Psychotherapy: Theory, practise and research
PhDr. Roman Hytych, Ph.D.
Psychotherapy: Theory, practise and research

Guarantee: PhDr. Roman Hytych, Ph.D.; e-mail: romhyt@gmail.com

Lectures:    Mgr. Pavel Borovička, Mgr. Michal Čevelíček, Ph.D., PhDr. Roman Hytych, Ph.D, Autumn Chall, MS., Mgr. Klára Jonášová, Mgr. Adam Klocek, Ph.D., Mgr. Martin Novák, prof. Mgr. Tomáš Řiháček, Ph.D., doc. MUDr. David Skorunka, Ph.D., Mgr. Monika Skutková,  Mgr. Lucia Ukropová, prof. PhDr. Zbyněk Vybíral, Ph.D.

 ECTS: 4 credits
The course is offered for foreign students in BA and MA programs. It consists of lectures listed below. The final exam will take the form of an essay (8 - 10 pages) on a chosen theme. 80% attendance on lectures is compulsory. Lectures are conducted on Tuesdays from 14:00 to 15:40 in room U53.

The course will start on 1st October. Beware!  One of the lectures (19/11) will be online.

Course lectures:

Zbyněk Vybíral:  Introduction to Psychotherapy and Introduction to adverse effects (1/10)

The lecture offers a basic overview covering themes such as psychotherapy as a profession, scientific views on psychotherapy, and a variety of research designs. The focus on psychotherapy as both, the science and “gift” includes several issues for questioning and discussion. Some biases are mentioned as well.

Norcross, J., Lambert, M. (2018). Psychotherapy Relationships That Work III. Psychotherapy 55(4), 303–315.

Levitt, Heidi, Butler, M., Hill, T. (2006). What Clients Find Helpful in Psychotherapy: Developing Principles for Facilitating Moment-to-Moment Change. Journal of Counseling Psychology 53 (3), s. 314–324.

Klára Jonášová: Feedback in Psychotherapy context (8/10)

During this lesson we will explain the importance of feedback on the quality and effectiveness of psychotherapy. We will introduce the most used

tools for systematic feedback acquisition, the possibilities of their use and their influence on the therapy itself. Next, we will discuss the future of

routine measurements in the field of psychotherapy and their influence on the development of this field.

Lambert, M. J., Whipple, J. L., & Kleinstäuber, M. (2018). Collecting and delivering progress feedback: A meta-analysis of routine outcome monitoring. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 520–537. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000167

Barkham, M., De Jong, K., Delgadillo, J., & Lutz, W. (2023). Routine outcome monitoring. Psychotherapy skills and methods that work, 429-471.

Lutz, W., de Jong, K., Rubel, J. A., & Delgadillo, J. (2021). Measuring, predicting, and tracking change in psychotherapy. Bergin and Garfield’s

handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 7, 89-133.

De Jong, K., Delgadillo, J., & Barkham, M. (2023). Routine outcome monitoring and feedback in psychological therapies. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Tomáš Řiháček: What makes a good therapist? (15/10)

Although this question has been asked from the beginning of the psychotherapeutic profession, an ultimate answer is still missing. We will explore this topic from several perspectives (axiological, theoretical, empirical, and developmental), trying to develop a more comprehensive picture. Building on existing research, we will strive to formulate what establishes therapeutic competence and what are the best methods to search for it and develop it.

Tracey, T. J. G., Wampold, B. E., Lichtenberg, J. W., & Goodyear, R. K. (2014). Expertise in psychotherapy: An elusive goal? American Psychologist, 69(3), 218-229. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035099

Martin Novák, Lucia Ukropová: Introduction to “Open dialogue”  -  the role of psychotherapy in mental health care services (22/10)

The seminar focuses on introducing the “Open dialogue ” (OD), a psychosocial network-based approach to working with people experiencing mental health difficulties. The main principles, used interventions, possibilities, and limitations of this approach will be discussed. Also, we will discuss the case study from lecturers' practice and the role of psychotherapy in mental health and social care community services.

 Olson, M., Seikkula, J., Ziedonis, D. (2014) Key Elements of Dialogic Practice in Open Dialogue. The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.

Seikkula, J. & Olson, M. (2003) The Open Dialogue Approach to Acute Psychosis: Its Poetics and Micropolitics. Family Process, 42, 403-418. 

Schutze, W. (2015). Open dialogue as a contribution to a healthy society: possibilities and limitations. Advances in Psychiatry and Neurology, 24, s. 86-90.

Adam Klocek: Is psychotherapy stable or chaotic? (29/10)

During this lecture, we will cover the basics of how changes in psychotherapy might unfold in time. We will describe linear and abrupt change processes and some recent dynamic systems approaches applied to psychotherapy. The remaining part of the lecture will be focused on psychological networks and how it can be useful for each psychotherapist to build a network model from the data of his clients.

Borsboom, D., & Cramer, A. O. (2013). Network analysis: an integrative approach to the structure of psychopathology. Annual review of clinical psychology, 9, 91-121.

Schiepek, G. K., Viol, K., Aichhorn, W., Hütt, M. T., Sungler, K., Pincus, D., & Schöller, H. J. (2017). Psychotherapy is chaotic—(not only) in a computational world. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 379.

Schiepek, G., Heinzel, S., Karch, S., Aas, B., & Strunk, G. (2014). Chaos and self-organization in psychotherapy. Chaos and Complexity Letters, 8(2/3), 231.

Olthof, M., Hasselman, F., Strunk, G., van Rooij, M., Aas, B., Helmich, M. A., ... & Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A. (2020). Critical fluctuations as an early-warning signal for sudden gains and losses in patients receiving psychotherapy for mood disorders. Clinical Psychological Science, 8(1), 25-35.

Roman Hytych: Mindfulness in contemporary psychotherapy: Clinical practice and research findings (5/11) 

Mindfulness is a core skill for life coping developed within the Buddhist tradition. Recent years of psychotherapy application and scientific research have shown a huge range of benefits for psychotherapy clients as well as psychotherapists themselves.

Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundation and Evidence for its Salutary Effects. Psychological Inquiry. 4, 211-237.

Michal Čevelíček: Case formulation as a process and product of therapists' thinking about their clients (12/11)

Broadly defined, psychotherapy case formulation captures the ways in which therapists think about their clients (cases). Specifically, it is a process and a product of capturing and structuring complex information, developing hypotheses about the nature of issues at hand, and forming plans to resolve these issues. First, we will focus on the specifics of “therapeutic thinking”. Is the thinking of therapists any different from “common” thinking? What do therapists learn to think as therapists? Second, we will take a look at some specific methods of case formulation (both integrative and orientation-specific), which therapists' may use to shape their thinking.

Eells, T.D. (Ed.). (2007) Handbook of Psychotherapy Case Formulation. New York, London: The Guilford Press.

Ingram, B. L. (2010). Clinical case formulations: Matching the integrative treatment plan to the client. New Jersey, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Pavel Borovička: Navigating Therapeutic Challenges: Understanding and Addressing the Role of Negative Experiences in Therapy and Client Agency (26/11)

An increased amount of attention in psychological research has been dedicated to the agency of clients in therapy, particularly recognizing the potential of the client as a self-healer paradigm. In the context of this topic, we will focus specifically on negative experiences occurring within therapeutic sessions, and how these experiences can significantly affect the client's capacity to effectively participate in the therapeutic process. We will examine their classification, contexts of occurrence, and take a brief look at viable ways of measurement.  Finally, we will elaborate on and discuss how developing an informed awareness of this topic can help in forming meaningful conclusions in therapy not only within the scope of prevention but also in the efforts of re-establishing rapport and improving the overall quality of the client-therapist alliance.

Levitt, H. M., Pomerville, A., & Surace, F. I. (2016). A qualitative meta-analysis examining clients' experiences of psychotherapy: A new agenda. Psychological bulletin, 142(8), 801–830. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000057

Vybíral, Z., Ogles, B. M., Řiháček, T., Urbancová, B., & Gocieková, V. (2024). Negative experiences in psychotherapy from clients' perspective: A qualitative meta-analysis. Psychotherapy research : Journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, 34(3), 279–292. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2023.2226813


Monika Skutková: Helpful and hindering events in psychotherapy 3/12)

The lecture will focus on research of helpful and hindering events in psychotherapy – its history, way of analysis of significant events, an overview of the most important results and connection of events to therapy outcome. Understanding helpful and hindering events can be useful particularly for therapists in practice.

Timulák, L. (2010). Significant events in psychotherapy: An update of research findings. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 83, s. 421-447.

Timulák, L. (2007). Identifying core categories of the client-identified impact of helpful events in psychotherapy: A qualitative meta-analysis. Psychotherapy Research, 17(3), 310-320.

Autumn Chall:  Issues of diversity in psychotherapy (10/12)

Societies are becoming increasingly connected, which leads to greater diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other factors. In this lecture, we will examine theoretical, methodological, and applied issues relevant to the study and practice of psychology in multicultural settings. 

 American Psychological Association. 2017. Multicultural Guidelines: An Ecological Approach to Context, Identity, and Intersectionality.


David Skorunka: Contemporary family therapy and systemic practice (17/12) on-line! link below

link: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/93144265653?pwd=ueCu97zav8bMFnTmjsn62q7aXbLzcr.1

The lecture introduces the main assumptions and a variety of practices in contemporary family therapy including integrative approaches in this field. Major research findings regarding both the outcome and process of family therapy will be presented.

Dallos, R., Draper, R. (2015). An Introduction to Family Therapy and Systemic Practice. 4th Edition. Open University Press.
Dallos, R. Vetere, A. (2020). Systemic Therapy and Attachment Narratives. 2nd Edition. Routledge.
Dallos, R., Crittenden, P., Landini, A. et al. (2020). Family Functional Formulations as Guides to Psychological Treatment. Contemporary Family Therapy 42(9), DOI: 10.1007/s10591-019-09525-6

Themes for the final essay (choose only one of them):

1. A short outline of the situation of psychotherapy in your country including psychotherapy politics in your country (legal framework);

2. What are the researchers focused on in the field of psychotherapy in your country (or in broader context if psychotherapy research in your contry is just starting)?

Final essay submission deadline: 22th December 2024

Essay evaluation criteria:

- personal elaboration of the subject – the predominance of own considerations, insights, opinions, and interpretations (work with literature, but do not just describe or cite it.)

sophistication, structuring, distinct line of thought or concept

- content density and depth (of course depth is inversely proportional to the breadth of the topic  – also an essay with a broad topic and less sophisticated sub-themes may be excellent; anyway we rather recommend elaborating a chosen sub-theme, in detail and in context.)

- the ability of a clear presentation of the main ideas of the essay and the ability to participate in critical discussion

- keeping to the topic and length formally correct working with terminology and literature, apparent distinguishing of own ideas from those of others, citing according to APA standard

-  see also Bad and Good examples of the final essay in Information system

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