Kuldhir Bhati | The University of Akron (original) (raw)

Papers by Kuldhir Bhati

Research paper thumbnail of Attending to the Omissions: A Historical Examination of Evidence-Based Practice Movements

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Dec 1, 2004

Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affe... more Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affect the practice of psychology today and have the potential to mandate the types of treatments psychologists conduct. The histories of these movements reveal that certain aspects of therapy valued by psychologists have been ignored. It is shown that the evidence-based movements (a) overemphasize treatments and treatment differences and (b) ignore aspects of psychotherapy that have been shown to be related to outcome, such as variation among psychologists, the relationship, and other common factors. It is important that psychologists understand the development of these movements so that they can be critical consumers of research and can effectively influence the future course of events.

Research paper thumbnail of Attending to the Omissions: A Historical Examination of Evidence-Based Practice Movements

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2004

Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affe... more Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affect the practice of psychology today and have the potential to mandate the types of treatments psychologists conduct. The histories of these movements reveal that certain aspects of therapy valued by psychologists have been ignored. It is shown that the evidence-based movements (a) overemphasize treatments and treatment differences and (b) ignore aspects of psychotherapy that have been shown to be related to outcome, such as variation among psychologists, the relationship, and other common factors. It is important that psychologists understand the development of these movements so that they can be critical consumers of research and can effectively influence the future course of events.

Research paper thumbnail of The placebo is powerful: Estimating placebo effects in medicine and psychotherapy from randomized clinical trials

Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2005

The logic of the randomized double-blind placebo control group design is presented, and problems ... more The logic of the randomized double-blind placebo control group design is presented, and problems with using the design in psychotherapy are discussed. Placebo effects are estimated by examining clinical trials in medicine and psychotherapy. In medicine, a recent meta-analysis of clinical trials with treatment, placebo, and no treatment arms was conducted (Hróbjartsson & Gøtzsche, 2001), and it was concluded that placebos have small or no effects. A re-analysis of those studies, presented here, shows that when disorders are amenable to placebos and the design is adequate to detect the effects, the placebo effect is robust and approaches the treatment effect. For psychological disorders, particularly depression, it has been shown that pill placebos are nearly as effective as active medications whereas psychotherapies are more effective than psychological placebos. However, it is shown that when properly designed, psychological placebos are as effective as accepted psychotherapies.

Research paper thumbnail of Voices of the forgotten half: The role of social class in the school-to-work transition

Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2002

This study examines the impact of social class on the school-to-work (STW) transitions of young a... more This study examines the impact of social class on the school-to-work (STW) transitions of young adults in working-class occupations. Using an exploratory, qualitative research methodology, interviews were conducted with 10 men and 10 women to examine the role of social class in the STW transition. All participants were working in low-skilled jobs and grouped into 2 cohorts based on their family's socioeconomic background: higher socioeconomic status (HSES) and lower socioeconomic status (LSES). The findings indicate that social class played an important role in the participants' STW transition. Individuals from the HSES cohort expressed greater interest in work as a source of personal satisfaction, higher levels of self-concept crystallization, greater access to external resources, and greater levels of career adaptability compared with their LSES counterparts. I was forced into this way of life. It's like I was forced to drop out of school and being in the position I am in now. (Participant #40

Research paper thumbnail of Principles and practices: An empirical examination of qualitative research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology

Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Research Revealed: Engaging with Communities through Qualitative Methodologies, Critical Inquiry and Action Research

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of Client-Therapist Gender Match on the Therapeutic Relationship: An Exploratory ANALYSIS1

Http Dx Doi Org 10 2466 21 02 Pr0 115c23z1, Sep 22, 2014

Matching clients and counselors on the basis of heuristics, such as gender, is common in clinical... more Matching clients and counselors on the basis of heuristics, such as gender, is common in clinical practice. Considerable research has examined the effect of gender matching on the therapeutic alliance with equivocal results. Researchers have offered various hypotheses to explain these findings without consensus. This study sought to examine gender matching in a naturalistic setting and proposed that gender matching varies in importance depending upon the stage of the therapeutic relationship. It was hypothesized that gender matching affects the therapeutic alliance initially and then becomes less important as other factors come into play. Results did not support the hypothesis but showed a general “female effect.” Across all stages of therapy, female clients matched with female therapists reported therapeutic alliance ratings higher than dyads with a male therapist. Dyads with a female therapist and male client also reported alliance higher than male gender matched dyads. Implications of these results, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Insight as a Common Factor

Insight in psychotherapy., 2007

ABSTRACT The Random House College Dictionary (1984) defines insight as "an instance of a... more ABSTRACT The Random House College Dictionary (1984) defines insight as "an instance of apprehending the true nature of a thing, esp. through intuitive understanding." Two aspects of this definition may be altered to fit the context of psychotherapy as we conceptualize it. First, the truth of the understanding may be unimportant. Second, the dictionary definition of insight highlights the involvement of intuition; in psychotherapy, the Aha! phenomenon might be construed as being based on intuition. For our purposes, the manner by which the explanation is acquired, as well as the form and content of the explanation, are unimportant. It does not matter whether the understanding is invoked by a well-timed interpretation, stimulated by emotional experiencing, or explicitly provided by the therapist. What is important is that the patient attains an explanation and that the explanation is strategic to the process and outcome of psychotherapy (i.e., it is adaptive). Thus, we propose that insight involves obtaining a functional understanding of one's problem, complaint, or disorder through the process of psychotherapy and that insight is a beneficial common factor present in and critical to all psychotherapeutic orientations. Our definition and conceptualization builds on the pioneering work of Jerome Frank. In this chapter we present several vignettes to show insight is a common factor in different therapeutic contexts and approaches in the treatment of adult depression. We then offer a pantheoretical model of how insight involves a process of acquiring an adaptive explanation for one's problems, complaint, or disorder. Finally, we end by describing the various ways in which insight is central to the therapeutic process and how it affects therapy in a positive manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Research paper thumbnail of Principles and Practices: An Examination of Qualitative Research in JCP

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of Gender Matching on the Therapeutic Relationship: A Stage Analysis

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000

... Page 5. iii Cdr. Gajendra Singh Bhati who has truly epitomized selflessness and love, and to ... more ... Page 5. iii Cdr. Gajendra Singh Bhati who has truly epitomized selflessness and love, and to whom I owe everything... Page 6. ... Gajendra Singh Bhati and Marudhar Kumari, and my sister Nirupama Bhati. It is to them that I owe everything and to whom this is dedicated Page 7. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Integration or Assimilation? Locating Qualitative Research in Psychology

Qualitative Research in Psychology, Nov 18, 2013

ABSTRACT Though the debate over the validity of qualitative research and its existence within the... more ABSTRACT Though the debate over the validity of qualitative research and its existence within the field of psychology has somewhat diminished over the years, negotiations over its location and form continue. This article examines the pressure on qualitative researchers to acculturate and adapt in order to gain legitimacy and acceptance in a field dominated by quantitative research. We treat the emergence of qualitative methods as a form of contact between differing (research) cultures, with the concomitant adjustments and accommodations, and we utilize Berry's (1980, 2005) typology of acculturation as a lens through which to examine these intercultural interactions. We examine, in particular detail, the experiences of qualitative researchers within counseling psychology, as that is the subdiscipline which has most explicitly defined itself as welcoming qualitative research. It is our view that qualitative researchers, within psychology in general, have adopted an acculturation strategy of assimilation rather than integration as defined by Berry (1980). We discuss the implications of this stance for the diversification of research methodologies in psychology.

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of Client-Therapist Gender Match on the Therapeutic Relationship: An Exploratory Aanalysis

Matching clients and counselors on the basis of heuristics, such as gender, is common in clinical... more Matching clients and counselors on the basis of heuristics, such as gender, is common in clinical practice. Considerable research has examined the effect of gender matching on the therapeutic alliance with equivocal results. Researchers have offered various hypotheses to explain these findings without consensus. This study sought to examine gender matching in a naturalistic setting and proposed that gender matching varies in importance depending upon the stage of the therapeutic relationship. It was hypothesized that gender matching affects the therapeutic alliance initially and then becomes less important as other factors come into play. Results did not support the hypothesis but showed a general “female effect.” Across all stages of therapy, female clients matched with female therapists reported therapeutic alliance ratings higher than dyads with a male therapist. Dyads with a female therapist and male client also reported alliance higher than male gender matched dyads. Implications of these results, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Integration or Assimilation? Locating Qualitative Research in Psychology

Though the debate over the validity of qualitative research and its existence within the field of... more Though the debate over the validity of qualitative research and its existence within the field of
psychology has somewhat diminished over the years, negotiations over its location and form
continue. This paper examines the pressure on qualitative researchers to acculturate and adapt in
order to gain legitimacy and acceptance in a field dominated by quantitative research. We treat
the emergence of qualitative methods as a form of contact between differing (research) cultures,
with the concomitant adjustments and accommodations, and we utilize Berry’s (1980, 2005)
typology of acculturation as a lens through which to examine these intercultural interactions. We
examine, in particular detail, the experiences of qualitative researchers within counseling
psychology, as that is the sub-discipline which has most explicitly defined itself as welcoming
qualitative research. It is our view that qualitative researchers, within psychology in general,
have adopted an acculturation strategy of assimilation, rather than integration as defined by
Berry (1980). We discuss the implications of this stance for the diversification of research
methodologies in psychology.

Research paper thumbnail of Principles and Practices: An Empirical Examination of Qualitative Research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology

This article examines the 50 qualitative studies published in the Journal of Counseling Psycholog... more This article examines the 50 qualitative studies published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP) over a 15-year period in light of methodological principles advocated by qualitative theorists. The match between practices and principles is not high. In the modal investigation, coders (most of whom did not interact with or observe participants) worked from transcripts of a 60-min interview conducted in a setting convenient for the researcher. Researchers endorsed the need to bracket their own subjective experiences and used auditors to enhance reproducibility of findings. Trend analyses suggest that qualitative research in JCP has tended to drift further from qualitative principles over time. The authors consider the implications of these findings for the potential of qualitative methods to inform science and practice in counseling psychology.

Research paper thumbnail of Attending to the Omissions: A Historical Examination of Evidence-Based Practice Movements

Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affe... more Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affect the practice of psychology today and have the potential to mandate the types of treatments psychologists conduct. The histories of these movements reveal that certain aspects of therapy valued by psychologists have been ignored. It is shown that the evidence-based movements (a) overemphasize treatments and
treatment differences and (b) ignore aspects of psychotherapy that have been shown to be related to outcome, such as variation among psychologists, the relationship, and other common factors. It is important that psychologists understand the development of these movements so that they can be critical consumers of research and can effectively influence the future course of events.

Research paper thumbnail of Attending to the Omissions: A Historical Examination of Evidence-Based Practice Movements

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Dec 1, 2004

Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affe... more Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affect the practice of psychology today and have the potential to mandate the types of treatments psychologists conduct. The histories of these movements reveal that certain aspects of therapy valued by psychologists have been ignored. It is shown that the evidence-based movements (a) overemphasize treatments and treatment differences and (b) ignore aspects of psychotherapy that have been shown to be related to outcome, such as variation among psychologists, the relationship, and other common factors. It is important that psychologists understand the development of these movements so that they can be critical consumers of research and can effectively influence the future course of events.

Research paper thumbnail of Attending to the Omissions: A Historical Examination of Evidence-Based Practice Movements

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2004

Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affe... more Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affect the practice of psychology today and have the potential to mandate the types of treatments psychologists conduct. The histories of these movements reveal that certain aspects of therapy valued by psychologists have been ignored. It is shown that the evidence-based movements (a) overemphasize treatments and treatment differences and (b) ignore aspects of psychotherapy that have been shown to be related to outcome, such as variation among psychologists, the relationship, and other common factors. It is important that psychologists understand the development of these movements so that they can be critical consumers of research and can effectively influence the future course of events.

Research paper thumbnail of The placebo is powerful: Estimating placebo effects in medicine and psychotherapy from randomized clinical trials

Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2005

The logic of the randomized double-blind placebo control group design is presented, and problems ... more The logic of the randomized double-blind placebo control group design is presented, and problems with using the design in psychotherapy are discussed. Placebo effects are estimated by examining clinical trials in medicine and psychotherapy. In medicine, a recent meta-analysis of clinical trials with treatment, placebo, and no treatment arms was conducted (Hróbjartsson & Gøtzsche, 2001), and it was concluded that placebos have small or no effects. A re-analysis of those studies, presented here, shows that when disorders are amenable to placebos and the design is adequate to detect the effects, the placebo effect is robust and approaches the treatment effect. For psychological disorders, particularly depression, it has been shown that pill placebos are nearly as effective as active medications whereas psychotherapies are more effective than psychological placebos. However, it is shown that when properly designed, psychological placebos are as effective as accepted psychotherapies.

Research paper thumbnail of Voices of the forgotten half: The role of social class in the school-to-work transition

Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2002

This study examines the impact of social class on the school-to-work (STW) transitions of young a... more This study examines the impact of social class on the school-to-work (STW) transitions of young adults in working-class occupations. Using an exploratory, qualitative research methodology, interviews were conducted with 10 men and 10 women to examine the role of social class in the STW transition. All participants were working in low-skilled jobs and grouped into 2 cohorts based on their family's socioeconomic background: higher socioeconomic status (HSES) and lower socioeconomic status (LSES). The findings indicate that social class played an important role in the participants' STW transition. Individuals from the HSES cohort expressed greater interest in work as a source of personal satisfaction, higher levels of self-concept crystallization, greater access to external resources, and greater levels of career adaptability compared with their LSES counterparts. I was forced into this way of life. It's like I was forced to drop out of school and being in the position I am in now. (Participant #40

Research paper thumbnail of Principles and practices: An empirical examination of qualitative research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology

Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Research Revealed: Engaging with Communities through Qualitative Methodologies, Critical Inquiry and Action Research

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of Client-Therapist Gender Match on the Therapeutic Relationship: An Exploratory ANALYSIS1

Http Dx Doi Org 10 2466 21 02 Pr0 115c23z1, Sep 22, 2014

Matching clients and counselors on the basis of heuristics, such as gender, is common in clinical... more Matching clients and counselors on the basis of heuristics, such as gender, is common in clinical practice. Considerable research has examined the effect of gender matching on the therapeutic alliance with equivocal results. Researchers have offered various hypotheses to explain these findings without consensus. This study sought to examine gender matching in a naturalistic setting and proposed that gender matching varies in importance depending upon the stage of the therapeutic relationship. It was hypothesized that gender matching affects the therapeutic alliance initially and then becomes less important as other factors come into play. Results did not support the hypothesis but showed a general “female effect.” Across all stages of therapy, female clients matched with female therapists reported therapeutic alliance ratings higher than dyads with a male therapist. Dyads with a female therapist and male client also reported alliance higher than male gender matched dyads. Implications of these results, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Insight as a Common Factor

Insight in psychotherapy., 2007

ABSTRACT The Random House College Dictionary (1984) defines insight as "an instance of a... more ABSTRACT The Random House College Dictionary (1984) defines insight as "an instance of apprehending the true nature of a thing, esp. through intuitive understanding." Two aspects of this definition may be altered to fit the context of psychotherapy as we conceptualize it. First, the truth of the understanding may be unimportant. Second, the dictionary definition of insight highlights the involvement of intuition; in psychotherapy, the Aha! phenomenon might be construed as being based on intuition. For our purposes, the manner by which the explanation is acquired, as well as the form and content of the explanation, are unimportant. It does not matter whether the understanding is invoked by a well-timed interpretation, stimulated by emotional experiencing, or explicitly provided by the therapist. What is important is that the patient attains an explanation and that the explanation is strategic to the process and outcome of psychotherapy (i.e., it is adaptive). Thus, we propose that insight involves obtaining a functional understanding of one's problem, complaint, or disorder through the process of psychotherapy and that insight is a beneficial common factor present in and critical to all psychotherapeutic orientations. Our definition and conceptualization builds on the pioneering work of Jerome Frank. In this chapter we present several vignettes to show insight is a common factor in different therapeutic contexts and approaches in the treatment of adult depression. We then offer a pantheoretical model of how insight involves a process of acquiring an adaptive explanation for one's problems, complaint, or disorder. Finally, we end by describing the various ways in which insight is central to the therapeutic process and how it affects therapy in a positive manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Research paper thumbnail of Principles and Practices: An Examination of Qualitative Research in JCP

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of Gender Matching on the Therapeutic Relationship: A Stage Analysis

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000

... Page 5. iii Cdr. Gajendra Singh Bhati who has truly epitomized selflessness and love, and to ... more ... Page 5. iii Cdr. Gajendra Singh Bhati who has truly epitomized selflessness and love, and to whom I owe everything... Page 6. ... Gajendra Singh Bhati and Marudhar Kumari, and my sister Nirupama Bhati. It is to them that I owe everything and to whom this is dedicated Page 7. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Integration or Assimilation? Locating Qualitative Research in Psychology

Qualitative Research in Psychology, Nov 18, 2013

ABSTRACT Though the debate over the validity of qualitative research and its existence within the... more ABSTRACT Though the debate over the validity of qualitative research and its existence within the field of psychology has somewhat diminished over the years, negotiations over its location and form continue. This article examines the pressure on qualitative researchers to acculturate and adapt in order to gain legitimacy and acceptance in a field dominated by quantitative research. We treat the emergence of qualitative methods as a form of contact between differing (research) cultures, with the concomitant adjustments and accommodations, and we utilize Berry's (1980, 2005) typology of acculturation as a lens through which to examine these intercultural interactions. We examine, in particular detail, the experiences of qualitative researchers within counseling psychology, as that is the subdiscipline which has most explicitly defined itself as welcoming qualitative research. It is our view that qualitative researchers, within psychology in general, have adopted an acculturation strategy of assimilation rather than integration as defined by Berry (1980). We discuss the implications of this stance for the diversification of research methodologies in psychology.

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of Client-Therapist Gender Match on the Therapeutic Relationship: An Exploratory Aanalysis

Matching clients and counselors on the basis of heuristics, such as gender, is common in clinical... more Matching clients and counselors on the basis of heuristics, such as gender, is common in clinical practice. Considerable research has examined the effect of gender matching on the therapeutic alliance with equivocal results. Researchers have offered various hypotheses to explain these findings without consensus. This study sought to examine gender matching in a naturalistic setting and proposed that gender matching varies in importance depending upon the stage of the therapeutic relationship. It was hypothesized that gender matching affects the therapeutic alliance initially and then becomes less important as other factors come into play. Results did not support the hypothesis but showed a general “female effect.” Across all stages of therapy, female clients matched with female therapists reported therapeutic alliance ratings higher than dyads with a male therapist. Dyads with a female therapist and male client also reported alliance higher than male gender matched dyads. Implications of these results, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Integration or Assimilation? Locating Qualitative Research in Psychology

Though the debate over the validity of qualitative research and its existence within the field of... more Though the debate over the validity of qualitative research and its existence within the field of
psychology has somewhat diminished over the years, negotiations over its location and form
continue. This paper examines the pressure on qualitative researchers to acculturate and adapt in
order to gain legitimacy and acceptance in a field dominated by quantitative research. We treat
the emergence of qualitative methods as a form of contact between differing (research) cultures,
with the concomitant adjustments and accommodations, and we utilize Berry’s (1980, 2005)
typology of acculturation as a lens through which to examine these intercultural interactions. We
examine, in particular detail, the experiences of qualitative researchers within counseling
psychology, as that is the sub-discipline which has most explicitly defined itself as welcoming
qualitative research. It is our view that qualitative researchers, within psychology in general,
have adopted an acculturation strategy of assimilation, rather than integration as defined by
Berry (1980). We discuss the implications of this stance for the diversification of research
methodologies in psychology.

Research paper thumbnail of Principles and Practices: An Empirical Examination of Qualitative Research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology

This article examines the 50 qualitative studies published in the Journal of Counseling Psycholog... more This article examines the 50 qualitative studies published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP) over a 15-year period in light of methodological principles advocated by qualitative theorists. The match between practices and principles is not high. In the modal investigation, coders (most of whom did not interact with or observe participants) worked from transcripts of a 60-min interview conducted in a setting convenient for the researcher. Researchers endorsed the need to bracket their own subjective experiences and used auditors to enhance reproducibility of findings. Trend analyses suggest that qualitative research in JCP has tended to drift further from qualitative principles over time. The authors consider the implications of these findings for the potential of qualitative methods to inform science and practice in counseling psychology.

Research paper thumbnail of Attending to the Omissions: A Historical Examination of Evidence-Based Practice Movements

Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affe... more Evidence-based practice and empirically supported treatment movements are potent forces that affect the practice of psychology today and have the potential to mandate the types of treatments psychologists conduct. The histories of these movements reveal that certain aspects of therapy valued by psychologists have been ignored. It is shown that the evidence-based movements (a) overemphasize treatments and
treatment differences and (b) ignore aspects of psychotherapy that have been shown to be related to outcome, such as variation among psychologists, the relationship, and other common factors. It is important that psychologists understand the development of these movements so that they can be critical consumers of research and can effectively influence the future course of events.