Aims: Concepts of mentalization, affect consciousness, and mindfulness have been increasingly emphasized as crucial in psychotherapy of diverse orientations. Different measures have been developed that purportedly measure these concepts, but little is known about their interrelationships. We discuss conceptual overlaps and distinctions between these three concepts, and present results from a preliminary empirical study comparing their measures.

Methods: To study the relationships between these concepts, data from a group of psychotherapy students (N = 46) was used. Mentalization operationalized as Reflective Functioning (RF) was rated on transcripts of a brief version of the Adult Attachment Interview, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) was used to measure mindfulness, and the Affect Consciousness Interview-Self/Other version (ACI-S/O) to measure affect consciousness.

Results: There was a small but statistically significant relationship between RF and FFMQ, but surprisingly no relationship between AC-S/O and RF or FFMQ. A post-hoc analysis showed a relationship between consciousness of others’ affects and a reduced version of the RF scale.

Discussion: Results confirm that mentalization and mindfulness share some  common variance, but contrary to expectations affect consciousness seems to be more different from RF and mindfulness than expected. A possible explanation for the counterintuitive finding of no relationship between RF and affect consciousness is that affect consciousness measures a mature capacity for mentalized affectivity, while RF (especially at the high end) is largely a buffer against trauma and adversity. Low or absent findings for the FFMQ are explained more in terms of different methods variance.

This naturalistic study presents outcomes for three therapy types practiced in psychiatric public health care in Sweden. Data were collected over a 3-year period at 13 outpatient psychiatric care services participating in the online Quality Assurance of Psychotherapy in Sweden (OAPS) system. Of the 1,498 registered patients, 14% never started psychotherapy, 17% dropped out from treatment, and 36% dropped out from data collection. Outcome measures included symptom severity, quality of life, and self-rated health. Outcomes were studied for 180 patients who received cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, or integrative/eclectic therapy after control for dropout representativity. Among treatment completers, patients with different pretreatment characteristics seem to have received different treatments. Patients showed significant improvements, and all therapy types had generally good outcomes in terms of symptom reduction and clinical recovery. Overall, the psychotherapy delivered by the Swedish public health services included in this study is beneficial for the majority of patients who complete treatment. Multilevel regression modeling revealed no significant effect for therapy type for three different outcome measures. Neither did treatment duration have any significant effect. The analysis did not demonstrate any significant therapist effects on the three outcome measures. The results must be interpreted with caution, as there was large attrition and incomplete data, nonrandom assignment to treatment, no treatment integrity control, and lack of long-term follow-up.

Because universal or primary prevention strategies often target heterogeneous populations, their effects may likewise be expected to be heterogeneous. We sought to explore the heterogeneity of outcomes of previously published results of a longitudinal Swedish study of a school-based socio-emotional learning program. By applying latent class regression analysis to two measures of well-being, we found three significantly different classes with different change trajectories that yielded different outcomes. We conclude that restricting outcome analyses of primary prevention programs to sample means may conceal important heterogeneity regarding individual outcomes.

Objective: This study introduces an instrument, the Interview of Mothers Experiences (I-ME), focusing on how the mothers past and present experiences relate to her psychological state and interaction with the baby. Background: Questionnaires and video-taped interactions are used for assessing dyadic relationship disturbances. Validated interviews are rarer and might yield additional information. Method: Analyses were made on 86 dyads from a randomised controlled trial comparing mother-infant psychoanalytic treatment with Swedish Child Health Centre care. Data were assembled from two interviews with a 6-month interval. Initial infant mean age was 5 months. Concurrent and predictive validity were assessed by comparisons with questionnaires and mother-baby interaction ratings. Results: The I-MEs internal consistency and inter-rater reliability were high. Factor analyses indicated its incremental validity beyond questionnaires and interaction ratings. The hypothesis that I-ME scores would be closely related to the interaction ratings was refuted. Rather, they were associated with questionnaires on depression and infant functioning. The I-ME predicted the mothers interactive contributions six months later, whereas the questionnaire on maternal psychopathology predicted the infants contributions. Conclusions: The I-ME may help detecting dyads at risk for future difficulties with interactions and attachment, beyond other assessment methods such as mother-report questionnaires.

There is a conflict and growing rift in the psychoanalytic community in regard to the relevance and value of systematic research in comparison with clinical research. Basically, the discussion revolves around the issues (1) whether systematic research may explore unconscious levels of processing and (2) whether it may account for the uniqueness of the psychoanalytic couple. On the basis of research examples and findings it is argued that there are systematic empirical methods to explore and describe unconscious processes in treatment and account for individual case differences. It is concluded that psychoanalysis will need both systematic and clinical research in order to develop internally and in order to strengthen its case in a rather hostile aEuroUmwelt".

Psychoanalytiker haben einen Konflikt und entzweien sich zunehmend im Hinblick auf die Bedeutung und den Wert systematischer Forschung im Vergleich mit klinischer Forschung. Im Grunde dreht sich die Diskussion darum, ob systematische Forschung die unbewussten Ebenen des Prozesses zu untersuchen und die Einzigartigkeit des psychoanalytischen Paars zu ergründen vermag. Auf der Basis von Beispielen und Ergebnissen der Forschung wird ausgeführt, dass es systematische empirische Methoden gibt, um unbewusste Behandlungsprozesse zu erforschen sowie zu beschreiben und um die individuelle Fallverschiedenheit zu betrachten. Daraus wird der Schluss gezogen, dass die Psychoanalyse beides braucht, die systematische und die klinische Forschung, um sich zu entwickeln und ihre Sache in einer ziemlich feindlichen Umwelt zu vertreten.

Mother infant relationship disturbances occur in three domains: maternal distress, infant functional problems, and relationship difficulties. They constitute common clinical problems. In Sweden, they are usually handled by nurses as part of public Child Health Centre care. Severe cases are referred to child psychiatry services. This randomized controlled trial compared two groups of mother infant dyads in a Stockholm sample. One received only Child Health Centre care (the "CHCC" group) while the other received mother infant psychoanalytic treatment plus CHCC (the "MIP" group). Eighty dyads of mothers and infants under I years of age where the mothers had serious concerns about themselves in their role as mothers, their infants well-being, or the mother baby relationship were randomly selected for either the MIP or the CHCC group. The primary outcomes were mother-reported depression, mother-reported infant functional problems, and interviewer-based relationship assessments, all at 6 months after joining the project. Secondary outcomes were mother-reported stress and general psychic distress, externally rated video-recorded interactions, and the consumption of healthcare at the CHC, again all after 6 months. Intent-to-treat analyses of Treatment x Time effects significantly favored MIP treatment for maternal depression, mother infant relationships, and maternal sensitivity. Effects were nearly significant on maternal stress, but nonsignificant on mother-reported infant functional problems, general psychic distress, maternal interactive structuring and nonintrusiveness, infant responsiveness and involvement, and healthcare consumption. MIP treatment improved mother infant relationships and maternal sensitivity and depression, all of which are known to influence child development. If effects persist and are reproduced, MIP treatment holds promise for more widespread use.

A randomized control trial was performed on 75 dyads in Stockholm, Sweden, with infants under I years. It recruited mothers who worried about the babies, themselves as mothers, and/or the mother-baby relationship. Two groups of mother-infant dyads were compared. One received only Child Health Centre care (the "CHCC" group) while the other received mother-infant psychoanalytic treatment plus CHCC (the "MIP" group). Significant treatment effects were found on mother-reported depression, interviewer-rated dyadic relationship qualities and externally rated maternal sensitivity, and near-significant effects on mother-reported stress, all in favor of MIP. The objective of this study is to investigate the predictive and moderating influences on outcomes by qualitatively assessed maternal and infant characteristics. The qualitative factors covered maternal suitability for psychoanalysis, and "ideal types" of mother and child, respectively. Outcome measures from two interviews with a 6-month interval were depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (J. Cox, J. Holden, andamp; R. Sagovsky, 1987), stress (Swedish Parental Stress Questionnaire (M. Ostberg, B. Hagekull, andamp; S. Wettergren, 1997), distress (Swedish Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90; L.R. Derogatis, I 994; M. Fridell, Z. Cesarec, M. Johansson, andamp; S. Mailing Thorsen, 2002) and infant social and emotional functioning (Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (J. Squires, D. Bricker, K. Heo, andamp; E. Twombly, 2002), relationship qualities (Parent-Infant Global Assessment Scale (PIR-GAS; ZERO TO THREE, 2005), and videotaped interactions (Emotional Availability Scales, Z. Biringen, J.L. Robinson, andamp; R.N. Emde, 1998). Suitability for psychoanalysis predicted outcome only on the PIR-GAS. Two overarching maternal ideal types were created, reflecting their attitude to the psychoanalytic process: "Participators" and "Abandoned." The Participators benefited more from MIP than they did From CHCC on maternal interactive sensitivity. A contrasting, but nonsignificant, pattern was found among the Abandoned mothers. Two ideal types of babies emerged: those "Affected" and "Unaffected" by the disturbance, respectively. Among Affected babies, dyadic relationships and sensitivity among their mothers improved significantly more from MIP than they did from CHCC. The superior effects of MIP applied especially to Participator mothers and Affected infants. For Abandoned mothers and Unaffected infants, CHCC seemed to be of equal value.

Background. There is some evidence that the perceived credibility of specific forms of psychotherapy, beliefs about helpful and not-so-helpful interventions, and differential treatment preferences may influence both therapeutic alliance and outcome, at least in the short term. The present study explored whether distinct clusters exist, based on credibility ratings, and how these may be related to treatment preferences and beliefs about the helpfulness of specific interventions. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanMethod. Written descriptions of psychodynamic, cognitive, and cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy were rated by a random community sample with the normal level of psychiatric treatment (n = 121), psychiatric outpatients with limited previous experience of psychiatric care (n = 118), and a group of psychiatric veterans with long experience of psychiatric care (n = 48). Participants completed a questionnaire focusing on beliefs about the helpfulness of specific therapy components, rated the credibility of each form of psychotherapy, and ranked the alternatives in terms of preferences. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults. Using cluster analysis, six distinct groups of participants were delineated. Some approached psychotherapy in an undifferentiated manner, tending to either embrace all or reject all of the methods examined. Others had differentiated ideas about the credibility of specific therapeutic approaches. These clusters were strongly associated with differential treatment preferences. They were also associated with helpfulness beliefs, type of psychological problems, previous experiences with psychotherapy, and gender. Analysis of the interactions among these factors revealed that the distribution across clusters was almost entirely accounted for by the helpfulness beliefs. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusions. For clinicians, it may be important to investigate the differential appeal of specific components of psychotherapy as well as entire therapy packages in individual cases prior to commencing therapy. For researchers, it may be important to consider whether outcome studies would become more informative by taking patients beliefs and preferences into account.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the development of psychotherapists professional self during training and the first few years after it. Constant comparison analysis was conducted on interviews with former students (N = 18) at a training institute for psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The resulting core category osearching for recognitiono indicated that participants ambition during the studied time period was to reach high status by becoming psychotherapists. During training, this was expressed by the category oattachment to preformed professional self,o meaning that students wanted their preconceptions about therapy to be acknowledged by teachers. After training, participants experienced achieved recognition and, as a result, a sense of freedom to use their own judgment.

The aim of this study was to explore the long-term effects of affect-focused body psychotherapy (ABP) for patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A group of 61 consecutive patients, 21-55 years old, were randomized to ABP and psychiatric treatment as usual (TAU). The patients were assessed before treatment and followed up 1 and 2 years after inclusion. The ABP patients received one session of treatment per week during 1 year. Three self-report questionnaires were administered; Symptom Checklist-90, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the WHO (Ten) Well-Being Index. In both groups, there was a significant improvement. On termination, the ABP group had improved significantly more on the SCL-90 Global Symptom Index than the TAU group, whereas the differences were short of significance on the other two scales. The integration of bodily techniques with a focus on affects in a psychodynamically informed treatment seems to be a viable treatment alternative for patients with GAD.