Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal: Psychologische Rundschau

ISSN: 0033-3042

eISSN: 2190-6238

Open access status: Hybrid

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1026/0033-3042/a000662

Publisher: Hogrefe

Abstract: 
Theoretical background: Because of psychotherapy's growing importance as an application area of psychology, psychotherapy research still pays little attention to basic psychological science. The present study focused on the potentials and obstacles of translational psychotherapy research from the perspective of professors and early-career scientists in psychology. We addressed this question in a qualitative study in which focus groups discussed predefined topics and then analyzed the discussion using qualitative methods. Method: The PSYCHANGE research group of the Universities of Giessen, Marburg, and Frankfurt developed interview guidelines including three questions for the focus groups: 1. How can basic psychological science be better transferred into psychotherapeutic interventions? 2. How can communication and cooperation be promoted between basic psychological and clinical researchers? 3. How can feedback from clinical findings improve basic psychological research? We conducted 8 focus groups with 24 professors and 7 early-career scientists from basic and clinical disciplines of psychology. Two independent raters transcribed and analyzed the audio recordings of the focus groups, consisting of postdocs from clinical psychology. Interrater agreement was 73 % for the codes of identified text units and 100 % for the derived supercategories. Results: We identified eight categories regarding the potentials and barriers of translational psychotherapy research: communication, collaborative research, use / development, structural / political factors, teaching / learning translational research, application perspectives, legal barriers, motivational and other influences. Of the 12 possible translation pathways, translation from experimental psychology to psychotherapy and clinical psychological research were most frequently addressed; translation from basic to clinical practice and from clinical practice to psychotherapy research were least frequently mentioned. Conclusion: The results of the survey support addressing and promoting translation in the context of university teaching of psychology, in committees and research groups at psychological departments, and in the committees of project sponsors.

Harvard Citation style: Stangier, U., Ritter, V., Ivankovic, N., Zaric, J., Haberkamp, A., Rief, W., et al. (2024) How Can Psychology Improve Psychotherapy? Development Perspectives of Translational Psychotherapy Research, Psychologische Rundschau. https://doi.org/10.1026/0033-3042/a000662

APA Citation style: Stangier, U., Ritter, V., Ivankovic, N., Zaric, J., Haberkamp, A., Rief, W., Berg, M., Herrmann, C., Martin, M., & Michael, K. (2024). How Can Psychology Improve Psychotherapy? Development Perspectives of Translational Psychotherapy Research. Psychologische Rundschau. https://doi.org/10.1026/0033-3042/a000662