INFLUENCE OF THERAPIST SKILLS ON CLIENT PERCEPTIONS OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY OUTCOME: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUPERVISION

Clients seen in two marriage and family therapy training clinics were surveyed regarding treatment outcome. They rated their therapist's skill level on several therapist variables including "experience,""confident,""concerned," how well the treatment used seemed to "fit" their view of the problem and if the therapist seemed to "know how to deal" with their concerns. The variable of "fit" of treatment accounted for 35% of the variance in the client's perception of treatment outcome. "Concerned,""fit," and "knew how to deal" accounted for 36% of the variance in overall rating of the therapist. Suggestions for using these results in supervision of beginning therapists are given.     

Technical change and employment in the post-war gas industry

The development of the post-war British gas industry reveals a pattern of continuous productivity increase accomplished by a series of significant technological changes and substantial reductions in the labour force. Moreover, the transition from coal gas manufacture to the gassification of oil, and, more recently, to the exploitation of natural gas was accompanied by marked changes in the composition of the work force. Such changes raise a number of questions concerning the potential for re-training and redeployment measures within industries undergoing technical change. The paper examines the manner in which the shedding of labour took place within the gas industry, looks at the extent to which retraining measures were a feature of its development, and suggests some more general issues that are raised by this case study and which warrant further consideration.     

An Empirical Approach to Supervision and Training of Relationship Therapists

This paper presents an empirical approach to supervision and training of marriage and family therapists. Advantages from the use of the empirical approach include a systematic investigation of the skills and competencies of the therapist and establishing the basis for the scientific study of supervision. A Counseling Problems Worksheet is presented to help in developing multiple hypothesis related to counselor skill deficiencies. Two case studies are given to demonstrate the use of the empirical approach .     

Exorcising the Ghosts In the Marital System

A heuristic model is presented for the diagnosis and treatment of families in stress. A systems approach and psychoanalytic concepts are integrated to understand and modify dysfunctional behavior transmitted across generations .     

Examining the link between program implementation and behavior outcomes in the lifestyle education for activity program (LEAP)

Lifestyle Education for Activity Program (LEAP) was a comprehensive, school-based intervention designed to promote physical activity in high school girls. The intervention focused on changes in instructional practices and the school environment to affect personal, social, and environmental factors related to physical activity. Multiple process evaluation tools and an organizational assessment tool were developed to monitor program implementation from a framework called the LEAP essential elements, which characterized complete and acceptable intervention delivery; secular trends were also monitored. Using process data, LEAP intervention schools were categorized into low- and high-implementing groups and compared with control schools on nine essential elements assessed at the organizational level. The Wilcoxon scores test revealed that low- and high-implementing intervention, and control schools differed significantly on two of nine administrator-reported organizational-level components: having a physical activity team and having a faculty-staff health promotion program. A mixed-model analysis of covariance indicated that, compared to control schools, a greater percentage of girls in high-implementing schools reported engaging in vigorous physical activity. Process evaluation can be used to understand the relationship between level of implementation and successful program outcome.