This book presents a new model for conceptualizing and applying a social and cognitive perspective on therapeutic practice. Building on the micro-skills framework for training, the author adds cognitive modifiability theories to create a social cognition approach to training and practice. The material has been field tested in a graduate academic context and in consultation in mental health settings, and chapters contain didactic explications, illustrative examples, practice exercises, and graphic schemas to help readers integrate specific practices into a broader comprehensive theoretical framework. Mental health professionals and students in advanced counseling courses will find that this book broadens their perspectives beyond basic micro-skills approaches and provides an expansive and systematic framework for conceptualizing the therapeutic process.
In recent history the practice of medicine and mental health has been increasingly eclectic as more and more practitioners harness seemingly disparate therapies and techniques to arrive at clinical breakthroughs. But while social work professionals have been involved in integrative practice informally and intuitively for years, resources to bring structure to this therapeutic concept have been few and far between. In response, Integrative Social Work Practice offers innovative ways of conceptualizing cases, communicating with clients and making better therapeutic use of client individuality. Rich in research, evidence-based and clinical material from a variety of settings, the book begins with the basic organizing principles behind effective integrative practice. Real-world examples flesh out the theoretical rationales and psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral and developmental methods are shown in practical context. The author also demonstrates how to balance flexibility and boundaries and manage diverse and even conflicting theories, while providing clear guidelines on: Integrating key psychotherapeutic approaches into social work. Using somatic knowledge to enhance therapy. Making assessments and choosing interventions. Applying an integrative approach to therapeutic relationships. Creating manageable goals based on small steps. Building and working with an integrative team. An important step forward in both professional development and the larger therapeutic picture, Integrative Social Work Practice benefits researchers and practitioners as well as supervisors and students in social work and counseling.
There are a plethora of questions experts are asking surrounding the intersection of clinical intervention practices with social cognition. How do neuro-cognitive processes shape social understanding? What experimental methods illuminate social cognitive complexities? How can social cognition be applied practically in clinical contexts and psycho-social rehabilitation? How does social cognition influence decision-making and cross-cultural perspectives? To find the answers to these concerns, researchers can now look to Principles and Clinical Interventions in Social Cognition, a research book which delves into recent advances, practical applications, and future trajectories within the intricate relationship between social processes and cognitive mechanisms. It adopts a unique structure, each chapter offering a concise introduction to a specific aspect of social cognition. From foundational principles to applications in clinical interventions and individual well-being, it covers neuro-cognitive processes, experiments, and social cognition in various clinical and health conditions. The interdisciplinary nature of this book makes it an authoritative resource for professionals, researchers, and students in psychology, neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, social work, sociology, management, allied health sciences, and other areas of social science.
This book portrays an extensive and intensive discussion of theories and research that refer to Vygotsky’s and Feuerstein’s theories of mediated learning and their effects on learning potential and cognitive modifiability. Most topics are discussed in relation to a broad spectrum of developmental and cognitive research that are under the conceptual umbrella of mediated learning and cognitive modifiability. Some topics such as neural plasticity, executive functions, mental rotation, and cognitive education are related to mediated learning, though indirectly, and therefore are included in this book. In many ways the book presents an extension of Vygotsky and Feuerstein’s theories and empirical validation in a variety of family, social and cultural contexts. The book includes a thorough analysis and summary of 50 years of research and methodology of the intimate relation between mediated learning interactions and cognitive modifiability and of dynamic assessment underlying measurement of cognitive modifiability. Special emphasis is given to Tzuriel’s dynamic assessment instruments developed during more than four decades. Tzuriel’s novel instruments are interwoven in the extensive research on parent-child interactions, siblings’ , teachers' and peers' mediation and in validation of dynamic assessment approach and cognitive education programs aimed at development of thinking skills and academic achievements.
This book defines and examines the needs of the marginalized student and presents a theoretically grounded model to guide institutions of higher education toward developing new and more effective programmatic responses. Taking the implementational experience of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein, South Africa, as a case study, it investigates the experience of students who present problems of learning and inadequate preparation for sustained performance, including learning disabilities, lack of study skills, motivational factors, and cultural support systems. Further, it identifies the pressure for institutions to be responsive to social and political pressures to accommodate the needs of students previously excluded from participation in higher educational or vocational training opportunities. In addressing this timely area of development, the authors formulate a unique conceptual foundation for the consideration of a new paradigm, based on cognitive and biosocial theories: those of the theory of structural cognitive modifiability and mediated learning experience and of Feuerstein and Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystem structural orientation. Innovative, applicational, and optimistic in nature, this book will appeal to scholars, researchers, administrators, and postgraduate level students working across the fields of higher education, educational psychology, and student counseling.
Human mental capacities and processes are the raw materials with which psychotherapists work. Thus what cognitive scientists have discovered in recent decades is potentially tremendous value for psychotherapeutic practice. But the new knowledge is not readily accessible to therapists, who find both language and methodology off-putting. The Mind in Therapy bridges the gap. It offers a comprehensive overview of the relevant range of cognitive activities, ranging from complex mental operations such as problem solving, decision making, reasoning, and metacognition to basic functions such as attention, memory, and emotion. The authors integrate key new findings about the interaction between cognition and emotion, inhibition, and counterfactual thinking--processes that loom large in practice. Each chapter reviews an area of cognitive research, clearly explains the findings, and highlights their implications and applications in diverse models of therapy--cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, and family. Each includes case vignettes that illustrate the ways in which the concepts are important and useful in practice. All therapists rely on the human mind to effect the change they seek. The clearer understanding of human cognitive capacities, idiosyncrasies, and limitations--their own as well as clients'--that they will gain from this book will enhance the effectiveness of both beginning and experienced practitioners, whatever their orientation.
Advances in Cognitive–Behavioral Research and Therapy, Volume 2 provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of cognitive–behavioral approaches to psychotherapy. This book presents the developments in the study of cognition, personality, learning, social interaction, and behavior therapy. Organized into seven chapters, this volume begins with an overview of cognitive schemata and cognitive processing as significant theoretical concepts for cognitive–behavioral therapy. This text then provides an analysis of self-mastery and the role of self-schemata in processing therapeutic information. Other chapters provide clinical guidelines for helping clients in changing their self-view and behavior. This book discusses as well the increasing influential role of fundamental cognition and social cognition in cognitive–behavioral interventions. The final chapter deals with the applied developments in the treatment of performance anxiety. This book is a valuable resource for research and applied psychologists. Researchers and clinicians struggling with the interplay of behavior, cognition, and emotion will also find this book useful.
Research shows that neuro- and social cognition have a decisive influence on functional outcome in people with schizophrenia. In this publication, world-renowned experts summarize the latest research on approaches to assessing and treating cognition in schizophrenia. The book is organized to take the reader through the steps from definitions and assessment of cognition to research on the relevance of cognition in everyday life, to chapters which focus on treatments for cognitive disorders. The reader will learn about the NIMH MATRICS initiative which has provided clinicians and researchers with the tools to define and assess neuro- and social cognitive functioning in people with schizophrenia. Then the treatments for neuro and social cognitive deficits are discussed in several chapters which give an overview of cognitive remediation approaches, accompanied by concrete treatment examples. The reader will also learn about the latest results of pharmacological interventions for cognitive deficits. A final chapter focuses on the importance of addressing motivational deficits when treating cognition, and offers treatment approaches to enhance motivation. This publication is essential reading for clinicians and researchers in the fields of psychiatry, psychology as well as students and other professions working with people who have schizophrenia.
"Once in a while a book comes along that is both unique and invaluable.... By reading and studying this work, practitioners can enrich the lives of their clients and their own effectiveness. [It] translates theory into practice and transforms mainstream counseling approaches into extremely useful devices for modifying the way clients and counselors function in therapy." Samuel T. Gladding, PhD Department of Counseling, Wake Forest University (From the Foreword) While traditional "talk" therapies remain at the foundation of counseling, the use of expressive and creative arts in conjunction with these methods can often deepen the healing process as well as expedite diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Integrating the Expressive Arts into Counseling Practice is designed to provide readers with an understanding of the ways in which expressive arts counseling techniques can be productively integrated into the leading counseling modalities. Accessible to students and practitioners alike, it presents field-tested expressive arts interventions within the context of the most commonly taught theoretical orientations, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Gestalt Theory, Adlerian Theory, Choice Theory, Existential Theory, Feminist Theory, Person-Centered Theory, Narrative Therapy, and Integrative Theory. These chapters include the work of over 40 contributors, including expert practitioners and faculty, who offer detailed descriptions of their own successful expressive arts interventions. Key Features Presents over 50 expressive art interventions in an easy, step-by-step format Describes interventions within a framework of 10 commonly used treatment modalities Explains the connection between theory and intervention Includes art, writing, drama, music, movement, dance, puppetry, and sandplay activities. Discusses appropriate populations, settings, and diagnoses with which to use each intervention