Premature Termination in Psychotherapy

Premature client termination is a problem for both beginning and experienced clinicians. The objective of this book is to offer an understanding of why it happens and when it happens most frequently, as well as provide strategies supported by empirical data that meaningfully reduce the incidence of premature termination. This objective is certainly attained in a clear, concise and empirically supported style that is for the most part accessible to any level of counselor.

One of the very best examples of the new generation of psychotherapy development. Based on rigorous research findings and a deep look into the preexisting literature, this book presents practical guidelines to understand premature termination and provides evidence-based strategies for how to engage patients in treatment. It will especially be a highlight for practitioners who are interested in a broad insight of the overall empirical literature. For graduate students in clinical and counseling psychology, this book might be an excellent prototype for how to bring rigorous quantitative research and convenient practice examples together.

Informed, informative, pragmatic and practical, Premature Termination in Psychotherapy should be considered mandatory reading for both aspiring and practicing psychotherapists and is an essential, core addition to academic library Psychology/Psychiatry reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Joshua K. Swift, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage and a core faculty member in the Joint University of Alaska Fairbanks/University of Alaska Anchorage PhD Program in clinical-community psychology, where he directs the Psychotherapy Process and Outcome Research Lab. He is also a licensed psychologist in the state of Alaska. As an early career psychologist he has authored or coauthored more than 8 professional publications and presentations. He has also been recognized with a number of awards, including the APA Division 29 (Psychotherapy) Distinguished Publication of Psychotherapy Research Award, Division 29 President’s Award for Psychotherapy Research, and University of Alaska Anchorage’s Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Research. Roger P. Greenberg, PhD, is Distinguished Professor and director of the Psychology Division at State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. He is also the psychology internship training director at SUNY and a long-standing clinician in private practice. He has authored or coauthored about 25 publications and presentations, including The Art and Science of Brief Psychotherapies: An Illustrated Guide (2 2), From Placebo to Panacea: Putting Psychiatric Drugs to the Test ( 997), and the award-winning The Scientific Credibility of Freud’s Theories and Therapy ( 985). He has received the National Register of Health Service Psychologists’ Alfred B. Wellner Lifetime Achievement Award, the New York State Psychological Association’s Joanne Lifshin Mentorship Award, the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers’ Excellence in Training Award, and the SUNY President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.