To facilitate students’ transition into secondary school, a short, problem-oriented group program was designed that included interpretation retraining, problem solving, and social-skills training. Pre- and post-test data from two groups conducted over the course of 5 weeks were combined for a total of 35 6th-grade students waiting to undergo school transition. There was also a no-intervention control group (n = 19). Results indicate that completion of the program by the intervention group led to a significant decrease on negative interpretations, with greater reductions in feelings of loneliness and increases in children's positive attitudes toward school compared to the control group. In addition, 3 months before moving to secondary school, children in the intervention group reported significantly fewer concerns about school transition compared with the controls. We conclude that the inclusion of problem-based strategies may be beneficial when designing transition groups, which may also lead to a significant reduction in worries and concerns about the transition to secondary school.

Background: A premise of cognitive behavioural treatment is that individuals make cognitive, behavioural and situational changes prompted by interventions and that these changes bring about improvements in targeted outcomes. Aims: The present project set out to provide reliability and validity information for a brief measure of therapeutically induced change. Methods: A total of 281 participants, comprising three samples who took part in three different intervention studies, completed items relating to cognitive, behavioural and situational changes and completed measures relating to the intervention in which they participated. Results: The internal consistency of the scale assessing therapeutically induced change was high in the three samples. The scale showed evidence of validity through association with (1) more involvement in an intervention (2) reporting that an intervention was meaningful (3) being instructed to incorporate insights gained from an intervention into one's daily life (4) greater decreases in psychological distress and negative affect from pre-intervention to post-intervention, and (5) greater increases in positive affect from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Conclusions: The therapeutically-induced change scale may have utility as a process measure in various interventions.

The development of a brief psychological intervention aimed at clinicians without high levels of bipolar disorder expertise was described, and the manual based therapy was evaluated for feasibility with 13 bipolar diagnosed clients. Outcome was assessed using inventories related to central concerns with the bipolar population including suicide risk (Beck Hopelessness Scale), perceived control over mood and other internal states (Perceived Control of Internal States Scale) and satisfaction with treatment (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire). Data from Visual Analogue Scales and research interviews were used to complement the main results. Significant improvements were observed on all measures and it is concluded that the evaluated treatment can have important effects on central aspects of the bipolar experience and that it can be a useful adjunct to pharmacological therapies. Implications for clinical practice and service provision are discussed.

The historical origins of the case formulation approach to assessment and treatment are described and its role in clinical practice and research discussed. It is argued that treatment based on individual case formulations should not be precluded from clinical trials. The empirical evidence for the reliability and efficacy of case formulation is reviewed. The evidence that an idiosyncratic case formulation approach to treatment has any advantage over a standard protocol is equivocal; however, the studies that have been carried out are under powered and potentially suffer from a Type II error. The standard procedure for case formulation is briefly described and the argument advanced that this method of clinical assessment should be soundly based upon empirical evidence and hypothesis testing and not on speculation. Three modifications are suggested to the current practice of case formulation. These are: 1) the conceptualization of dysfunctional systems in the maintenance of clinical problems; 2) the historical background of a clinical problem should be described in terms of vulnerabilities and epidemiological evidence-base; and 3) the pivotal role of social behaviour and context should be emphasized and accommodated in a formulation. The advantages of a case formulation, in providing an understanding of the maintenance of clinical problems, in providing an integrated approach to intervention are outlined.

In the present climate of limited resources and long waiting lists, it is not surprising that there is more emphasis on making sure that psychological treatments are not only clinically sound but also cost-effective. One solution to this is to provide time-limited, focused interventions such as cognitive therapy. Another obvious solution is to deliver treatment in groups rather than individually. However, what evidence is there that therapy can be delivered as effectively in groups as individually? This review will look at which different formats have been tried, what the advantages and disadvantages of those formats might be, which client groups have been targeted for cognitive- behavioural group therapy (CBGT), and whether a group format in general offers any advantages over individual CBT. Outcome studies and their implications for the use of CBGT are considered. Results suggest that, in most client groups, there is little difference in efficacy between group and individual CBT, although there is some evidence that results for some types of patient can be disappointing in CBGT. It may be that the best compromise in terms of cost- effectiveness between quality of therapy and quantity of patients treated is offered by large-scale psychoeducational didactic group therapy.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is estimated to affect between 0.5% and 2% of children and adolescents. The majority of clinical cases has both obsessions and compulsions. Depression, anxiety and tic disorders are common comorbid diagnoses, and assessment can therefore be complex. Several theories have been proposed for the aetiology and maintenance of the disorder, including cognitive-behavioural and neuropsychiatric theories. Cognitive-behavioural and pharmacological treatments are both probably efficacious therapies for children and adolescents but further research is needed to compare these treatments with each other, and to examine the use of combination therapies in controlled trials.

While treatments for Generalized Anxiety Disorder have considerably improved recently, they remain less effective than similar treatments for other anxiety disorders. This paper reports on a comparative outcome study of a large group didactic therapy specifically designed to teach patients to “become their own therapists” in an attempt to counter the relapse problems commonly associated with this condition. The data suggest that improvements noted at six month follow-up are maintained at two years. Suggestions are forwarded to explain the lack of differential responding found among different therapy approaches.

In order to test the efficacy of a self-help anxiety management package, 62 anxiety disorder patients were randomly allocated to one of three conditions. “Stress-pac” patients were given a self-help package, “Advice Only” patients were offered verbal advice on ways of coping. Patients in both conditions were seen on one occasion shortly after referral for assessment and management advice. They were then placed back on the waiting list for a three-month period. Patients in the “No Intervention” condition also completed measures during this time. They were formally assessed at the end of this period. All patients were then followed through therapy. Results from a previous paper clearly indicated the superiority of the Stresspac condition at all data points up to one year follow-up. This paper looks at three-year follow-up and, while finding generally good outcome across conditions, finds further evidence of the superiority of the Stresspac condition on a range of measures.

Research aimed at identifying genes contributing to the aetiology of psychological disorders is in progress. This raises the possibility that genetic testing for such genes might become available. In this paper the possible psychological consequences of genetic testing for psychological disorders are examined. It is proposed that genetic testing may cause psychological and behavioural reactions that actually increase the person’s risk of developing a psychological disorder or may maintain existing problems. It is also suggested that cognitive-behavioural models may be able to aid prediction of some of the likely consequences of testing and identify people who are likely to react in particularly negative ways to news of their genetic risk. If genetic tests for psychological disorders are developed, it is important that research is carried out into the psychological and behavioural effects of testing and ways of minimizing adverse effects, before such tests become widely available.