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L Luborsky

Publications and source records attributed to L Luborsky.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

The first empirical demonstration of transference in psychotherapy.

This study investigates the similarity between patients' relationships with their therapists and patients' relationships with others in their life. We examined the in-session narratives about the therapist and compared them with the patient's general relationship pattern as determined by a previously tested method, the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) method. The source for both narratives and CCRT patterns were transcripts of therapy sessions from 35 consenting outpatients in a university clinic. We found significant similarity between the patterns of relationship with the therapist and with others. One aspect of the relationship pattern, the patient's response to the therapist and to others, was consistently similar. We offer objective evidence in support of an age-old and central tenet of psychodynamic therapy, the transference concept.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1991

What makes Susie cry? A symptom-context study of family therapy.

The aim of this investigation was to examine the context of recurrent crying episodes during family therapy sessions. We tested the relative contribution of social versus individual intrapsychic variables within a 10-session, videotaped, structural family therapy. Segments of therapy before crying episodes when compared with control (non-crying) segments were found to have higher levels of the following variables: involvement with others in the room, rejection, and concern about supplies. Two family variables were also higher before crying episodes: family discussion about patient, and patient receives hostility. A stepwise discriminant function analysis using these variables indicated that family discussion about the patient was most important in signaling onset of crying. The results are discussed in terms of individual and family theories of symptom formation as illuminated through this case study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Addressing psychiatric comorbidity.

Research studies indicate that addressing psychiatric comorbidity can improve treatment for selected groups of substance-abusing patients. However, the chances for implementing the necessary techniques on a large scale are compromised by the absence of professional input and guidance within programs. This is especially true in public programs, which treat some of the most disadvantaged, disturbed, and socially destructive individuals in the entire mental health system. One starting point for upgrading the level of knowledge and training of staff members who work in this large treatment system could be to develop a better and more authoritative information dissemination network. Such a system exists in medicine; physicians are expected to read appropriate journals and to guide their treatment decisions using the data contained in the journals. Standards of practice and methods for modifying current practice are within the tradition of reading new facts, studying old ones, and comparing treatment outcome under different conditions with what is actually being done. No such general system of information-gathering or -sharing exists, particularly in public treatment programs. One of the most flagrant examples of this "educational shortfall" can be found among those methadone programs that adamantly insist on prescribing no more than 30 to 35 mg/day for all patients, in spite of the overwhelming evidence that these dose levels generally are inadequate. In some cases, program directors are unaware of studies that have shown the relationship between dose and outcome. In other cases, they are aware of the studies but do not modify their practices accordingly. This example of inadequate dosing is offered as an example of one situation that could be improved by adherence to a system of authoritative and systematic information dissemination. Many issues in substance abuse treatment do not lend themselves to information dissemination as readily as that of methadone dosing. However, the existence of a general information/education system about substance abuse treatment, combined with adherence to it among care providers, not only would provide helpful data for treatment staff but also might stimulate their curiosity and initiative. These later qualities, along with additions to existing treatment resources, may in the long run serve as the best guarantee for improvement. and maintenance of quality care.

Humans↗
PubMed1990

Theory-based research for understanding the process of dynamic psychotherapy.

Research is reviewed on 6 theoretical propositions central to psychodynamic psychotherapy: (1) The establishment of an alliance is important to successful outcome; (2) the patient displays a central relationship theme (transference); (3) transference interpretations are helpful; (4) the therapist aims at accurate interpretations of the transference; (5) the patient gains understanding of self and the relationship pattern; and (6) the patient's improvement is reflected in changes in the relationship pattern, although the pattern is still evident. We suggest concepts that are in need of research development: internalization, resistance, working through, self-understanding and insight, and the therapist's adherence to recommended techniques.

Follow-Up Studies↗
PubMed1990

Theory and technique in dynamic psychotherapy--curative factors and training therapists to maximize them.

Three principles of curative factors in dynamic psychotherapy are reviewed: (1) Achieving a helping relationship; (2) achieving self-understanding, and (3) maintaining the gains. A new development in psychotherapy research is illustrated: the creation of operational measures that relate to the curative factors: the therapeutic alliance, the transference, accuracy of interpreting the transference, insight, change in transference and psychiatric severity. Such operational measures can be reliably estimated from psychotherapy sessions because they specify what each measure represents. A special format for training therapists to foster these curative factors is presented called 'group training in supervision of psychotherapy'.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Psychotherapy and counseling for methadone-maintained opiate addicts: results of research studies.

Data have been presented about the potential role of psychotherapy for psychiatrically impaired methadone-maintained opiate addicts. Complete data from one study, and preliminary data from a second, indicate that professional psychotherapy can be helpful as a supplement to ongoing drug-counseling services for patients having clinically significant psychiatric symptoms. If psychotherapy is to be used, care must be taken to integrate it into the ongoing clinical services of the methadone-treatment program. Not all therapists are equally adept at engaging and working with addicts. In hiring therapists, attempts should be made to identify those who are not only technically competent but also interested and comfortable with this population. It should also be emphasized that there is considerable variability among methadone programs in such vital areas as leadership, staffing patterns, organization, dosing procedures, location, physical plant, and availability of ancillary services. These administrative differences may play a significant role in the feasibility and success of attempts to use psychotherapy in drug-treatment programs. Finally, it should be noted that there is no evidence that psychotherapy cures addiction or that it can be used successfully without integrating it into other important services, such as drug counseling, methadone treatment, and the overall program structure. There is reason to believe, however, that it can provide additional and clinically meaningful benefits to that subgroup of methadone patients who are psychiatrically impaired.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1989

A relationship pattern measure: the core conflictual relationship theme.

Relationship pattern measures are recently developed systems for measuring the main relationship patterns expressed in psychotherapy sessions or in other interviews. They are precise measures of the kind of pattern that dynamic psychotherapists have estimated clinically ever since the start of such therapies. Leading off the comparisons of such measures that are presented in this issue, this paper will (a) describe a relationship pattern measure, (b) illustrate it, and then (c) compare it with one or more other relationship pattern measures. Beyond these purposes our aim is to indicate the values of these new methods for personality and psychotherapy research.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

An examination of three methods of psychodynamic formulation based on the same videotaped interview.

While psychodynamic theory and therapy are approaching their centennial, the science of psychodynamics is still in an earlier developmental stage. Any scientific field generates the most controversy and excitement when it is still developing. For psychodynamic psychology this means that its basic units of observation as well as its rules for justifying clinical inference in formulating and testing dynamic hypotheses require more development. In short, we are still evaluating different methods for both discovering and validating psychodynamic propositions. This is especially true for central features of dynamic psychology, including intrapsychic conflict, relationships, and transference patterns. This report compares three different methods for making a dynamic case formulation: 1) the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) of Luborsky (Crits-Christoph and Luborsky 1985a,b; Luborsky 1976, 1977, 1984, and companion paper in this issue; Levine and Luborsky 1981), 2) the Plan Diagnosis (PD) method of Silberschatz, Curtis and colleagues of the Mount Zion group (Caston 1986; Curtis and Silberschatz 1986; Rosenberg et al. 1986; Curtis et al. 1988) and, 3) the Idiographic Conflict Formulation (ICF) of Perry and Cooper (1985, 1986, and companion paper in this issue). Each has a slightly different focus. The CCRT focuses on relationship patterns as the central feature of individual dynamics and transference in or out of the treatment situation. The Plan Diagnosis focuses on dynamic features related to transference, resistance and insight in therapy. The Idiographic Conflict Formulation focuses on stress and internal conflict, and the individual's adaptation to them in or out of treatment.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1989

Ability to form an alliance with the therapist: a possible marker of prognosis for patients with antisocial personality disorder.

Antisocial personality disorder is generally perceived to be refractory to treatment, particularly psychotherapy. In this study, the ability of 48 patients with this disorder to form a working relationship with a psychotherapist or drug counselor was examined in relation to outcome of 24 weeks of treatment evaluated at 7-month follow-up. Some antisocial patients were able to form working relationships with their therapists, and there was a significant association between the ability to form such a relationship and treatment outcome. Measures of this ability, such as the Helping Alliance Questionnaire, may help identify antisocial patients who can benefit from psychotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Clinicians can agree in assessing relationship patterns in psychotherapy. The Core Conflictual Relationship Theme method.

This study examines interjudge agreement on formulations of dynamic themes in psychotherapy, using a session-based method, namely, the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme. Agreement was assessed by two methods: one was based on themes that were tailor-made for each case, while the other was based on coding themes into a standard set of categories. To assess agreement on the tailor-made formulations, a paired-comparisons procedure was used. For a sample of 35 patients, the similarity ratings for matched cases were significantly higher than for purposely mismatched cases. Using the standard set of categories, agreement was also good; weighted kappa values ranged from .61 to .70. The results also demonstrate reliability for the location of the relationship episodes, which form the database for the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme. Our positive results suggest that this guided clinical method can be used reliably as a measure of relationship patterns in psychotherapy; our results provide the first moderate-sized sample demonstration of clinicians' agreement in formulating this complex concept.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1988

Is the counselor an "active ingredient" in substance abuse rehabilitation? An examination of treatment success among four counselors.

The impact of the counselor in substance abuse rehabilitation has been questioned. The unexpected resignations of two counselors provided a natural opportunity to examine the effects of counselor assignment in a methadone maintenance treatment program with the effects of the medication philosophy, program rules, and supplementary services held constant. Sixty-one patients who had been assigned to these two counselors were assigned to four other counselors in a virtually random manner. It was reasoned that if the new counselor had relatively little impact, then there would be little difference in performance from pre to posttransfer or among the four caseloads during the 6-month period following the transfer. Performance measures included urinalysis results, methadone dosage, prescriptions for psychotropic medications, employment, and arrest rates. Results indicated statistically significant and clinically meaningful differences in the posttransfer performance of the four caseloads. One counselor significantly reduced the average methadone dose of his/her caseload as well as the number of patients prescribed ancillary medications, while concurrently reducing positive urine tests, unemployment and arrests. In contrast, another counselor significantly increased the average methadone dose in his/her caseload but still showed increases in positive urine tests and unemployment. As has been found in prior studies, background and formal education differences among the counselors were not related to the observed performance differences. However, differences in the content and process of counseling among the counselors were associated with the differences in patient outcome. These process differences are discussed in relation to earlier studies of professional psychotherapy.

Combined Modality Therapy↗
PubMed1988

Measures of psychoanalytic concepts--the last decade of research from 'the Penn studies'.

This paper describes three types of operational measures developed by the Penn Psychotherapy Research project in the past decade: (1) Measures of the therapeutic alliance: three measures were created based on ratings, counting signs and questionnaire. All three showed significant predictions of the treatment outcomes. (2) The advent of objective measures of transference patterns: a relationship pattern measure called the 'core conflictual relationship theme' was developed, based on finding the recurrent patterns in narratives about people, including those about the therapist, that are told during the treatment. The measure has been shown to be reliable and valid. (3) Accuracy of interpretation: the convergence of the interpretations with the CCRT--the greater the convergence, the more the patient benefits. In the future, other clinical concepts will be examined to find how reliably the measures can be evaluated and related to benefits from the treatment.

Humans↗
PubMed1987

Twelve-month follow-up of psychotherapy for opiate dependence.

To provide information on the long-debated issue of the value of psychotherapy as an addition to paraprofessional counseling services for opiate addicts receiving methadone maintenance, the authors obtained 12-month follow-up data on 93 such patients randomly assigned to a 6-month course of either paraprofessional drug counseling or counseling plus professional psychotherapy. The psychotherapy patients had a significantly better overall status at 7-month follow-up and also at 12-month follow-up, 6 months after the psychotherapy ended. The authors conclude that psychotherapy can be evaluated by using scientific methods and that it can have measurable and sustained benefits in the treatment of opiate addiction.

Adolescent↗