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Measuring Deliberate Practice - Exploratory Findings.
.....Stefan Blümel, University of Bamberg, Germany; and Sabine Steins-Löber, University of Bamberg
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Objective:
Deliberate practice (DP) in psychotherapy has sparked considerable interest as a means to enhance skills, expertise and therapy outcomes. However, the field faces ongoing challenges in establishing assessment methods. Existing scales primarily rely on retrospective self-reported time tracking or diary methods , limiting either their robustness or being time consuming. Consequently, there's a need to devise more efficient, reliable, and valid assessment tools for measuring DP in psychotherapy and training. To address this gap, two scales were constructed: one assessing attitudes towards DP (DPA), and the other assessing DP related behaviors (DPB). These scales aim to enable more efficient assessments to deepen insights into the potential benefits of DP.
Method:
An initial item pool was created in German based on various descriptions of DP in the field of psychotherapy and following discussions by researches familiar with the topic. After content validity ratings of items, a pool of 15 items (DPA) and 34 items (DPB) for the respective scales was established and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and furthermore tested for construct validity.
Results:
Results based on 138 responses from practicing psychotherapy trainees and undergraduate and graduate psychologists intending to become psychotherapists supported internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity with a three-factor structure for the DPA and a two-factor structure for the DPB.
Discussion:
Both scales show promise in measuring DP within psychotherapy and training, offering efficient assessment of attitudes and behaviors. Future research should focus on confirmatory research and on establishing the link between diary measured DP time and DPB.
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Psychotherapy development in Serbia in the 20th century. A qualitative narrative approach..
.....Snezana Petrovic, Sigmund Freud University, Vienna, Austria; and Kathrin Moertl, Sigmund Freud University, Vienna, Austria
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To understand the phenomenon of a fast changing world it is invalueable to give considertation to changing worlds of the past. The key focus of this poster is the changing world of psychotherapy development in the 20th century in Serbia. From 1945 to 1970, the development of psychotherapy in Serbian society faced a number of challenges from the ideological constraints of the communist government. The research aim of this study is to explore how psychotherapy developed under communism times with focus on the interplay of psychotherapy institutions, the impact of the state, the effort of key people, educational practices, and exchanges with the international psychotherapy community. Some published sources serve as a basic starting point but, because few accounts were recorded during that period, the research has been based on narrative interviews with a sample of six senior practitioners of psychotherapy who were active during that time. The data analysis was narrative analysis with an oral history approach. The results include a list of the most important academic and clinical institutions and key educators in psychotherapy at the time. The crucial challenges cover constraints in applying knowledge from foreign (capitalist) countries, the abrupt closure of one institution and the effect on psychotherapy practitioners, including the issues of emigration and restrictions on publishing. It was concluded that the ruling communist ideology, and the social organisation imposed by it, hampered and slowed the development of psychotherapy, but did not stop it.
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Naturalistic change trajectories within the DeePsy ROM system.
.....Adam Klocek, Masaryk University; Tomáš Řiháček, Masaryk University; Michal Čevelíček, Masaryk University in Brno; and Petra Hubatková, Masaryk University
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This study investigates the trajectories of change among clients undergoing psychotherapy, utilizing data collected through the DeePsy web platform for routine outcome monitoring and providing feedback to the therapist. Approximately 100 clients provided over 30 self-reported repeated measurements using the CORE-10 and WHO-5 tools in a session-by-session manner, while approximately 1000 clients provided over 10 measurements so far. Our aim is to analyze this data employing growth mixture modeling allowing for random slope and random intercept. Building upon the findings of Owen et al. (2015), we hypothesize the identification of three distinct latent groups exhibiting differing trajectories of change. Furthermore, we will predict the assignment to each latent group by other variables collected in the dataset. Additionally, we aim to explore change trajectories on the individual level, offering insights into the personalized nature of psychotherapeutic outcomes. Through this comprehensive analysis, we anticipate uncovering nuanced patterns of change over time, shedding light on the dynamic processes inherent in psychotherapeutic interventions. This study might contribute to the growing body of literature on psychotherapy outcomes and could have implications for tailoring treatment strategies to individual client’s needs.
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"I feel 4 out of 5 depressed".
.....Femke Truijens, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Rebeka Pázmányová, Erasmus University Rotterdam; Rick Weimar, Erasmus University Rotterdam; Sashank Nyapati, Erasmus University Rotterdam; and Lisa Koch, Duisburg-Essen University
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In psychological research and practice, standardized questionnaires are used as a valid method to gather information about one’s symptomatology. While participant’s answers are shaped by their idiographic context and meaning-making, these processes are not captured in their responses. It is often assumed that this is not a problem as people’s answers are standardized, however, this remains an assumption rather than empirically established. Gaining insight into meaning-making helps us understand how one answers mental-health measures, and empirically validate our interpretation and use of the data.
In the mixed-methods study “I feel 4 out of 5 depressed”, we utilize qualitative methods (Thinking-Aloud Method) to capture the meaning-making processes while scoring the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI; Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996). This method allows for real-time exploration of meaning-making during scoring, recall of which is explored in a follow-up interview. In this poster, we present the primary findings from reflexive thematic analysis of all qualitative data.
Meaning-making during scoring appeared highly individual, and while some of these processes are already known (e.g., varied interpretation of items), we also found indicators of performativity of the measure, meaning that measurement scoring can actively affect or even change one’s perspective on self and symptoms. The poster presentation will highlight 1) The strength of the use of mixed methods in mental health measurement to capture meaning-making 2) The importance of understanding questionnaire data as act of meaning-making and 3) A method that can be used to validate the data captured by standardized questionnaires.
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Machine learned topics from patient messages as transdiagnostic and disorder-specific predictors of treatment adherence in internet-delivered psychotherapies.
.....Sanna Mylläri, University of Helsinki; Suoma Saarni, Helsinki University Hospital and Helsinki University; University of Tampere, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology; Ville Ritola, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki; Jan-Henry Stenberg, University of Helsinki; Grigori Joffe, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki; and Tom Rosenström, University of Helsinki
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Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapies (iCBT) are effective treatments for various mental disorders, but high drop-out rates limit their potential. Messages written by patients during iCBT can be useful in understanding factors related to drop-out. Some of these factors may be transdiagnostic and affect various types of iCBT, whereas some might be specific for a particular disorder-specific treatment program. In this study, we aim to identify text topics from multiple therapist-supported iCBT programs for different disorders and assess whether the topics predict drop-out risk in one or many treatment programs. In addition, we examine the association of drop-out risk predicting topics with transdiagnostic symptomology.
We use patient messages written during iCBT programs provided by the HUS Helsinki University Hospital. The data is from 30,000 patients from five disorder-specific programs: depression, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and social phobia. To identify text topics, we use latent Dirichlet allocation. We use survival models to predict drop-out risk with the topics. Based on treatment initiation time, we leave the latest 10% of the patients as a test set to assess the predictive models trained on the rest of the data. As a proxy of transdiagnostic symptomology, we use registry-based information of the number of psychiatric diagnoses a patient has and study their association with the drop-out risk predicting topics.
We expect our results to be useful in treatment development and identification of at-risk patients, while improving understanding on what is shared and what is specific for different disorders in internet-delivered treatments.
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MEANS Lab: Meaningful Measurement of Mental Health.
.....Femke Truijens, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Measurement is considered the cornerstone of evidence-based psychotherapy research and practice. In psychological research and practice, measurement is commonly conducted using validated self-report measures. In the Meaningful Measurement (MEANS) Lab, we challenge core but often taken-for-granted assumptions in quantitative measurement. First, we scrutinize whether interpersonal variation in how people make meaning of self-report measurement ‘evens out’ over people. We utilize qualitative methods to empirically explore how respondents interpret items and translate experiences into numerical scores. Secondly, we challenge the idea that constructs principally stay the same and can thus be compared over time. Response shifts are likely to happen when people go through life-changing events/interventions such as psychotherapy, but are seldomly explored empirically in psychotherapy research. We compare qualitative and quantitative analyses of response shifts in RCT data. Third, provided that self-report measurement contains meaning (1) and is prone to change through treatment (2), it is vital for the users of self-report data (researchers, clinicians) to validate their interpretation based on the actual meaning making by the respondent. This requires validation in the action of administration – beyond the psychometric validation of the measure – in which the respondent and de administrator both play an active and continuous role. The Meaningful Measurement (MEANS) Lab develops an evidence-base for meaningful understanding and validation of self-report data in clinical research and practice. In this poster, we present our innovative hermeneutic approach to measurement, and invite the audience to reflect on their own methodological assumptions and ways to scrutinize and justify them.
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Eradicating stigma: Hours with Mary.
.....Timo Sampolahti, Jyväskylä University
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This presentation is comprised of a theoretical essay and the qualitative illustration of a psychotherapeutic process with a woman diagnosed as having a psychotic illness. Startingpoint is Michel Foucault’s view of the development of the scientific psychiatry. He claims that at the same time when madness was interpreted as a mental illness, the dialogue with the madness was silenced. The dialogue about madness took its place. Following Jukka Aaltonen’s original idea both psychosis and its recovery can be conceptualized with the help of the three-partite understanding of a sign by Charles Sanders Pierce. Bringing all together I claim that the dumbed dialogue can be revitalized in a process where indexical signs become transformed and returned to the symbolic universe. Additionally, I underline that the recovery of a psychotic illness also requires the restoration of the silenced dialogue and that this process might often be neglected in psychiatric care.
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Online Group Psychological Counseling to Contrast Academic Burnout.
.....Tatiana Rossi, Universitas Mercatorum; and Irene Messina, Mercatorium University
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Background: Academic burnout, marked by exhaustion and reduced fulfillment, poses a significant challenge for students, necessitating targeted interventions (Maslach, 1976; Fredenbeger, 1974). Existing studies emphasize the multifaceted nature of student burnout, advocating for tailored interventions (Tomaszek & Muchacka-Cymerman, 2021; Wan, 2020). Tang et al.'s (2021) work on integrated approaches suggests the potential value of combining strategies.This research aims to assess the effectiveness of an online group psychological intervention, incorporating insights from Transactional Analysis (Berne, 1961; Vos & van Rijn, 2021), to address the gap in evidence-based strategies for student well-being.
Method: The study follows a longitudinal design with four phases: Screening, Recruitment, and Randomization (T0) utilizing Personal Information and Eligibility Form (PIEF) and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS); Baseline assessment (pre-intervention, T1) utilizing primary outcomes: Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS). Psychological General Well‐Being index – short version (PGWB-S), Academic achievement, and secondary outcomes: Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS), Effort-Reward Imbalance student questionnaire (ERI-SQ), Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire - Short Version (CERQ-18), Difficulties in Interpersonal Emotion Regulation (DIRE), Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief-Cope), The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS); Outcome Assessment (post-intervention, T2); Follow-up Assessment (3 months after, T3).
Results: Data collection is currently in progress.
Discussion: The current study protocol marks the beginning of empirical exploration into the effectiveness of psychological interventions for academic burnout, shedding light on crucial aspects of organizational dynamics in academia.
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Group Psychological Counseling to Contrast Academic Burnout.
.....Tatiana Rossi, Universitas Mercatorum; Paola Cardinali, Mercatorum University, Rome; Irene Petruccelli, Mercatorum University, Rome; Pietro Spataro, Mercatorum University, Rome; Flavia Bonaiuto, Mercatorum University, Rome; Claudio Loconsole, Mercatorum University, Rome; Roberto Maniglio, Mercatorum University, Rome; and Irene Messina, Mercatorium University
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Academic burnout, marked by exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced self-efficacy, impacts students' academic engagement and success. While interventions for work burnout show potential for addressing academic burnout, evidence from randomized controlled trials is lacking. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an online group psychological intervention in alleviating academic burnout. Participants with high burnout levels were assigned to either a psychological counseling group or a waiting list control group. The research followed multiple phases: (T0) Screening, Recruitment, and Randomization; (T1) Baseline assessment (pre-intervention); (T2) Outcome Assessment (post-intervention). Primary outcomes included burnout symptoms, general well-being, and academic achievement, while secondary variables such as effort-reward imbalances, psychological needs satisfaction/frustration, emotion regulation, coping strategies, and social support were examined. The intervention strategies comprised psychoeducation, self-awareness enhancement, cognitive restructuring, and social support promotion. Data collection is currently in progress.