scholarly journals The Importance of the Working Alliance in the Treatment of Cluttering

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1568-1572
Author(s):  
Hilda Sønsterud

It is expected that the quality of the working alliance between speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and persons who clutter matters. The term working alliance is an important concept in cluttering and stuttering treatment and can be described as the degree to which the therapy dyad is engaged in collaborative, purposive work. The concept includes, among other factors, a shared understanding of therapy goals and the relevance of the therapy approach to achieving those goals. There has been an increasing interest regarding research that supports the therapeutic relationship as an evidence-based component of interventions in speech-language pathology, and recent research ( Sønsterud et al., 2019 ) supports that a critical element for successful stuttering therapy lies, among other factors, in the concept of the working alliance. Purpose Although there is consensus that SLPs should openly and honestly discuss the individual's goals and expectations for therapy, personal motivation and the impact of the working alliance for people who clutter have not been investigated. This clinical focus article highlights the importance of open and honest discussion around not only the individual's goals for treatment but also the tasks or activities to be incorporated in that treatment. Relevant and specific quantitative and qualitative assessments for measuring the working alliance are required to investigate the concept of the working alliance in more detail. The Working Alliance Inventory–Short Revised version is regarded to be one useful tool to evaluate this client–clinician relationship. The Working Alliance Inventory–Short Revised version is quick and easy to use and explores the working alliance across the 3 processes of bond, goal, and task. Conclusion This clinical focus article contains no research results. Anyhow, some considerations on this concept, both from a person who clutters and SLP perspectives, are included in this clinical focus article. Research is required to investigate whether shared understanding of treatment goals, agreement on tasks, and a respectful and trustful bond may become important predictors for successful therapy outcome also for people who clutter.

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Dee Adams Nikjeh

Abstract Administrators and supervisors face daily challenges over issues such as program funding, service fees, correct coding procedures, and the ever-changing healthcare regulations. Receiving equitable reimbursement for speech-language pathology and audiology services necessitates an understanding of federal coding and reimbursement systems. This tutorial provides information pertaining to two major healthcare coding systems and explains the relationship of these systems to clinical documentation, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and equitable reimbursement. An explanation of coding edits and coding modifiers is provided for use in those occasional atypical situations when the standard use of procedural coding may not be appropriate. Also included in this tutorial is a brief discussion of the impact that the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (HR 6331 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act [MIPPA], 2008) has had on the valuation of speech-language pathology procedure codes.


2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn S. Potts ◽  
Sarah M. Ginsberg

Abstract In recent years, colleges and universities across the country have been called upon to increase the quality of education provided and to improve student retention rates. In response to this challenge, many faculty are exploring alternatives to the traditional “lecture-centered” approach of higher education in an attempt to increase student learning and satisfaction. Collaborative learning is one method of teaching, which has been demonstrated to improve student learning outcomes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-69
Author(s):  
Joseph P. Agan

In this paper, I will describe the potential contributions of interdisciplinary studies combining speech-language pathology and rehabilitation counseling in the preparation of future speech-language pathologists (SLPs). I will provide a brief introduction to the field of rehabilitation counseling and consider it from an SLP’s perspective. Next, I will describe some of my own personal experiences as they pertain to the intersecting cultures of work and disability and how these experiences influenced my practice as a master’s level SLP eventually leading to my decision to pursue a doctoral degree in rehabilitation counseling. I will describe the impact of this line of interdisciplinary study on my research and teaching. Finally, I will present some arguments about why concepts relevant to rehabilitation counseling are important to the mindset of SLPs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-62
Author(s):  
Anna Maria Siciliano

This paper presents a successful behavioral case study in treatment of chronic refractory cough in a 60-year-old adult female. The efficacy for speech-language pathology treating chronic cough is discussed along with description of treatment regime. Discussion focuses on therapy approaches used and the patient's report of changes in quality of life and frequency, duration, and severity reduction of her cough after treatment.


1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 33-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
G J Ghosh ◽  
P M Mclaren ◽  
J P Watson

The use of videoconferencing in psychotherapy remains largely unexplored. Videoconferencing compromises the range and quality of interactional information and thus might be expected to affect the working alliance (WA) between client and therapist, and consequently the process and outcome of therapy. A single case study exploring the effect of videoconferencing on the development of the WA in the psychological treatment of a female–male transsexual is described. The self-rated Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) was used to measure client and therapist perceptions of the WA after each session over 10 sessions of eclectic therapy conducted over a videolink. The serial WAI measurements charting the development of the WA in 4 cases of 10-session, face-to-face therapy by Horvath and Marx1 were used as a quasi-control. Therapist and client impressions of teletherapy are described. WAI scores were essentially similar to the face-to-face control group except for lower client-rated bond subscale scores. It is suggested that client personality factors accounted for this difference and that videoconferencing did not impair the development of an adequate working alliance or successful therapeutic outcome.


Author(s):  
Olga María Fernandez ◽  
Mariane Krause ◽  
Janet Carola Pérez

Psychotherapy research focusing on adults as well as on children and adolescents has revealed a positive association between the quality of the therapeutic alliance (TA) in the first sessions and therapeutic outcomes. Nevertheless, there is controversy regarding which perspective (of the adolescents, therapists, or parents) and what moment of evaluation (first, second, or third session) is most strongly associated with outcome. This study aims to describe the TA during the initial phase of psychotherapy with adolescents, from several perspectives, and relate it to the intermediate and final outcomes of the therapy. The study is descriptive-correlational and was conducted in naturalistic settings. The sample comprised 20 individual psychotherapeutic processes (15 females, 5 males; average age: 15.8 years; standard deviation=1.04). The variables studied were: TA, measured with the Working Alliance Inventory, applied to adolescents, therapists, and parents, and therapeutic outcomes, measured using Lambert’s Outcome Questionnaire (OQ- 45.2). The results show that the TA improved from session one to session three, both in the adolescents and the therapists. The TA, as perceived by the adolescents in the third session, is positively correlated with final outcomes (r=-.732*, P=.025). The TA evaluated from the therapists’ perspective in the third session, specifically the bond component of the TA, predicts the final success of psychotherapy with adolescent patients [β=0.426, Exp. (B)=1.531, degree of freedom=1, P=0.034]. The importance of the initial construction of the working alliance by both participants is discussed.


Author(s):  
Vikas Grover ◽  
Aravind Namasivayam ◽  
Nidhi Mahendra

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to offer a contemporary viewpoint on accent services and contend that an equity-minded reframing of accent services in speech-language pathology is long overdue. Such reframing should address directly the use of nonpejorative terminology and the need for nurturing global linguistic diversity and practitioner diversity in speech-language pathology. The authors offer their perspective on affirmative and least-biased accent services, an in-depth scoping review of the literature on accent modification, and discuss using terms that communicate unconditional respect for speaker identity and an understanding of the impact of accent services on accented speakers. Conclusions: Given ongoing discussions about the urgent need to diversify the profession of speech-language pathology, critical attention is needed toward existing biases toward accented speakers and how such biases manifest in the way that accent services are provided as well as in how clinicians conceptualize their role in working with accented speakers. The authors conclude with discussing alternate terms and offer recommendations for accent services provided by speech-language pathologists.


Author(s):  
Johanna Boult ◽  
Jennifer E. Whited ◽  
Tamara M. Easley

There is a necessity for students to learn about multicultural multilingual (MM) content in speech-language-pathology curricula. One reason for doing so is personal motivation: an awareness of and commitment to developing competence in working with diverse clients. Awareness can grow given specific instructional experiences in the form of special projects that aim to build cross-cultural relationships with the goal of fostering empathy and compassion. This chapter provides a tutorial explaining one such instructional experience: the cross-cultural communication (CCC) project. Central to the project are face-to-face meetings and reflective journaling on topics including counteracting stereotypes and planning for culturally responsive service provision. Activities have antiracist intentions guided by the moral obligation to care for fellow human beings (as per ethics of care [EoC] theory). This chapter provides (1) theoretical underpinnings of the project, (2) procedures for its completion, and (3) description of a modification of the project for a language disorders course.


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