Therapist competence refers to the extent that a given treatment is conducted in accordance with the instructions or intentions of the respective treatment manual. Despite this relatively straightforward notion, existing research on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) processes have been unsuccessful in defining and measuring this construct. This article reviews the contemporary empirical research on therapist competence in CBT, outlines the development and psychometric evaluation of the commonly used measures of therapist adherence, and discusses how competence has been linked to treatment outcomes. The psychometric evidence for existing measures is mixed, and in particular, there has been difficulty in the demonstration of adequate interrater reliability, even among identified experts in the field. New measures of therapist competence hold promise — most notably, in the separation of therapist adherence and competence constructs. The assessment of therapist adherence, therapist competence, and the role of supervisor ratings in the clinical context are also discussed.

Empirical evidence supports parental monitoring as a moderator of adolescent problem behaviours. A methodological review shows that monitoring has been measured using self-report questions based on parental knowledge of adolescent free-time use; however, inconsistencies in the definition of monitoring have created confusion. A process model of parental monitoring is proposed. This proposed model conceptualises monitoring interactions in a temporal sequence. It proposes that parental monitoring occurs in two distinct stages: before the adolescent goes out and when they return home. Parental and adolescent responses to monitoring interactions impact on future monitoring episodes. The proposed model demonstrates that a functional understanding of parent and adolescent monitoring behaviours is essential to clinical prevention and intervention.

In 2001 we evaluated a universal prevention trial of anxiety during childhood, and also examined the effects of the program on levels of depression. Participants were 594 children aged 10—13 years from seven schools in Brisbane, Australia, who were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group on a school-by-school basis. The intervention was based on the group CBT program FRIENDS (Barrett, Lowry-Webster & Holmes, 1999a, 1999b, 1999c). Results were examined universally (for all children) and for children who scored above the clinical cut-off for anxiety at pre-test. At 12-month follow-up, intervention gains were maintained, as measured by self-reports and diagnostic interviews. Eighty-five per cent of children in the intervention group who were scoring above the clinical cut-off for anxiety and depression were diagnosis free in the intervention condition, compared to only 31.2% of children in the control group. Implications of these findings are examined, alongside limitations and directions for future research.

Although the content of sexual fantasy has been extensively researched, very little contemporary research has investigated the function of sexual fantasy within the context of offending. In this study, a qualitative analysis was used to develop a descriptive model of the phenomena of sexual fantasy during the offence process. Twenty-four adult males convicted of sexual offences provided detailed retrospective descriptions of their thoughts, emotions and behaviours before, during and after their offences. A data-driven approach to model development (grounded theory) was undertaken to analyse the interview transcripts. A preliminary model was developed to elucidate the function of sexual fantasy in the process of sexual offending, as well as the physiological and psychological variables associated with it. The sexual fantasy function model (SFFM) comprises four categories that describe the various functions of sexual fantasy in the offence process. These categories are affect regulation, sexual arousal, coping, and modelling. The strengths of the SFFM are discussed and its clinical implications are reviewed. Finally, the limitations of the study are presented, and future research directions discussed.