A theoretically based experimental manipulation of the processing of sudden gains: Considering reasons, meaning, and opportunities to leverage the gain.

IF 4.5 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL Journal of consulting and clinical psychology Pub Date : 2025-02-01 Epub Date: 2024-12-30 DOI:10.1037/ccp0000941

Jonathan G Shalom, Asher Y Strauss, Jonathan D Huppert, Gerhard Andersson, Idan M Aderka

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Abstract

Objective: Sudden gains in psychotherapy have been found to predict outcome, but the conditions under which this occurs remain understudied. In the present study, we experimentally examined the effects of processing sudden gains on treatment outcome.

Method: As part of a large randomized controlled trial of internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder (n = 182), we experimentally manipulated therapists' responses to sudden gains. Specifically, we randomized individuals who experienced a sudden gain (n = 52) to either receive (n = 26) or not receive (n = 26) processing of the gain.

Results: We found that processed sudden gains were significantly less likely to be reversed compared to unprocessed sudden gains. We also found that individuals with processed sudden gains had lower symptom levels at posttreatment/follow-up compared to individuals with unprocessed sudden gains (M_difference = 15.65, SE = 5.87, p = .023, Cohen's d = 0.84; M_difference = 16.68, SE = 6.36, p = .026, Cohen's d = 1.05; respectively). In addition, individuals with unprocessed sudden gains did not have significantly different symptom levels at posttreatment/follow-up compared to individuals who did not experience a sudden gain during treatment.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that in internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder, the processing of sudden gains (rather than the gains themselves) leads to upward spirals of improvement that affect long-term outcomes. Replication of these findings in additional studies is needed, and, if replicated, such findings could provide the basis for adding processing of sudden gains to existing therapeutic protocols. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

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来源期刊

Journal of consulting and clinical psychology PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

9.00

自引率

3.40%

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期刊介绍： The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology® (JCCP) publishes original contributions on the following topics: the development, validity, and use of techniques of diagnosis and treatment of disordered behaviorstudies of a variety of populations that have clinical interest, including but not limited to medical patients, ethnic minorities, persons with serious mental illness, and community samplesstudies that have a cross-cultural or demographic focus and are of interest for treating behavior disordersstudies of personality and of its assessment and development where these have a clear bearing on problems of clinical dysfunction and treatmentstudies of gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation that have a clear bearing on diagnosis, assessment, and treatmentstudies of psychosocial aspects of health behaviors. Studies that focus on populations that fall anywhere within the lifespan are considered. JCCP welcomes submissions on treatment and prevention in all areas of clinical and clinical–health psychology and especially on topics that appeal to a broad clinical–scientist and practitioner audience. JCCP encourages the submission of theory–based interventions, studies that investigate mechanisms of change, and studies of the effectiveness of treatments in real-world settings. JCCP recommends that authors of clinical trials pre-register their studies with an appropriate clinical trial registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, ClinicalTrialsRegister.eu) though both registered and unregistered trials will continue to be considered at this time.