"You can't really have a relationship with them because they just ask you questions": understanding adolescent dropout - an empirical single case study.

Introduction: High dropout rates are common in youth psychotherapy, including psychoanalytic psychotherapy, yet the reasons behind this trend remain obscure. A critical focus to enhance adolescent engagement could be the therapeutic alliance, particularly in resolving alliance ruptures. This study sought to clarify the complex relationships between the therapeutic alliance, encompassing alliance ruptures and resolutions, and dropout within the context of poor outcome. It investigated a single case of an adolescent with depression who dropped-out of Short-Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, without showing clinical improvement. Method: Data was garnered from diverse sources, including questionnaires, interviews, and session recordings, and analyzed through a mixed-method longitudinal framework. This encompassed views from the adolescent, therapist, parents, and external evaluators. Results: The study identifies several factors impacting the decision to drop out, including initial profound distrust toward the therapist, a complex and difficult therapeutic relationship characterized by unresolved alliance ruptures, and sporadic attendance. External factors including minimal parental engagement with therapy were also seen as detrimental to the adolescent's involvement and progress. Discussion: The research underscores the challenges in engaging adolescents, especially when there may be distrust of professionals, and in the absence of parental involvement with treatment.

Repairing alliance ruptures in psychodynamic psychotherapy with young people: The development of a rational-empirical model to support youth therapists.

Alliance ruptures in youth psychotherapy can have a significant impact on treatment outcomes. However, there is currently limited guidance on how to effectively repair these ruptures with young people. This study aims to address this gap specifically in the context of psychodynamic psychotherapy with adolescents. The objectives of the study are (a) to understand the therapeutic interventions and attitudes that either facilitate or hinder the resolution of alliance ruptures and (b) to develop a model for repairing these ruptures within this particular treatment approach. To accomplish this, a task analysis of a previously developed rational model of resolving alliance ruptures was conducted using 16 sessions from short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy with depressed adolescents. The analysis supported some stages of the hypothesized rational model while revealing the need for revisions. As a result, the study developed a rational-empirical model that includes flexible strategies that therapists can use to repair alliance ruptures. This model emphasizes the significance of a collaborative, open, and empathetic approach to resolving ruptures. In contrast, rigid, defensive, or invalidating therapist attitudes can hinder the resolution process. The evidence-based model developed from the study can provide valuable guidance to psychodynamic psychotherapists working with young people, offering insights on how to approach ruptures and employ effective strategies to promote their resolution. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The alliance with young people: Where have we been, where are we going?

The therapeutic alliance is considered an important mechanism of change in youth psychotherapy. Accordingly, it has become one of the most investigated psychotherapy variables. Yet, the theoretical and empirical literature on the alliance with young people is complex and has received criticism. This article aims to (a) critically review the existing knowledge on the alliance in youth psychotherapy from its definition to the existing research and (b) discuss some of the implications of this knowledge for clinical practice ad future research. This review highlights that the alliance in youth psychotherapy, as commonly measured, has a significant, although small, impact on outcomes; and that the alliance-outcome association may be influenced by the young person and the therapist's characteristics, as well as therapy types. This points to the importance of finding tailored ways of fostering a strong alliance when working with young people and questions the assumption of the alliance as a generic aspect of all types of youth psychological treatments. Attention to repairing alliance ruptures also emerged as key, especially to preventing early dropout in adolescent therapy. It is argued that despite its limitations, alliance research in youth psychotherapy can have important clinical implications to improve youth psychotherapy. A resumption of a conversation between the clinical and research field on the alliance is needed to better understand the nature and role of this important variable when working with young people and to use this knowledge to inform and improve clinical practice and therapeutic training. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Alliance ruptures and resolutions in short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for adolescent depression: An empirical case study.

AbstractMost research on alliance rupture-repair processes in psychotherapy has been carried out with adults and little is known about the alliance dynamics with adolescents, especially in psychodynamic treatments.Objective: This study aimed to better understand the process of alliance rupture-resolution and its role in a good-outcome case of a depressed adolescent treated with short-term psychoanalytic-psychotherapy (STPP).Method: A longitudinal, mixed-methods empirical single-case approach was employed. Multiple sources of information (questionnaires, interviews, sessions recordings) from various perspectives (adolescent, therapist, observer) were assembled and analysed.Results: The different sources of evidence converged and showed that, despite the presence of frequent alliance ruptures, patient and therapist managed to resolve these and develop a good and collaborative relationship. Both patient and therapist regarded the evolution in their relationship as the treatment factor mainly responsible for the positive changes experienced by the adolescent. Based on both theoretical and empirical data, a preliminary model of how to explore and repair alliance ruptures in STPP is presented.Conclusion: This study illustrates one way of applying an empirical, mixed-method approach to a single case. Its finding supports the idea that the process of repairing ruptures is an important mechanism of change. Strengths, limitations, and possible implications are discussed.

The Reflective Fostering Programme-improving the wellbeing of children in care through a group intervention for foster carers: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The needs of children in care are a government priority, yet the evidence base for effective interventions to support the emotional wellbeing of children in care is lacking. Research suggests that supporting the carer-child relationship, by promoting the carer's reflective parenting, may be an effective approach to improving the wellbeing of these children. METHODS: The study comprises a definitive, superiority, two-armed, parallel, pragmatic, randomised controlled trial, with embedded process evaluation and economic evaluation, and an internal pilot, to evaluate the effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness, of the Reflective Fostering Programme. Randomisation is at the individual level using a 1:1 allocation ratio. The study is being conducted in local authority sites across England, and is targeted at foster carers (including kinship carers) looking after children aged 4 to 13. Consenting participants are randomly allocated to the Reflective Fostering Programme (intervention arm) in addition to usual support or usual support alone (control arm). The primary outcome is behavioural and emotional wellbeing of the child 12 months post-baseline, and secondary outcomes include the following: foster carer's level of stress, quality of life, reflective capacity, compassion fatigue and burnout, placement stability, the quality of the child-carer relationship, child's capacity for emotional regulation, and achievement of personalised goals set by the carer. DISCUSSION: A feasibility study has indicated effectiveness of the Programme in improving the child-carer relationship and emotional and behavioural wellbeing of children in care. This study will test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of implementing the Reflective Fostering Programme as an additional aid to the support already available to local authority foster carers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN 70832140 .

The Evidence-Base for Psychodynamic Psychotherapy With Children and Adolescents: A Narrative Synthesis.

Despite a rich theoretical and clinical history, psychodynamic child and adolescent psychotherapy has been slow to engage in the empirical assessment of its effectiveness. This systematic review aims to provide a narrative synthesis of the evidence base for psychodynamic therapy with children and adolescents. Building on two earlier systematic reviews, which covered the period up to 2017, the current study involved two stages: an updated literature search, covering the period between January 2017 and May 2020, and a narrative synthesis of these new studies with those identified in the earlier reviews. The updated search identified 37 papers (28 distinct studies). When combined with papers identified in the earlier systematic reviews, this resulted in a combined total of 123 papers (82 distinct studies). The narrative synthesis of findings indicates that there is evidence of effectiveness for psychodynamic therapy in treating a wide range of mental health difficulties in children and adolescents. The evidence suggests this approach may be especially effective for internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety, as well as in the treatment of emerging personality disorders and in the treatment of children who have experience of adversity. Both the quality and quantity of empirical papers in this field has increased over time. However, much of the research demonstrates a range of methodological limitations (small sample sizes, lack of control groups etc.), and only 22 studies were Randomized Controlled Trials. Further high-quality research is needed in order to better understand the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and young people.

The alliance-outcome association in the treatment of adolescent depression.

A growing body of research has consistently demonstrated a relationship between alliance and treatment outcomes in youth psychotherapy. However, previous research often suffered methodological issues that prevented detailed investigation of temporal relationships between alliance and symptomatology. The current study explored the directions of effect between alliance and outcome by examining the associations between early alliance and subsequent outcome while controlling for patients' baseline severity and prior symptom change. It also examined potential moderators of this association. Data were drawn from the IMPACT study, a randomized controlled trial comparing cognitive-behavioral therapy and short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy versus a brief psychosocial intervention in the treatment of adolescent depression. Adolescents (N = 224) and therapist (n = 139) rated the alliance 6 weeks after randomization. Depression severity and overall psychopathology were assessed at baseline, 6, 12, 36, 52, and 86 weeks after randomization. Patients' age, gender, baseline depression severity, conduct disorder symptoms, and treatment type were examined as potential moderators of the alliance-outcome association. Data were analyzed using multilevel models. Findings suggested that higher early alliance ratings were associated with subsequent symptom reduction, even after controlling for prior symptom change and baseline severity. There was some evidence that the strength of this association was strongest in cognitive-behavioral therapy, weaker in short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and statistically indistinguishable from zero in brief psychosocial intervention. These findings suggest that early therapeutic alliance with adolescents may influence subsequent outcome independent of prior symptom change and initial severity but that the effect of the alliance on outcome might vary across treatment types. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The factor structure of the Working Alliance Inventory short-form in youth psychotherapy: an empirical investigation.

Objective: The Working Alliance Inventory short form (WAI-S) is one of the most commonly used alliance measures with adolescents. Yet, its factor structure has received minimal attention in the youth alliance literature. This study investigated the factor structure of the WAI-S in psychotherapy for adolescent depression and explored its measurement invariance across time, therapeutic approaches and patients' and therapists' perspectives. The existence of method effects associated with the negatively worded items of the scale was also assessed.Method: The setting of this study is the IMPACT trial, a randomized controlled trial assessing the effects of three therapeutic interventions in the treatment of adolescent depression. The WAI-S was completed at 6, 12 and 36 weeks after randomization by 338 adolescents and 159 therapists. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis.Results: The hypothesized Bond-Task-Goal alliance structure was not supported and a general, one-factor model was found to be more psychometrically valid. The existence of a method effect and measurement invariance across time and treatment arms were also found.Conclusions: While the distinction between the specific alliance dimensions is conceptually and clinically interesting, at an empirical level the alliance features of the WAI-S in youth psychotherapy remain strongly intercorrelated.

Four years comparative follow-up evaluation of community-based, step-down, and residential specialist psychodynamic programmes for personality disorders.

Although the fulcrum of service provision for personality disorder (PD) has shifted from hospital-based to psychodynamically- and cognitively-oriented outpatient programmes, very few studies have attempted to compare specialist moderate intensity outpatient programmes with specialist high-intensity residential models, or to explore whether a period of inpatient treatment may be necessary to improve outcome and prognosis. In this article, we prospectively compare changes over a 4-year period in 3 groups of patients with personality disorders (N = 162) treated in a specialist community-based (CBP, N = 30), a step-down (RT-CBP, N = 87), and a specialist residential programme (RT, N = 45) in psychiatric distress, deliberate self-injury, and suicide attempt using multilevel modelling and multivariate logistic regression analyses. The results showed that percentages of early-dropout were significantly different (p = .0001) for the 3 programmes (CBP = 13.4%, RT-CBP = 10.2%, and RT = 41.4%). A significant interaction between treatment model and time was found for psychiatric distress (p = .001), with CBP and RT-CBP achieving more marked changes (g = 1.20 and g = 0.68, respectively) compared to RT (g = 0.30) at 48-month follow-up. CBP and RT-CBP were found to significantly reduce impulsive behaviour (deliberate self-injury and suicide attempt) compared to RT. Severity of presentation was not found to be a significant predictor of outcome. Long-term RT showed no advantage over long-term CBP, either as stand-alone or as step-down treatment. Replication may be needed to confirm generalizability of results, and a number of limitations in the study design may moderate the inferences that can be drawn from the results.

Mapping the road from childhood adversity to personality disorder: The role of unresolved states of mind.

Childhood adversity has been found to be an important aetiological factor in the development of personality disorder (PD) in several studies. However, the role of disorganized attachment with unresolved mental states for traumatic experiences requires further investigation. This study explores the relationship between childhood adversities, unresolved states of mind, PD diagnosis and psychiatric distress. Two hundred forty-five adult participants, 124 from a clinical PD group and 121 non-psychiatric controls were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Cassel Baseline Questionnaire, the Symptom Checklist-90-R and the Adult Attachment Interview, in order to ascertain presence of PD, childhood adversity, level of psychiatric distress and unresolved states of mind. Within the overall unresolved (U-overall) attachment category, a distinction was made between unresolved for abuse (U-abuse) and unresolved for loss (U-loss). The results indicated that childhood adversity was significantly associated with unresolved states of mind, as well as with overall PD diagnosis, paranoid PD, borderline PD, avoidant PD and psychiatric distress. Mediation analyses confirmed that U-overall and U-loss were significant mediators between childhood adversity and PD diagnoses, but surprisingly, U-abuse was not a significant mediator. The strength, limitations and clinical implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Categorical and dimensional approaches in the evaluation of the relationship between attachment and personality disorders: an empirical study.

Although several studies have highlighted the relationship between attachment states of mind and personality disorders, their findings have not been consistent, possibly due to the application of the traditional taxonomic classification model of attachment. A more recently developed dimensional classification of attachment representations, including more specific aspects of trauma-related representations, may have advantages. In this study, we compare specific associations and predictive power of the categorical attachment and dimensional models applied to 230 Adult Attachment Interview transcripts obtained from personality disordered and nonpsychiatric subjects. We also investigate the role that current levels of psychiatric distress may have in the prediction of PD. The results showed that both models predict the presence of PD, with the dimensional approach doing better in discriminating overall diagnosis of PD. However, both models are less helpful in discriminating specific PD diagnostic subtypes. Current psychiatric distress was found to be the most consistent predictor of PD capturing a large share of the variance and obscuring the role played by attachment variables. The results suggest that attachment parameters correlate with the presence of PD alone and have no specific associations with particular PD subtypes when current psychiatric distress is taken into account.