{"title":"Parental Acceptance and Its Network Relations With Stigma, Parenting Competence and Stress in Families of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Network Approach.","authors":"Nizar H Bagadood, Sahar H Muathen","doi":"10.1002/cpp.70279","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cpp.70279","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parents of children with clinically diagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience high levels of parenting stress, reduced confidence in their caregiving abilities and internalized (affiliate) stigma, all of which can impede acceptance of the diagnosis and engagement with support services. Understanding how these factors interrelate is essential for designing effective interventions. This study evaluated a culturally adapted family counselling programme for Saudi parents of children with clinically confirmed ASD. It used network analysis to examine the connections among parental acceptance, parenting competence, affiliate stigma and parenting stress. A total of 240 parents of children with formal clinical ASD diagnoses participated, with 120 parents receiving a 12-session group counselling programme over 6 weeks and 120 parents assigned to a waitlist control group. Parents completed validated Arabic measures assessing acceptance and understanding of their child's diagnosis, parenting competence (efficacy and satisfaction), affiliate stigma (cognitive, affective, behavioural) and parenting stress at baseline and post-intervention. Network analysis at baseline identified parental acceptance as the most central node, positively linked with understanding and competence and negatively associated with stress and stigma. Following the intervention, parents in the counselling group demonstrated significant improvements in acceptance, understanding and expectations, along with reductions in maladaptive beliefs and affiliate stigma across all domains. Parenting satisfaction increased substantially, efficacy improved modestly and parenting stress decreased, highlighting the programme's effectiveness in alleviating caregiver burden. These findings indicate that parental acceptance may serve as a key leverage point for supporting families after an ASD diagnosis and that structured, culturally sensitive counselling can simultaneously enhance parental competence and reduce psychological distress. Network-informed approaches can guide clinicians in targeting central processes, optimizing outcomes and promoting family resilience. Overall, early, focused family counselling provides parents of clinically diagnosed children with ASD the skills, confidence and support necessary to adapt effectively, improving both caregiver well-being and family functioning within the Saudi cultural context.</p>","PeriodicalId":10460,"journal":{"name":"Clinical psychology & psychotherapy","volume":"33 3","pages":"e70279"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147764828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Esther Lorente-Rovira, Ana Luengo, Maria Luisa Barrigón, Raquel Lopez Carrilero, Esther Pousa, Eva Grasa, Ana Barajas, Isabel Ruiz-Delgado, Jordi Cid, Fermin Gonzalez-Higueras, Alejandra Guasp, Blanca Llácer, Maria Jose Escartí, Juan Antonio Carbonell-Asins, Steffen Moritz, Julio Sanjuán, Susana Ochoa
{"title":"Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effects of Metacognitive Training (MCT) in a Sample of Patients With Recent Onset Psychosis: Study of the Impact on the Severity and Dimensions of Delusions, Self-Esteem and Depression.","authors":"Esther Lorente-Rovira, Ana Luengo, Maria Luisa Barrigón, Raquel Lopez Carrilero, Esther Pousa, Eva Grasa, Ana Barajas, Isabel Ruiz-Delgado, Jordi Cid, Fermin Gonzalez-Higueras, Alejandra Guasp, Blanca Llácer, Maria Jose Escartí, Juan Antonio Carbonell-Asins, Steffen Moritz, Julio Sanjuán, Susana Ochoa","doi":"10.1002/cpp.70284","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cpp.70284","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of metacognitive training for psychosis (MCT). The primary goal was to study the severity and the different dimensions of delusions. The secondary goal was to study its impact on self-esteem and depressive symptoms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was planned as a multicentre randomized controlled clinical trial. A sample of 122 patients with a recent-onset diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders was randomized to receive an MCT intervention (N = 65) or a psychoeducational intervention (N = 57). Patients were assessed at three different time points (baseline, post-treatment and 6 months follow-up) with the following measures: the Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scale-Delusion subscale (PSYRATS-Del), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). A generalized linear model comparing the MCT group and psychoeducational group in the main measures across all three assessment moments was constructed, controlling for the number of sessions they attended.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In comparison with the psychoeducational group, MCT improved in several dimensions of delusions at the follow-up: amount of preoccupation about delusions (p = 0.048), duration of preoccupation about delusions (p = 0.048) and conviction (p = 0.048). No differences between groups were found in self-esteem or depression at any time-point, but both interventions improved self-esteem-in the follow-up.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In recent-onset psychosis patients, MCT demonstrated the expected benefits in conviction, as 'sowing seeds of doubt' is the core MCT mechanism of change. Despite functioning differently, both interventions improved patients' self-esteem. No superiority of MCT was discovered in self-esteem or depression in the short-term follow-up studied.</p>","PeriodicalId":10460,"journal":{"name":"Clinical psychology & psychotherapy","volume":"33 3","pages":"e70284"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147971040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nirit Veler-Poleg, Amit Tchizick, Sigal Zilcha-Mano
{"title":"Attachment Orientations and Treatment Outcomes in Psychotherapy: Does the Alliance Mediate the Association?","authors":"Nirit Veler-Poleg, Amit Tchizick, Sigal Zilcha-Mano","doi":"10.1002/cpp.70296","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cpp.70296","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Previous research has demonstrated associations between patients' attachment orientations and psychotherapy outcomes. Both theoretical and clinical literature suggest that the therapeutic alliance may serve as a mediator in this relationship. The present study investigated whether the therapeutic alliance mediates the connection between adult attachment and treatment outcomes in a clinical sample. One hundred eighteen patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder participated as part of a randomized controlled trial. Attachment orientation was assessed before treatment, and the therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes were measured weekly throughout therapy. A multilevel mediation model tested whether the alliance mediated the connection between pretreatment attachment and depression improvement. Although the sample size was moderate compared with similar studies, the results did not support the proposed mediation model: The therapeutic alliance did not significantly mediate the relationship between attachment orientations and treatment outcomes. Exploratory response surface analysis using polynomial regression revealed a significant incongruence effect: patients with high avoidance and low anxiety experienced the greatest improvement in depression during therapy. This finding suggests that a specific attachment pattern (high avoidance, low anxiety) might explain previous mixed results in the literature.</p>","PeriodicalId":10460,"journal":{"name":"Clinical psychology & psychotherapy","volume":"33 3","pages":"e70296"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13280646/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148276517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction to \"Metacognitive Beliefs and Symptom Dimensions in OCD: A Network Analysis Identifying Central Nodes and a Severity Predictor\".","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/cpp.70295","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cpp.70295","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10460,"journal":{"name":"Clinical psychology & psychotherapy","volume":"33 3","pages":"e70295"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148249597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joska van Houten, Samantha Bouwmeester, Nathan Bachrach
{"title":"Mechanisms of Change in Day Treatment Group Schema Therapy for Severe Personality Disorders: A Multiple Baseline Single-Case Study.","authors":"Joska van Houten, Samantha Bouwmeester, Nathan Bachrach","doi":"10.1002/cpp.70289","DOIUrl":"10.1002/cpp.70289","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although schema therapy (ST) is an effective intervention for individuals with personality disorders (PDs), its mechanisms of change are not yet well delineated. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for determining the key processes that optimize treatment efficacy. This study investigated mechanisms of change in day treatment group ST (DT-GST) for patients with severe PDs. PD severity was the primary outcome in a multiple-baseline single-case design, assessed before and after DT-GST, alongside idiosyncratic negative core beliefs measured weekly over 30 weeks. Secondary outcomes were early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and schema modes (SMs), measured pre- and post-treatment. Mechanisms of change were examined through visual inspection, correlations and randomization tests. Changes in PD severity moderately correlated with changes in negative core beliefs (r = 0.57), but not with SMs. Negative core beliefs correlated positively with the Vulnerable Child (r = 0.76), Punitive Parent (r = 0.78), Demanding Parent (r = 0.61) and Detached Self-Soother (r = 0.58) modes and negatively with the Happy Child (r = -0.77) and Healthy Adult (r = -0.57) modes. Meaningful change occurred across all treatment phases, with the greatest therapeutic progress in the second and third phases. This study highlights the central role of idiosyncratic negative core beliefs in reducing PD severity while also underscoring the importance of changes in SMs. Findings suggest that ST should prioritize reducing the Vulnerable Child mode and its associated EMS while reinforcing adaptive Healthy Adult and Happy Child modes and diminishing maladaptive Parent and detachment-related coping modes. Further longitudinal research with repeated assessments is needed to clarify mechanisms of change in ST.</p>","PeriodicalId":10460,"journal":{"name":"Clinical psychology & psychotherapy","volume":"33 3","pages":"e70289"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147971015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}