Transference and countertransference interpretations: harmful or helpful in short-term dynamic therapy?

Finding effective and economical interventions in brief therapy has become a challenge for therapists of all orientations needing to make noticeable progress within a short period and to achieve positive, measurable outcomes. In this paper three theoretical positions and the empirical data purporting to support them were examined: (1) not using either transference or countertransference interpretations; (2) using transference but not countertransference interpretations; and (3) relying heavily on both kinds of interpretations. Though limited research prevents firm conclusions, findings support infrequent, careful, and cautious usage of transference and countertransference interpretations, including crafting them to meet specific patient characteristics and reflect presenting problems. If appropriately used, both interpretations can affect outcome by contributing to alliance building, perseverance in therapy, and goal attainment. If inappropriately used, however, both interpretations can cause harm, even premature termination. Finally, research findings do not support the theoretical position that positive outcome depends on transference and countertransference interpretations.

Handedness for tool use in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Sex differences, performance, heritability and comparison to the wild.

There is continued debate over the factors influencing handedness in captive and wild primates, notably chimpanzees. Previous studies in wild chimpanzees have revealed population-level left handedness for termite fishing. Here we examined hand preferences and performance on a tool use task designed to simulate termite fishing in a sample of 190 captive chimpanzees to evaluate whether patterns of hand use in captive chimpanzees differed from those observed for wild apes. No population-level handedness was found for this task; however, significant sex differences in preference and performance were found, with males showing greater left handedness and poorer performance compared to females. We also found that the hand preferences of offspring were significantly positively correlated with the hand preferences of their mothers. Lastly, older females performed more slowly on the task compared to younger individuals. The overall results neither confirm nor reject previous hypotheses claiming that raising chimpanzees in captivity induces right-handedness, but rather suggest that other factors may account for differences in hand preferences for tool use seen in wild and captive chimpanzees.

Brief psychological intervention with traumatized young women: the efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.

To study the efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) with traumatized young women, 60 women between the ages of 16 and 25 were randomly assigned to two sessions of either EMDR or an active listening (AL) control. Factorial ANOVA interaction effects and simple main effects for outcome measure (Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Penn Inventory for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Impact of Event Scale, Tennessee Self-Concept Scale) indicated significant improvement for both groups and significantly greater pre-post change for EMDR-treated participants. Pre-post effect sizes for the EMDR group averaged 1.56 compared to 0.65 for the AL group. Despite treatment brevity, the posttreatment outcome variable means of EMDR-treated participants compared favorably with nonpatient or successfully treated norm groups on all measures.