Core Competencies in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Becoming a Highly Competent and Effective Therapist

298 Pages·2010·4.707 MB·English

by  Len Sperry

“In his valuable new book, Core Competencies in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Becoming a Highly
Competent and Effective Therapist, Dr. Len Sperry brings the lists of clinical core competencies
alive for therapists and educators alike by providing clear explanations of the competencies’
therapeutic contexts, meanings, and importance. In doing so, he helps us move beyond merely
being competent to becoming proficient in our understanding and utilization of these clini-
cally critical best practices. Dr. Sperry’s contribution to the competency movement in the men-
tal health disciplines is significant because he is able to synthesize the various and sometimes
competing clinical competencies together in order to provide us with six integrative core com-
petencies that once again illustrate how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In this
manner Dr. Sperry’s synergistic solution marks a productive step forward, bringing common
competencies-based education to the forefront and mapping our journey towards improving the
quality of the counseling and psychotherapeutic care we provide.”
—Ron Chenail, PhD
Professor of Family Therapy, Nova Southeastern University, Florida
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy
“This is a timely, clinically relevant, and highly readable book that lives up to its compre-
hensive title. Dr. Sperry seamlessly interweaves empirical research, theory, and illustrative
clinical vignettes in a highly organized and accessible manner. This compendium will help
trainees and experienced therapists of all disciplines and orientations make sense of what it
takes to be a highly effective therapist.”
—Hanna Levenson, PhD
Professor, Wright Institute, Berkeley, California
Author, Time Limited Dynamic Therapy
“The ability to perform psychotherapy is an essential competency for the modern mental
health professional. Knowing what is going on, what to do, and how to do it, effectively and
ethically, is the focus of Dr. Sperry’s concisely and clearly written text, Core Competencies in
Counseling and Psychotherapy. Dr. Sperry’s book will be a valuable resource for learners and
experienced practitioners because of its balanced coverage of the major modes of psychother-
apy and its clear intent to help with acquiring and maintaining professional competencies.”
—Laura Roberts, MD
Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Stanford University School of Medicine, California
Editor-in-Chief, Academic Psychiatry
“If the art and science of psychotherapy may be likened to a foreign country, Dr. Sperry’s text is
a kind of Baedeker—a clear and comprehensive guide book to this often challenging territory.
Dr. Sperry emphasizes the curative elements common to all major forms of psychotherapy, yet
provides detailed descriptions of the individual schools and approaches. The book is pluralis-
tic in its approach, with a broad-based biopsychosocial orientation to treatment, yet avoids the
sort of unfocused eclecticism that detracts from less sophisticated texts. Terms are carefully
defined; the text is clearly written; and numerous clinical illustrations are provided.
The use of an ongoing case example lends a vivid, narrative thread to the text, and allows
the reader to integrate a broad array of data in a more personalized way. Dr. Sperry’s text
also provides a sound basis for understanding ethno-cultural and ethical issues that arise
in the course of treatment. I believe this book will serve as an excellent introductory text for
those seeking to achieve competency in psychotherapy, but will also be an elegant ‘refresher
course’ for many experienced practitioners who want to refine their understanding.”
—Ronald Pies, MD
Professor of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
Past editor-in-Chief, Psychiatric Times
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“Dr. Sperry has masterfully incorporated assessment, therapeutic relationship, intervention,
evaluation, termination, and multiculturalism into a tightly integrated series of competen-
cies. This text is both highly scientific and pragmatic for the neophyte and veteran therapist
alike, taking therapist development to the next level.”
—Craig S. Cashwell, PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS
Professor, School of Education
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
“This book makes the core competencies of therapy practices not only practical but inspir-
ing … and transforms them into ways of thinking and practicing that we can all aspire to
master, no matter what our model of practice or stage of career. Great job, Len Sperry!”
—William J. Doherty, PhD
Professor, University of Minnesota
Author, Soul Searching and Family Therapy
“This volume develops a systematic approach to teaching the three residency-required
core competencies in psychotherapy. With the therapeutic relationship always at the core,
the author integrates the common, differentiating, and evolving essentials of cognitive-
behavioral, psychodynamic, and systemic (a stand-in for supportive) psychotherapies. It
is a useful resource for educators designing programs to achieve the core competencies.
Experienced clinicians may also find it of value in reviewing basic concepts of the major
psychotherapies.”
—Norman A. Clemens, MD
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Ohio
Training and Supervising Analyst, Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center
Psychotherapy columns editor, Journal of Psychiatric Practice
“Core Competencies in Counseling and Psychotherapy is a wonderful companion to Dr. Sperry’s excel-
lent book, Highly Effective Therapy. Both seasoned therapists and clinicians-in-training—as well
as those who prepare clinicians—will find this book a thorough and accessible resource. Used
in combination, Core Competencies and Highly Effective Therapy provide readers with an excellent,
in-depth presentation of the knowledge, attitudinal dispositions, and skill sets involved in the
core competencies of successful clinical practice.”
—Richard E. Watts, PhD, LPC-S
Professor and Director
Center for Research and Doctoral Studies in Counselor Education
Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas
“Len Sperry succinctly and systematically presents the basic competencies of psychother-
apy practice based on his extensive experience as a clinician, psychotherapy researcher,
and supervisor. Each phase of treatment and dimension of psychotherapy is clearly for-
mulated and enriched with the wisdom that only comes through decades of experience.
As a profoundly deep-thinking therapist and scholar, Dr. Sperry proposes a distillation of
a true healing process. His conceptualization offers our field a standard for clinical practice
against which to hold ourselves and help our clients heal and evolve. The conduct of very
fine psychotherapy is made accessible through his clear formulation of clinical competency.
Dr. Sperry creates the bedrock for training for a new therapist and, for more seasoned thera-
pists, a place for reflection on further refinement.”
—Lisa Miller, PhD
Associate Professor, Clinical Psychology, Teachers College
Columbia University and Columbia University Medical School, New York
Past President, Division 36, American Psychological Association
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Core Competencies
in Counseling and
Psychotherapy
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Core CompetenCies in
psyChotherapy series
Series Editor
Len Sperry
Florida Atlantic University, Medical College of Wisconsin
Competency represents a paradigm shift in the training and practice of
psychotherapy that is already challenging much of what is familiar and
comfortable. This series addresses the core competencies common to highly
effective psychotherapeutic practice, and includes individual volumes for
the most commonly practiced approaches today: cognitive behavior, brief
dynamic, and solution-focused therapies, and others.
Volumes in this Series
Highly Effective Therapy: Developing Essential Clinical
Competencies in Counseling and Psychotherapy
Len Sperry
Core Competencies in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Becoming a
Highly Competent and Effective Therapist
Len Sperry
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Core Competencies
in Counseling and
Psychotherapy
Becoming a Highly Competent
and Effective Therapist
L E N S P E R R Y
New York London
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Routledge Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group
270 Madison Avenue 27 Church Road
New York, NY 10016 Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
© 2010 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
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International Standard Book Number: 978-0-415-95249-1 (Hardback)
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sperry, Len.
Core competencies in counseling and psychotherapy : becoming a highly
competent and effective therapist / by Len Sperry.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-415-95249-1 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Psychotherapy. I. Title.
RC480.S653 2010
616.89’14--dc22 2010015636
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the Routledge Web site at
http://www.routledgementalhealth.com
ISBN 0-203-89399-9 Master e-book ISBN
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Contents
Foreword xvii
preface xxi
SectIon I Introduction
1 Competencies in Counseling and psychotherapy: an overview 3
Definition of terms 4
Competence and Competency 4
Competency Versus skill 5
Capability 6
the Competency movement in the mental health Disciplines 6
Five mental health Disciplines 8
psychiatry 8
psychology 9
marital and Family therapy 1 0
Counseling 1 1
social Work 1 2
progress on adoption of Competency-Based training 1 2
Commonality on Core Competencies 1 3
Core Competencies in Counseling and psychotherapy 1 3
1. Conceptual Foundation 1 3
2. relationship Building and maintenance 1 4
3. intervention planning 1 4
4. intervention implementation 1 5
5. intervention evaluation and termination 1 5
6. Culturally and ethically sensitive practice 1 5
interrelationship of six Core Competencies 1 6
Journey metaphor 1 6
Visual representation 1 7
Concluding note 1 7
v
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ConTEnTS
SectIon II core competency 1: conceptual
Foundations
2 Conceptual Foundations 21
Competency of applying a Conceptual map 2 2
the “tri-y model” 2 2
Dynamic approaches 2 3
the evolution of Dynamic therapy 2 4
Drive: Classical psychoanalysis 2 4
Drive: psychoanalytic psychotherapy 25
ego: ego psychology 2 5
object: object relations 2 5
self: self psychology 2 6
relationship: relationally oriented Dynamic therapies 2 6
Dynamic perspective on personality, psychopathology, and
psychotherapeutic process 2 7
personality 2 7
psychopathology 2 7
psychotherapeutic process 2 8
Cognitive–Behavioral therapies 2 8
Common Characteristics 2 8
the evolution of CBt 2 9
First Wave 2 9
second Wave 3 0
third Wave 3 0
Behavior therapy 3 0
Cognitive therapies 3 1
schema therapy 3 2
Dialectic Behavior therapy 3 2
Cognitive–Behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy 3 3
mindfulness-Based Cognitive therapy 3 4
Cognitive–Behavioral perspective on personality, psychopathology,
and psychotherapeutic process 3 4
personality 3 4
psychopathology 3 4
psychotherapeutic process 3 5
vi
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ConTEnTS
systemic approaches 3 5
systems Concepts 3 5
structural therapy 3 6
strategic therapy 3 6
solution-Focused approaches 3 7
systemic perspective on personality, psychopathology,
and psychotherapeutic process 3 7
personality 3 7
psychopathology 3 7
psychotherapeutic process 38
Concluding note 38
Case of Geri 38
SectIon III core competency 2: therapeutic
Relationship
3 relationship Building 4 3
assessment Competency and intervention planning 4 4
establishing an effective therapeutic relationship 44
therapeutic approaches 4 5
Cognitive–Behavioral approaches 4 5
Dynamic approaches 4 6
systemic approaches 48
an integrative View of the therapeutic alliance 4 9
therapist and therapeutic alliance 5 2
Clinician Credibility 5 3
Developing a therapeutic alliance with Difficult Clients 53
assessing readiness and Fostering treatment-promoting Factors 5 4
stages of readiness for Change 55
interventions to optimize readiness for Change 5 6
Common Factors in psychotherapy 5 6
Client resources 5 7
therapeutic relationship 5 7
intervention strategies and tactics 5 7
expectancy 5 7
treatment-promoting Factors and strategies 58
vii
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