Celia Faye Jacobsen defends her PhD thesis
Title
'Predictors and Moderators, Change Processes, and Appropriate Responsiveness in Psychotherapy - Results from the Common Factors, Responsiveness, and Outcome of Psychotherapy Study (CROP)'.
Time and place
17 December 2024 at 2 pm (CET).
The defence will take place in Auditorium 1 at The Faculty Library of Social Sciences, Gothersgade 140, 1st floor, 1353 Copenhagen.
The defence will also be available via Zoom.
Click here to join the defence.
Passcode: 385939.
Assessment committee
- Associate Professor Sonja Breinholst, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (chair)
- Professor Michael Constantino, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US
- Professor Erkki Heinonen, University of Oslo, Norway
Supervisor
- Professor Stig Poulsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstract
Despite a mounting societal need to improve the effectiveness of psychotherapy, few empirically supported answers can be provided to two central questions within psychotherapy research: what are the change processes of psychotherapy, i.e., how does it work, and what client (and therapist) characteristics are the most impactful on the psychotherapy process and outcome, i.e., for whom does it work. This thesis seeks to investigate these two questions, as well the concept of therapist appropriate responsiveness. The methodology consists of longitudinal statistical analyses on questionnaire data filled in by practicing psychologists in the Danish primary sector and their clients. The four studies of the thesis investigate how client factors such as therapeutic preferences or attachment style, therapist factors such as “professional self-doubt” or coping strategies, and dyadic factors such as “preference work” or the working alliance, are related to the process and outcome of therapy. Moreover, the thesis discusses the limitations of the studies, which reflect the general challenges of conducting psychotherapy research in a naturalistic, real-world setting.
