Psychotherapy: Theory, practise and research
PhDr. Roman Hytych, Ph.D.
Psychotherapy: Theory, practise and research

Guarantee: PhDr. Roman Hytych, Ph.D.; e-mail: romhyt@gmail.com

Lectures:    Mgr. Michal Čevelíček, Ph.D., PhDr. Roman Hytych, Ph.D, Mgr. Barbora Kučerová, Mgr. Martin Novák, prof. Mgr. Tomáš Řiháček, Ph.D., doc. MUDr. David Skorunka, Ph.D., Mgr. Monika Skutková,  Mgr. Lucia Ukropová, prof. PhDr. Zbyněk Vybíral, Ph.D.

 ECTS: 4 credits
The course is offered for foreign students in BA and MA programs. It consists of lectures listed below. The final exam will take the form of an essay (8 - 10 pages) on a chosen theme. 80% attendance on lectures is compulsory. Lectures are conducted on Wensdays from 14:00 to 15:40 in room U33.

The course will start on 4/10. Beware!  Two of the lectures will be online.

Course lectures:

Zbyněk Vybíral: Introduction to Theory, Practice, and Research in Psychotherapy (4/10)

The lecture offers a basic overview covering themes such as psychotherapy as a profession, scientific views on psychotherapy, and a variety of research designs. The focus on psychotherapy as both, the science and “gift” includes several issues for questioning and discussion. Some biases are mentioned as well.

Stiles, W. B., Shapiro, D. A., Elliot, R. (1986). „Are All Psychotherapies Equivalent“? American Psychologist 41 (2), s.165-180;

O’Donohue, W., Cummings, N. A., Cummings, J. L. (2006). Clinical Strategies for Becoming a Master Psychotherapist. Burlington, San Diego, London: Academic Press.

Barbora Kučerová: Spirituality in psychotherapy (11/10) - on-line! link below

https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/95774072560?pwd=cS9vR1FxTHNWZ2VxTzJNWVFJSVBaZz09

Spiritual needs and longing for transcendence are sometimes understood as inherently human. However, psychology and psychotherapy often don’t know what to do with the transcendental experiences that surpass our everyday concept of normal. In this lecture, we will look into how we can understand transcendental spiritual experiences. How psychotherapy can help us to integrate these unusual experiences. How the therapist can access these experiences of the client? Finally, by looking into current popular spiritual practices we will show how research and therapy are often neglecting this aspect of human experience and how incorporating this aspect it can enrich psychotherapeutic work.  

aden, D. B., Haidt, J., Hood, R. W., Vago, D. R., & Newberg, A. B. (2017). The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience. Review of General Psychology, 21(2), 143–160. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000102

Vaughan, F. (1991). SPIRITUAL ISSUES IN PSYCHOTHERAPY. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.

Michal Čevelíček: Case formulation as a process and product of therapists' thinking about their clients (18/10)

Broadly defined, psychotherapy case formulation captures the ways in which therapists think about their clients (cases). Specifically, it is a process and a product of capturing and structuring complex information, developing hypotheses about the nature of issues at hand, and forming plans to resolve these issues. First, we will focus on the specifics of “therapeutic thinking”. Is the thinking of therapists any different from “common” thinking? What do therapists learn to think as therapists? Second, we will take a look at some specific methods of case formulation (both integrative and orientation-specific), which therapists' may use to shape their thinking.

Eells, T.D. (Ed.). (2007) Handbook of Psychotherapy Case Formulation. New York, London: The Guilford Press.

Ingram, B. L. (2010). Clinical case formulations: Matching the integrative treatment plan to the client. New Jersey, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Tomáš Řiháček: What makes a good therapist? (25/10)

Although this question has been asked from the beginning of the psychotherapeutic profession, an ultimate answer is still missing. We will explore this topic from several perspectives (axiological, theoretical, empirical, and developmental), trying to develop a more comprehensive picture. Building on existing research, we will strive to formulate what establishes therapeutic competence and what are the best methods to search for it and develop it.

 Tracey, T. J. G., Wampold, B. E., Lichtenberg, J. W., & Goodyear, R. K. (2014). Expertise in psychotherapy: An elusive goal? American Psychologist, 69(3), 218-229. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035099

David Skorunka: Contemporary family therapy and systemic practice (8/11) on-line! link below

https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/95183059055?pwd=Rm9mdzk1dEQrZzhKSmtSVVhYSVJGQT09

The lecture introduces the main assumptions and a variety of practices in contemporary family therapy including integrative approaches in this field. Major research findings regarding both the outcome and process of family therapy will be presented.

Dallos, R., Draper, R. (2015). An Introduction to Family Therapy and Systemic Practice. 4th Edition. Open University Press.
Dallos, R. Vetere, A. (2020). Systemic Therapy and Attachment Narratives. 2nd Edition. Routledge.
Dallos, R., Crittenden, P., Landini, A. et al. (2020). Family Functional Formulations as Guides to Psychological Treatment. Contemporary Family Therapy 42(9), DOI: 10.1007/s10591-019-09525-6

Roman Hytych: Mindfulness in contemporary psychotherapy: Clinical practice and research findings (22/11) 

Mindfulness is a core skill for life coping developed within the Buddhist tradition. Recent years of psychotherapy application and scientific research have shown a huge range of benefits for psychotherapy clients as well as psychotherapists themselves.

Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundation and Evidence for its Salutary Effects. Psychological Inquiry. 4, 211-237.

Monika Skutková: Helpful and hindering events in psychotherapy (29/11)

The lecture will focus on research of helpful and hindering events in psychotherapy – its history,
way of analysis of significant events, an overview of the most important results and
connection of events to therapy outcome. Understanding helpful and hindering events can be
useful particularly for therapists in practice.

Timulák, L. (2010). Significant events in psychotherapy: An update of research findings. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 83, s. 421-447.

Timulák, L. (2007). Identifying core categories of the client-identified impact of helpful events in psychotherapy: A qualitative meta-analysis. Psychotherapy Research, 17(3), 310-320.

Zbyněk Vybíral: Adverse effects and (potential) deterioration of the client’s state in psychotherapy and counseling (6/12)

The lecture gives an overview of past and current studies in the field. More and more attention is given to the negative effects of psychological treatment in contemporary psychotherapy research of efficacy and effectiveness, and in theoretical studies, too. What are the unwanted events in psychotherapy? What do we mean when we are talking about the side effects of psychological treatment? Examples would be given and discussed. Differentiation between bona fide treatment and malpractice is needed. Psychotherapists’ optimism would be mentioned and discussed.

Schermuly-Haupt, M.-L., Linden, M., Rush, A.J. (2018). Unwanted events and side effects in cognitive behavior therapy. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 42, 219–229.  

Vaughan, B., Goldstein, M. H., Alikakos, M., Cohen, L. J., & Serby, M. J. (2014). Frequency of reporting of adverse events in randomized controlled trials of psychotherapy vs. psychopharmacotherapy. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 55(4), 849–855.

Martin Novák, Lucia Ukropová: Introduction to “Open dialogue”  -  the role of psychotherapy in mental health care services (13/12)

The seminar focuses on introducing the “Open dialogue ” (OD), a psychosocial network-based approach to working with people experiencing mental health difficulties. The main principles, used interventions, possibilities, and limitations of this approach will be discussed. Also, we will discuss the case study from lecturers' practice and the role of psychotherapy in mental health and social care community services.

 Olson, M., Seikkula, J., Ziedonis, D. (2014) Key Elements of Dialogic Practice in Open Dialogue. The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.

Seikkula, J. & Olson, M. (2003) The Open Dialogue Approach to Acute Psychosis: Its Poetics and Micropolitics. Family Process, 42, 403-418. 

Schutze, W. (2015). Open dialogue as a contribution to a healthy society: possibilities and limitations. Advances in Psychiatry and Neurology, 24, s. 86-90.

 

Themes for the final essay (choose only one of them):

1. A short outline of the situation of psychotherapy in your country;

2. Main psychotherapy approaches, personalities, and training institutes in your country;

3. Psychotherapy politics in your country (legal framework);

4. What are the researchers focused on in the field of psychotherapy in your country?

Final essay submission deadline: 15th December 2023

Essay evaluation criteria:

- personal elaboration of the subject – the predominance of own considerations, insights, opinions, and interpretations (work with literature, but do not just describe or cite it.)

sophistication, structuring, distinct line of thought or concept

- content density and depth (of course depth is inversely proportional to the breadth of the topic  – also an essay with a broad topic and less sophisticated sub-themes may be excellent; anyway we rather recommend elaborating a chosen sub-theme, in detail and in context.)

- the ability of a clear presentation of the main ideas of the essay and the ability to participate in critical discussion

- keeping to the topic and length formally correct working with terminology and literature, apparent distinguishing of own ideas from those of others, citing according to APA standard

-  see also Bad and Good examples of the final essay in Information system

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