Theories Journal

 In the Rauch & Foa (2006) article, the authors discuss exposure therapy, its theoretical base in emotional processing theory, and its application to PTSD. Here, the authors describe emotional processing theory as describing a fear as a stimulus response, meaning elements designed as a program to escape danger, and an action like avoidance. When something similar to the stimulus is activated, it spreads throughout the network as a whole. Overall, I think this model is smart, because it seems to have some EFT flavors in it where there is direct processing and intentionally zoning-in on emotions, what the client feels like, how to not avoid emotions, and what it means to process emotions. On top of that, the theory and practice seems to add in a clear cognitive path that explains why these fears decrease over time. In exposure therapy, these links are quite evident, but this theory makes it clear how this would work in other anxiety type disorders as well (ex: avoidance of the st...

The Miller & Rose (2009) article discusses some of the active ingredients in motivational interviewing, and examines some variables that may impact behavior change after participating in MI. Here, the authors emphasize that it is a combination of technical and common factors. I liked their analysis of variables are often under researched such as the efficacy of the trainings provided by the organization and the therapist ability to follow through on protocol. In other theories, I have seen a promotion of their trainings, but not necessarily a follow through on examining their effectiveness on actual behavior change. In this article, the authors talk about how it is the slope of change that truly impacts behavior change, and not just the overall ratio between change talk and sustain talk. I wonder if this specifically has to do with the applicability of MI to certain populations, as the groups who started higher seemed to not have a good ability to change their behavior after. Conce...

The Elliott & Greenberg (2007) article lays out the basic components of emotion focused therapy (EFT). The five essential processes include neo-humanistic values, process experiential emotion theory, person-centered but process-guiding relational stance, therapist exploratory style, and marker guided task strategy. There are also six treatment principles that are summarized to help therapist do this theory. The idea behind emotion focused therapy is that people often come into therapy in times of high crisis and that addressing client emotions and providing a safe and adaptive space for them to be able to process these emotions will help them recover from their psychological distress. I think the basic components of this theory are incredibly important, especially in the first couple of sessions where the therapeutic relationship is being developed and the client may have a lot on their mind with no one to consistently talk to. Additionally, I thought their understanding of empathy...

 The Teasdale (2004) discusses the thought process behind Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) as well as the original efficacy studies. The article discusses how mindfulness can be used to prevent relapse for depression, but possibly only for groups who have had more than three depressive episodes. I like the MBCT theory in comparison to some others, for it seems like it focuses on a real-life problem (relapse for depression) and controls it to common alternatives. Often, I feel like relapse is seen as a necessary evil in the mental health field and in other therapies is remedied by things like maintenance sessions (IPT). The article also discusses some of the neurological conceptualizations of mindfulness, which is useful in understanding their analogies to the different cognitive modes and how one can switch back and forth. This is another aspect of the study I like, for again I feel like a lot of research for mental health focuses on symptom reduction and prevention (both...