cognitive, behavioral, and therapy participation measures., Results: The TPOCS-GC demonstrated modest to strong item-level interrater reliability and acceptable internal consistency. Group cohesion evidenced moderate stability over the course of treatment. Relations between TPOCS-GC and theoretically linked and unrelated variables provided some evidence for construct and predictive validity., Conclusions: This preliminary study suggests that the TPOCS-GC is a reliable instrument that may help fill an instrumentation gap in the field., (2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc)

This study examined supervisees and supervisors' view on focus and group climate in group supervision and their relationship with supervisees' attained skill. After supervision, supervisees completed a revised version of Buckley's measure of psychotherapeutic skill. Supervisees and supervisors' experience of focus and climate in the supervision was measured with a questionnaire, Topics and Climate (TAC). The results showed that supervisors' ratings of the extent to which different foci were used in the supervision were significantly higher compared to supervisees' ratings. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that differences in supervisor style were related to supervisees' experience of attained skill. Supervisees' experience of the degree to which focus in supervision was on psychodynamic processes was positively related to perceived attained skill, whereas focus on Theoretical aspects was negatively related. These findings underline the importance of research work with topics and group processes in group supervision.

This study was designed to determine the utility of two newly developed self-report measures of group therapy effectiveness. Repeated administrations of these instruments indicated that group therapy was effective in inducing significant problem resolution and that these changes were stable on a 3-month follow-up. One of the measures also suggested that the nondirective style of therapy appeared to be more effective than the directive style. Results suggest that two self-report measures may be useful in studies designed to determine both the outcome as well as the process of group psychotherapy.