Browsing by Author "Kazantzis, Nikolaos"
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- ItemPerceived professional development among mental health practitioners in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Arts in Psychology at Massey University(Massey University, 2002) Kazantzis, NikolaosStudy of psychotherapy processes and outcomes has far outweighed study of its practitioners. New methodological advances in psychotherapy research have led to an increased emphasis on the role of therapist factors in ensuring successful psychotherapy outcome. Implicit in these methodological advances is the suggestion that the treatment procedures, and not the therapists delivering them, are ultimately the main determinants of successful treatment outcome. Although researchers have incorporated therapist years of practice or extent of training when evaluating psychotherapy, this is often misleading as it fails to consider what is actually done during those training and practice years of professional development. Unfortunately, only a few studies have examined mental health professionals' professional development, and little is currently known about the process of development over the course of a practitioner's career. This thesis is an extension of the Collaborative Research Network's study of mental health professionals' professional development to New Zealand. This thesis starts with a description of some recent advances in psychotherapy research, and how they have refocused the field's attention towards the role of the practitioner in influencing treatment outcomes. This is followed by a description of the existing theoretical and empirical work on practitioners' professional development, and an overview of existing methods of assessment. An outline of the CRN study aims and methods are then overviewed, before presenting and discussing the results of the New Zealand practitioner survey.
- ItemThe role of homework assignments in cognitive and behavioral therapies : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University(Massey University, 2000) Kazantzis, Nikolaos; Kazantzis, NikolaosHomework assignments have long been considered crucial within cognitive and behavioral treatment formulations. A large number of commentary articles have suggested that when homework is administered systematically, client homework adherence and successful therapy outcome can be enhanced over and beyond the effects in cognitive and behavioral therapies. However, despite the apparent importance of homework, the relationship between homework assignments and outcome is a relatively uninvestigated aspect of therapy. Only a few studies have examined homework's effect on outcome in therapy, and little is currently known about its use in everyday clinical practice. This dissertation is an attempt to evaluate the findings of prior research, determine methodological limitations, and examine the role of homework assignments in promoting positive change in cognitive behavioral therapies. This dissertation starts with a description of the theoretical and practical rationale for the use of homework assignments in therapy. The results of a practitioner survey designed to investigate the use of homework assignments in clinical practice are next presented (Study 1). This is followed by a power survey of the statistical sensitivity among prior empirical research designed to examine the relationship between homework assignments and outcome (Study 2), and a meta-analytic aggregation designed to quantify the magnitude of homework's effect in cognitive and behavioral therapies (Study 3). Finally, the dissertation describes the results of an empirical study designed to examine the role of systematic homework administration and homework performance in predicting therapeutic change (Study 4).