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This article discusses directive psychotherapy. The purpose of, this paper is to discuss the nature, indications and contraindications of methods of therapy involving pressure or coercion. Pressure is defined as the bringing to bear upon the client of stimulation tending to direct action toward specific goals. Coercion involves restraint or regulation by force, usually by law or authority, compelling or constraining the! client to comply with directions. Pressure will usually involve influences which leave ultimate responsibility for conformance up to the client himself, while coercion requires mandatory conformance.

Background: Prior research indicates that patients' personality traits are associated with psychotherapy processes and outcomes. However, the potential relevance of therapists' personality traits is less understood. Methods: This is a scoping review of studies investigating associations between therapists' personality traits with treatment processes and outcomes. Three databases (Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) were searched, identifying 27 eligible studies synthesized using a narrative review of key findings. Results: The influence of therapists' personality traits was studied in relation to therapeutic orientation, interpersonal skills, therapist competence and skill, model fidelity, treatment outcomes, therapeutic alliance, and therapist well‐being. Findings indicate that therapists' personality traits are associated with the choice of therapeutic orientation and with interpersonal skills, but there is mixed evidence about associations with clinical outcomes. Conclusion: Therapists' personality traits are associated with therapeutic orientation and interpersonal skills. However, it remains unclear whether therapists' personality traits influence other aspects of therapeutic processes or outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The personal self of psychotherapists, that is, experiences of self in close personal relationships and its association with therapists' individual and professional attributes is explored. The study aimed to: (a) describe therapists' self‐ratings on specific self‐attributes; (b) determine their dimensionality; (c) explore demographic, psychological, and professional correlates; and (d) assess the convergence with professional self. Method: Data from the Development of Psychotherapists Common Core Questionnaire were available for > 10,000 psychotherapists of various professions, theoretical orientations, career levels, and nations. Results: Most psychotherapists described themselves in close relationships in affirming terms (e.g., warm/friendly), although a substantial minority also described themselves in negative terms. Factor analyses yielded four dimensions: Genial/Caring, Forceful/Exacting, Reclusive/Remote, and Ardent/Expressive. Being Genial/Caring was associated with life satisfaction. Among professional attributes, personal self‐experiences, and parallel dimensions of relationship with clients correlated strongly. Conclusions: Analyses of > 10,000 psychotherapists revealed meaningful variations in personal self relevant to personal and professional life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on personality integration and successful outcome in individual psychotherapy. The present study was one in which both therapists and clients were studied along a broad gauge psychological dimension referred to as personality integration. Personality integration overlaps with constructs such as congruence, self-actualization and high levels of ego identity status. The results of this study indicate that personality integration is a variable that should be considered in effectively matching clients and therapists to create optimum conditions for success in individual psychotherapy.

We comment on 6 clinical cases involving the application of one or more elements of Motivational interviewing (MI). First, we share our general reactions to MI and the case material. Second, we reflect briefly and specifically on each case illustration, highlighting the compelling flexibility and clinical utility of the MI spirit and its principles. Third, we offer several reflective themes across the cases, including convergences between MI and other psychotherapies, and unanswered clinical questions related to MI, its effectiveness, and its change mechanisms. Finally, we advance a context-responsive psychotherapy integration for which MI might effectively serve as the bellwether. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 65: 1–8, 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A given type of psychotherapy (e.g., psychodynamic) is associated with a set of specific change techniques (e.g., interpreting defenses, identifying relationship themes). Different change techniques can be conceived of as influencing different parts of personality (e.g., interpreting defense increases conscious awareness). An integrated model of personality is presented. Then, change techniques from different theoretical perspectives are assigned by judges to areas of personality the techniques are believed to influence. The results suggest that specific change techniques can be reliably sorted into the areas of personality. Thinking across theoretical perspectives leads to important new opportunities for assessment, therapy outcome research, and communication with patients concerning personality change. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the impact of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Ego Strength (Es) level on the size of Pearson correlation coefficients computed between scores for posttreatment alcohol use and MMPI scores on standard and research scales in a group of 54 treated alcoholics. All patients completed a 4-week inpatient treatment program based on psychotherapy, education, exercise, yoga and relaxation training. Significant differences were found between the high and low Es groups in the size of coefficients computed between alcohol use.

The article cites a study which focused on the relationship between several Memory-For-Designs (MFD) drawing styles and personality traits using a sample of psychiatric outpatients. As part of their psychological evaluation at a psychiatric outpatient clinic, 180 patients completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the MFD test. Three subjects were excluded on the basis of invalid MMPIs. Thus, the total number of subjects under study was 177. The youngest of them was 16 years old, while the oldest was 71. In previous works edging and constriction of figures on the MFD resulted in statistical differences that were not considered to be of any clinical importance. The study revealed two MFD drawing styles to be associated with personality traits as measured by the MMPI. Subjects who edge all their figures are found to be more insecure, alienated, withdrawn, retiring, and emotionally closed as compared to those who do not edge. On the other hand, subjects who constrict all or nearly all their figures were found to be more isolated, introverted, lonely, alienated, dissatisfied in social relations, and closed as compared to those who do not constrict.

The article focuses on personality styles and psychopathy. P.A. Magaro and P. Smith have described the other personality styles, the hysteric, compulsive, manic, and depressive, especially in terms of their cognitive styles. Although the styles are labeled with clinical titles, they are not meant to imply pathology. We have tended to argue that the traits described in clinical groups also can be found in the normal population. The symptomatology or that behavior which usually produces a diagnosis would be missing. The symptoms are considered to be the result of stress and not necessarily characteristic of the individual when functioning in society.

The article focuses on a study, which evaluated alpha levels in a biofeedback-training paradigm in groups of violent and nonviolent offenders and controls. A number of reports of electroencephalography (EEG) abnormalities in delinquent and incarcerated offenders have appeared in the literature since human EEG was introduced in 1929. In addition, there has been considerable interest in relating EEG variables to more general personality attributes. As part of a larger study conducted in this laboratory, an investigation was carried out to compare basal alpha levels and alpha production in a group of violent and nonviolent offenders and to evaluate the efficacy of different types of reinforcement contingencies in an alpha biofeedback paradigm. The interest in the relationship between alpha activity and violence arises from the results obtained in a number of studies.

The article reports on linear transformation and the interpretation of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) T scores. Formal statistical analysis and clinical interpretation of profiles obtained from the MMPI traditionally have used a linear transformation of raw scores to T scores, although raw scores for scales Q, L, F, and K often are examined. The basic reason for carrying out such a transformation is to allow comparisons to be made across the various MMPI scales, so that the same T-score value represents the same degree of deviation from the mean, regardless of the scale.

This article focuses on neurotic anxiety, pronoun usage and stress. From a Gestalt Therapy viewpoint, personality may, in one sense, be defined usefully as a structure of speech habits, personality adjustment or maladjustment therefore is expected to emerge in the speech habits of individuals. The particular relevance of personal pronouns to psychological adjustment or maladjustment is that their use, according to Gestalt Therapy theory, is an indicator of the psychological distance taken from one's own feelings, actions, attitudes, motivations, power, etc.

This article compares the short and full forms of Barron's ego-strength scale obtained from 100 normal adults, half of each sex. Barron's Ego-Strength (E-S) scale has been widely deployed in clinical research and practice as a measure of psychological well-being and as a predictor of response to psychotherapy. The subjects were 100 normal adult job applicants, half of each sex, who had been administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory as part of a pre-employment psychological screening battery.

The article focuses on the effects of clinical training on personality functioning of the minister. Clinical pastoral training has existed for some thirty years. Thirty-seven Lutheran ministers were given a 12-week training program in three consecutive groups over a three-year period. They were given the MMPI on the first and again on the last day of the program. The program followed national standards with the addition of personal psychotherapy administered through psychodrama. The data were analyzed in two ways. The first involved "t" tests to determine the significance of differences between related means. The second involved profile sorts by four clinical psychologists.

The article cites a study that evaluates the nature of therapeutic change by using correlation and factor analysis of several measures of change which reflected different levels and areas of personality functioning. This study used the method to examine the nature of change in successfully treated adolescent delinquent boys. The success of the psychotherapeutic program for adolescent delinquent boys was shown by significant changes in all three areas investigated--overt behavior, personality attitudes, and achievement test performance. In evaluating personality attitudes, three areas in which the boys were believed to have special problems were sampled--attitude toward authority, control of aggression, and self image.

The article informs that personality change during psychotherapy is held to involve many brief periods during which the individual refers his attention directly, these immediately felt data of experiencing. The theory considers experiencing to be an aspect of the physiological life of a unitary organism. Therefore, if periods of continuous reference to experiencing are therapeutic, physiological tension-reduction should be measurable during them. The present study attempts to define and produce "continuous reference to experiencing" in the laboratory, and to contrast its autonomic correlates with those found during other modes of attention.

The article aims to present a critique of personality counseling theory bringing up-to-date, most recent thinking on the subject. Psychoanalytically-oriented practices probably have the largest current following and prestige in the fields of counseling and psychotherapy, particularly in educational institutions and clinics which are administered by psychoanalysts. Since 1945, the psychiatry departments of several major universities have been taken over by psychoanalysts and there are reports from such installations or cities that personnel without psychoanalytic training find it difficult to obtain or retain appointments. There is little evidence that basic science psychology is either well-understood or utilized in many psychoanalytic centers.

The article focuses on the Szondi test. The Szondi test employs six pictures in each of eight different diagnostic categories. All six of the pictures within a given category are regarded as having a common significance. No distinction is made among the pictures in a given category and the only test observation made is the total number of the pictures within a category that are selected. A total of 100 subjects with personality and /or behavior difficulties was used. An equal number of each sex was employed to provide as wide a range of personality variables as possible. In addition, a broad age range from 15 to 71 years was used. All subjects were predominantly from the lower socio-economic class.

This article presents an investigation of the reliability an validity of judgments of adjustment inferred from drawings. Much of the discussion of the drawings a diagnostic technique in psychotherapy has centered around the isolation and delimitation of various factors or qualities of the drawings which are purported to have diagnostic significance. Heaviness of line, continuity or lack of continuity, accentuation of various features, size, movement, omissions, clothing and other factors have been studied in an effort to show their relation to certain personality characteristics.

The article aims to demonstrate that maladjustment is frequently caused by a pathological absence of conflict and to indicate how therapeutic conflicts may be utilized in motivating an individual to reorient himself to inconsistent attitudes. Personality maladjustments are caused by internal inconsistencies in the person's system of values, which result in a failure to interpret and react in an integrated manner to reality. Evidence is presented in support of the theoretical viewpoint that conflict is a normal and necessary function in the psychic economy and that complete freedom from conflict may be as pathological as excessive amounts of conflict.

This article focuses on methods for rapid personality evaluation. More than four years have passed since the army induction boards were established in November, 1940, for the purpose of screening all selectees and eliminating those who were physically or mentally unfit for military service. Earlier in 1940 the War Department had recognized the importance of detecting neuropsychiatric defects and a medical circular was prepared describing the principal neuropsychiatric causes for rejection and amplifying upon the general criteria for acceptance outlined in the mobilization regulations.

This article attempts to describe certain relationships between the Feeling and Attitude Scales and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory when both are used with a college group. This comparison appears appropriate because the FAS might presumably serve some functions similar to those of the MMPI, which is now widely used with college students, but which requires a great deal more time for administration and scoring than the FAS. The FAS can be administered in from five to ten minutes. Such a comparison might eventually also have another value because, as Hildreth points out, the FAS was designed to provide an objective scale to measure changes which might accompany psychotherapeutic treatment of a patient or to make possible comparative evaluations of different kinds of therapeutic procedures.