Changing Frontiers in the Science of Psychotherapy

This book is an exploration and mapping of the frontiers of research in psychotherapy. The authors make a systematic effort to discover where the science is going; analyzing conceptual problems, trends, and issues; record their interviews with the leaders in the field; and recommend new directions for research. The volume is the result of a three-year study on collaborative research in psychotherapy by the National Institute of Mental Health, and was first published in 1972.In Changing Frontiers in the Science of Psychotherapy Allen E. Bergin and Hans H. Strupp introduce the reader to therapeutic science as it appeared to them during a three year process of evaluating available literature, conducting interviews with scientists and therapists, and exchanging and formulating viewpoints. Personal reflections and experiences were gleaned from working papers, correspondence, and personal material, all of which gave life to the ongoing processes of science and provide considerable insight into everyday reality behind the scenes.The prominent therapists interviewed in this book include Arnold A. Lazarus, Lester Luborsky, Arthur H. Auerbach, Lyle D. Schmidt, Stanley R. Strong, Paul E. Meehl, Howard F. Hunt, Bernard F. Riess, Thomas S. Szasz, Arnold P. Goldstein, Gerald C. Davison, Bernard Weitzman, J. B. Chassan, Kenneth M. Colby, Albert Bandura, Robert S. Wallerstein, Harold Sampson, Louis Breger, Howard Levene, Ralph R. Greenson, Milton Wexler, Carl B. Rogers, Charles B. Traux, Joseph D. Matarazzo, Neal E. Miller, Henry B. Linford, Peter H. Knapp, John M. Shlien, David Bakan, Marvin A. Smith, and Peter J. Lang, all of whom remain leading figures in the literature on psychotherapy.

1 Introduction ORIENTATION AND RATIONALE; SOME FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES; 2 Sullivan's Conceptions: Beginnings of a System THE INTERPERSONAL NATURE OF PERSONALITY HUMAN INFANCY; LATER DEVELOPMENTS AND ACQUISITIONS; THE DEVELOPMENTAL ERAS; DISTORTIONS OF INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS; Mechanisms of defense; An example of mild mental disorder: Jealousy; An example of more serious mental disorder: Hysteria; An example of severe mental disorder: Schizophrenia CONCLUSION; 3 Learning Interpersonal Behavior BASIC PROCESSES IN HUMAN LEARNING; Action learning, Cognitive learning PLANS AND STRATEGIES: AN INTEGRATION; OVERVIEW Interpersonal behavior and the habits of squirrels 4 Varieties of Interpersonal Behavior A TAXONOMY OF INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOR; THE ACHIEVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF INTERACTIONAL BALANCE; 5 Negotiating Interpersonal Transactions REWARDS AND COSTS; INTERACTION-OUTCOME PROCESSES: TWO EXAMPLES; GENERALIZED INTERPERSONAL STYLES AND THEIR INTERACTIONAL ASPECTS; POWER AND DEPENDENCE IN DYADIC RELATIONSHIPS 6 Contractual Arrangements in Interpersonal Relations THE DEVELOPMENT OF NORMS; IMPLICIT CONTRACTS IN DYADIC INTERACTION; FRAUDULENT INTERPERSONAL CONTRACTS; A FINAL WORD 7 Personality Disorder: Extranormative Efforts at Relationship THE DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY DISORDER; CAUSAL FACTORS IN PERSONALITY DISORDER; VARIETIES OF RESIDUAL RULE-BREAKING; 8 Psychotherapy: Disorder-Reducing Interpersonal Relationships; DYADIC RELATIONSHIP THERAPY AS THE FOCUS; THE PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC TASK; BASIC PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC PROCESSES; THE TRANSFER OF THERAPEUTIC LEARNING, Image dedifferentiation, Intervention in other client relationships