Heidi Zetzer | University of California, Santa Barbara (original) (raw)
Papers by Heidi Zetzer
American Psychological Association eBooks, 2023
Agency is the sense that one has control over one’s own actions and the consequences of those act... more Agency is the sense that one has control over one’s own actions and the consequences of those actions. Despite the critical role that agency plays in the human condition, little is known about its neural basis. A novel theory proposes that increases in agency disinhibit the dopamine system and thereby increase the number of tonically active dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area. The theory, called ADDS (Agency Disinhibits the Dopamine System), proposes a specific neural network that mediates these effects. ADDS accurately predicts a variety of relevant neuroscience results, and makes many novel predictions, including that increases in agency will 1) increase motivation, 2) improve executive function, 3) facilitate procedural learning, but only in the presence of immediate trial-by-trial feedback, 4) have little or no effect on learning-related effects of stimulus repetition, 5) facilitate the development of automatic behaviors, but have little or no effect on the production...
Culturally Sensitive Supervision and Training, 2016
The Future of Children, 1994
It is common practice to recommend psychotherapy for children who have experienced sexual abuse. ... more It is common practice to recommend psychotherapy for children who have experienced sexual abuse. However, there is no agreed-upon means by which to assess the needs of these children or to determine the nature of the treatments to be offered. Most existing research bearing on these issues consists of descriptive data, pre- and postanalysis, and correlation studies of mixed and nonstandardized treatments. This research suggests that the rate of spontaneous recovery following disclosure of sexual abuse is high, but that both a need and a benefit exist for the provision of support during the acute adjustment period for those children who are most at risk for long-term negative effects. The authors contend that the event of sexual abuse does not, in and of itself, create a need for treatment in all child victims. They recommend comprehensive assessments to determine which children are at risk for subsequent problems, the extrapolation of findings from other research domains to individualize treatment, and the use of empirically validated interventions.
Psychotherapy, 2020
Nine postdoctoral-level experienced psychodynamic supervisors were interviewed about working with... more Nine postdoctoral-level experienced psychodynamic supervisors were interviewed about working with a supervisee on a case involving parallel process (PP) that started in therapy and was enacted in supervision. Consensual qualitative research was used to analyze transcripts of the interviews. The general pattern that emerged from the analysis of the supervisors' reports was that clients behaved unusually in session, therapists "got hooked" by this change, therapists enacted the client's behavior in supervision, supervisors "got hooked," supervisors reflected on their reactions and intervened in a different way; reported outcomes were mostly positive (e.g., enhanced growth or understanding for the therapist). Results of this qualitative investigation provide evidence of PP and clues as to how experienced supervisors observe, describe, and respond to PP in ways that promote growth, insight, and understanding for their supervisees. Clinical Impact Statement Question: How do experienced psychodynamic supervisors identify and respond to parallel process (PP) in clinical supervision? Findings: We found evidence for an eight-step PP pattern that occurred across clients, therapists, and supervisors. Typically, a trigger set off the event, and generally, clients behaved unusually in session, therapists "got hooked" by this change and enacted the clients' behavior in supervision, supervisors "got hooked" and then reflected on their reactions and intervened, which led to positive and neutral outcomes. Meaning: Recognition of the steps can help supervisors and supervisees get unhooked from PP so that they can be more effective in supervision and psychotherapy. Next Steps: Results inform the development of better research questions about the emotional and behavioral patterns that flow up and down the supervisory triad.
Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 2018
To correct problems identified in existing measures of meaning in life (MIL) (lack of inclusion o... more To correct problems identified in existing measures of meaning in life (MIL) (lack of inclusion of items related to felt sense, mattering, and reflectivity), a new 8-item Meaning in Life Measure (MILM) was developed. Two subscales emerged: Experience (MILM-E, with items related to felt sense, mattering, goals, coherence) and Reflectivity (MILM-R, with items related to valuing thinking about meaning). High internal consistency and test-retest reliability were found for both subscales. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by a strong positive correlation between MILM-E and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Presence (MLQ-P), and a moderate correlation between MILM-R and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Search (MLQ-S). For both subscales, small to moderate positive correlations were found with subjective well-being, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, self-deception, and impression management; moderate negative correlations were found with depression and emotional instability. Participants who were older, female, of higher income, and married with children scored slightly higher than their counterparts on MILM-E; women scored slightly higher than men on MILM-R. We concluded that the MILM has good psychometric properties and that MIL seems to be composed of two factors. The current interest in the topic of meaning in life (MIL) can be traced back to Frankl (1959), who proffered that the driving force for humankind is not sex, aggression, or power, but the pursuit of meaning. We need to make sense out of our world, figure out our purpose and goals, engage in life, determine what we can contribute to society, and feel that we are significant and matter to others and ourselves. A considerable amount of research affirms the importance of MIL. The presence of meaning, as assessed through a number of different measures, is positively associated with some of the hallmarks of a good life: well-being, physical and psychological health, length and quality of life, work adjustment, and social attractiveness (
Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 2021
This article describes an initiative to train public sector clinicians in competency-based clinic... more This article describes an initiative to train public sector clinicians in competency-based clinical supervision. It was delivered as an 18-session course taught online to clinicians employed in departments of behavioral health in nine Southern California counties. The curriculum was co-constructed by a team of clinical supervision scholars and leaders who then served as instructors. Each two-hour meeting addressed a specific topic for which a training video had been prepared, usually featuring a member of the training team who had expertise in that topic. The second part of each meeting focused on a class member’s supervision case presentation. Those presentations revealed 35 themes; the four most frequently occurring were: developing supervisees’ clinical competencies, addressing countertransference and parallel process, balancing clinical and administrative supervisory roles, and addressing record keeping/paperwork. Participants’ pre-to-post supervisory self-efficacy changes demon...
The Counseling Psychologist
Six self-identified, first-generation, Latinx, undergraduates from West Coast public institutions... more Six self-identified, first-generation, Latinx, undergraduates from West Coast public institutions were recruited via social media to participate in individual, semi-structured, qualitative interviews about their experiences with COVID-19 and racial injustice during the summer and fall of 2020. Interviews explored challenges and meaning-making around what was happening in participants’ lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they experienced and made sense of those events. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify emergent themes that fell into two main categories: (a) Adversities and (b) Ways of Overcoming. Several subthemes also emerged and are discussed for each category, including various ways of facing adversity, such as reliance on family and friends. Results highlight the need for expanded resources for first-generation Latinx undergraduate students. Limitations and future directions, as well as implications for counseling psychology researchers, educato...
Drug abuse represents a major social and behavioral health problem. National Institute of Drug Ab... more Drug abuse represents a major social and behavioral health problem. National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) statistics suggest that 37 percent of the U.S. population has used illicit drugs (Smith 1992) and as many as 23 percent of the work force regularly do so in the workplace (Barabander 1993). Drug use in the workplace is not limited to benign, recreational drugs. The NIDA estimates indicate that 3 percent of the work force abuse heroin (Browne 1986) and over twice that figure abuse cocaine (Abelson and Miller 1985). Chemical abuse affects family functioning, work performance, and the health of newborn children (Levy and Rutter 1992). Of contemporary concern, opiate and cocaine abuse probably represent the most significant problem because of their severe addictive properties, the high likelihood of polydrug abuse among their users, and the decline of social functioning that accompanies their abuse (Almog et al. 1993). Three tasks face those who attempt to develop treatment progra...
Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 2021
A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-021-09504-9
Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 2016
We address the need for culturally informed counseling skills by using a multiple case study desi... more We address the need for culturally informed counseling skills by using a multiple case study design that evaluates the basic helping skills with four volunteer Mexican American clients and four European American counselors in the U.S. While viewing vignettes of each skill used in their counseling session, four clients responded to written measures and verbal interview questions immediately after each of their three sessions. A mixed methods (QUAL + QUAN) analyses of verbal and written client assessments of the skills yielded converging results revealing variability in the perceived helpfulness of the skills. The concern regarding being understood by the counselor (i.e. empathy) was the most important criteria used by the clients to judge the skills. Feeling understood was most enhanced by the skills of restatement and immediacy. The most negatively rated skills were challenge, closed questions, information giving and direct guidance. Recommendations for future research and practice ...
The practice of psychotherapy can be as rewarding as challenging. Psychotherapists are likely to ... more The practice of psychotherapy can be as rewarding as challenging. Psychotherapists are likely to find themselves inspired by their work at times, while at others, demoralized. The clients they serve can be a source of encouragement, even admiration in their abilities to overcome their difficulties; they can also be a source of great stress and discouragement. Considering the sizable range of emotions psychotherapists will experience in their daily practice, the ability of providers to proactively engage in self-care while striving towards congruence is paramount. In this chapter, the authors elaborate on the constructs of personal and professional self-care as meaningful ways to cope with, if not right out prevent, distress, burnout, and impairment. Moreover, the chapter advances an institutional, organizational, and communitarian view of self-care that acknowledges psychotherapists as members of a socially needed workforce, with their own rights to associate and unionize, while aff...
Resumen en: We address the need for culturally informed counseling skills by using a multiple cas... more Resumen en: We address the need for culturally informed counseling skills by using a multiple case study design that evaluates the basic helping skills with four vol...
This article describes an initiative to train public sector clinicians in competency-based clinic... more This article describes an initiative to train public sector clinicians in competency-based clinical supervision. It was delivered as an 18-session course taught online to clinicians employed in departments of behavioral health in nine Southern California counties. The curriculum was co-constructed by a team of clinical supervision scholars and leaders who then served as instructors. Each two-hour meeting addressed a specific topic for which a training video had been prepared, usually featuring a member of the training team who had expertise in that topic. The second part of each meeting focused on a class member's supervision case presentation. Those presentations revealed 35 themes; the four most frequently occurring were: developing supervisees' clinical competencies, addressing countertransference and parallel process, balancing clinical and administrative supervisory roles, and addressing record keeping/paperwork. Participants' pre-to-post supervisory self-efficacy c...
American Psychological Association eBooks, 2023
Agency is the sense that one has control over one’s own actions and the consequences of those act... more Agency is the sense that one has control over one’s own actions and the consequences of those actions. Despite the critical role that agency plays in the human condition, little is known about its neural basis. A novel theory proposes that increases in agency disinhibit the dopamine system and thereby increase the number of tonically active dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area. The theory, called ADDS (Agency Disinhibits the Dopamine System), proposes a specific neural network that mediates these effects. ADDS accurately predicts a variety of relevant neuroscience results, and makes many novel predictions, including that increases in agency will 1) increase motivation, 2) improve executive function, 3) facilitate procedural learning, but only in the presence of immediate trial-by-trial feedback, 4) have little or no effect on learning-related effects of stimulus repetition, 5) facilitate the development of automatic behaviors, but have little or no effect on the production...
Culturally Sensitive Supervision and Training, 2016
The Future of Children, 1994
It is common practice to recommend psychotherapy for children who have experienced sexual abuse. ... more It is common practice to recommend psychotherapy for children who have experienced sexual abuse. However, there is no agreed-upon means by which to assess the needs of these children or to determine the nature of the treatments to be offered. Most existing research bearing on these issues consists of descriptive data, pre- and postanalysis, and correlation studies of mixed and nonstandardized treatments. This research suggests that the rate of spontaneous recovery following disclosure of sexual abuse is high, but that both a need and a benefit exist for the provision of support during the acute adjustment period for those children who are most at risk for long-term negative effects. The authors contend that the event of sexual abuse does not, in and of itself, create a need for treatment in all child victims. They recommend comprehensive assessments to determine which children are at risk for subsequent problems, the extrapolation of findings from other research domains to individualize treatment, and the use of empirically validated interventions.
Psychotherapy, 2020
Nine postdoctoral-level experienced psychodynamic supervisors were interviewed about working with... more Nine postdoctoral-level experienced psychodynamic supervisors were interviewed about working with a supervisee on a case involving parallel process (PP) that started in therapy and was enacted in supervision. Consensual qualitative research was used to analyze transcripts of the interviews. The general pattern that emerged from the analysis of the supervisors' reports was that clients behaved unusually in session, therapists "got hooked" by this change, therapists enacted the client's behavior in supervision, supervisors "got hooked," supervisors reflected on their reactions and intervened in a different way; reported outcomes were mostly positive (e.g., enhanced growth or understanding for the therapist). Results of this qualitative investigation provide evidence of PP and clues as to how experienced supervisors observe, describe, and respond to PP in ways that promote growth, insight, and understanding for their supervisees. Clinical Impact Statement Question: How do experienced psychodynamic supervisors identify and respond to parallel process (PP) in clinical supervision? Findings: We found evidence for an eight-step PP pattern that occurred across clients, therapists, and supervisors. Typically, a trigger set off the event, and generally, clients behaved unusually in session, therapists "got hooked" by this change and enacted the clients' behavior in supervision, supervisors "got hooked" and then reflected on their reactions and intervened, which led to positive and neutral outcomes. Meaning: Recognition of the steps can help supervisors and supervisees get unhooked from PP so that they can be more effective in supervision and psychotherapy. Next Steps: Results inform the development of better research questions about the emotional and behavioral patterns that flow up and down the supervisory triad.
Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 2018
To correct problems identified in existing measures of meaning in life (MIL) (lack of inclusion o... more To correct problems identified in existing measures of meaning in life (MIL) (lack of inclusion of items related to felt sense, mattering, and reflectivity), a new 8-item Meaning in Life Measure (MILM) was developed. Two subscales emerged: Experience (MILM-E, with items related to felt sense, mattering, goals, coherence) and Reflectivity (MILM-R, with items related to valuing thinking about meaning). High internal consistency and test-retest reliability were found for both subscales. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by a strong positive correlation between MILM-E and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Presence (MLQ-P), and a moderate correlation between MILM-R and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Search (MLQ-S). For both subscales, small to moderate positive correlations were found with subjective well-being, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, self-deception, and impression management; moderate negative correlations were found with depression and emotional instability. Participants who were older, female, of higher income, and married with children scored slightly higher than their counterparts on MILM-E; women scored slightly higher than men on MILM-R. We concluded that the MILM has good psychometric properties and that MIL seems to be composed of two factors. The current interest in the topic of meaning in life (MIL) can be traced back to Frankl (1959), who proffered that the driving force for humankind is not sex, aggression, or power, but the pursuit of meaning. We need to make sense out of our world, figure out our purpose and goals, engage in life, determine what we can contribute to society, and feel that we are significant and matter to others and ourselves. A considerable amount of research affirms the importance of MIL. The presence of meaning, as assessed through a number of different measures, is positively associated with some of the hallmarks of a good life: well-being, physical and psychological health, length and quality of life, work adjustment, and social attractiveness (
Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 2021
This article describes an initiative to train public sector clinicians in competency-based clinic... more This article describes an initiative to train public sector clinicians in competency-based clinical supervision. It was delivered as an 18-session course taught online to clinicians employed in departments of behavioral health in nine Southern California counties. The curriculum was co-constructed by a team of clinical supervision scholars and leaders who then served as instructors. Each two-hour meeting addressed a specific topic for which a training video had been prepared, usually featuring a member of the training team who had expertise in that topic. The second part of each meeting focused on a class member’s supervision case presentation. Those presentations revealed 35 themes; the four most frequently occurring were: developing supervisees’ clinical competencies, addressing countertransference and parallel process, balancing clinical and administrative supervisory roles, and addressing record keeping/paperwork. Participants’ pre-to-post supervisory self-efficacy changes demon...
The Counseling Psychologist
Six self-identified, first-generation, Latinx, undergraduates from West Coast public institutions... more Six self-identified, first-generation, Latinx, undergraduates from West Coast public institutions were recruited via social media to participate in individual, semi-structured, qualitative interviews about their experiences with COVID-19 and racial injustice during the summer and fall of 2020. Interviews explored challenges and meaning-making around what was happening in participants’ lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they experienced and made sense of those events. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify emergent themes that fell into two main categories: (a) Adversities and (b) Ways of Overcoming. Several subthemes also emerged and are discussed for each category, including various ways of facing adversity, such as reliance on family and friends. Results highlight the need for expanded resources for first-generation Latinx undergraduate students. Limitations and future directions, as well as implications for counseling psychology researchers, educato...
Drug abuse represents a major social and behavioral health problem. National Institute of Drug Ab... more Drug abuse represents a major social and behavioral health problem. National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) statistics suggest that 37 percent of the U.S. population has used illicit drugs (Smith 1992) and as many as 23 percent of the work force regularly do so in the workplace (Barabander 1993). Drug use in the workplace is not limited to benign, recreational drugs. The NIDA estimates indicate that 3 percent of the work force abuse heroin (Browne 1986) and over twice that figure abuse cocaine (Abelson and Miller 1985). Chemical abuse affects family functioning, work performance, and the health of newborn children (Levy and Rutter 1992). Of contemporary concern, opiate and cocaine abuse probably represent the most significant problem because of their severe addictive properties, the high likelihood of polydrug abuse among their users, and the decline of social functioning that accompanies their abuse (Almog et al. 1993). Three tasks face those who attempt to develop treatment progra...
Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 2021
A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-021-09504-9
Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 2016
We address the need for culturally informed counseling skills by using a multiple case study desi... more We address the need for culturally informed counseling skills by using a multiple case study design that evaluates the basic helping skills with four volunteer Mexican American clients and four European American counselors in the U.S. While viewing vignettes of each skill used in their counseling session, four clients responded to written measures and verbal interview questions immediately after each of their three sessions. A mixed methods (QUAL + QUAN) analyses of verbal and written client assessments of the skills yielded converging results revealing variability in the perceived helpfulness of the skills. The concern regarding being understood by the counselor (i.e. empathy) was the most important criteria used by the clients to judge the skills. Feeling understood was most enhanced by the skills of restatement and immediacy. The most negatively rated skills were challenge, closed questions, information giving and direct guidance. Recommendations for future research and practice ...
The practice of psychotherapy can be as rewarding as challenging. Psychotherapists are likely to ... more The practice of psychotherapy can be as rewarding as challenging. Psychotherapists are likely to find themselves inspired by their work at times, while at others, demoralized. The clients they serve can be a source of encouragement, even admiration in their abilities to overcome their difficulties; they can also be a source of great stress and discouragement. Considering the sizable range of emotions psychotherapists will experience in their daily practice, the ability of providers to proactively engage in self-care while striving towards congruence is paramount. In this chapter, the authors elaborate on the constructs of personal and professional self-care as meaningful ways to cope with, if not right out prevent, distress, burnout, and impairment. Moreover, the chapter advances an institutional, organizational, and communitarian view of self-care that acknowledges psychotherapists as members of a socially needed workforce, with their own rights to associate and unionize, while aff...
Resumen en: We address the need for culturally informed counseling skills by using a multiple cas... more Resumen en: We address the need for culturally informed counseling skills by using a multiple case study design that evaluates the basic helping skills with four vol...
This article describes an initiative to train public sector clinicians in competency-based clinic... more This article describes an initiative to train public sector clinicians in competency-based clinical supervision. It was delivered as an 18-session course taught online to clinicians employed in departments of behavioral health in nine Southern California counties. The curriculum was co-constructed by a team of clinical supervision scholars and leaders who then served as instructors. Each two-hour meeting addressed a specific topic for which a training video had been prepared, usually featuring a member of the training team who had expertise in that topic. The second part of each meeting focused on a class member's supervision case presentation. Those presentations revealed 35 themes; the four most frequently occurring were: developing supervisees' clinical competencies, addressing countertransference and parallel process, balancing clinical and administrative supervisory roles, and addressing record keeping/paperwork. Participants' pre-to-post supervisory self-efficacy c...