Relational Competence Theory

Relational competence—the set of traits that allow people to interact with each other effectively—enjoys a long history of being recorded, studied, and analyzed. Accordingly, Relational Competence Theory (RCT) complements theories that treat individuals’ personality and functioning individually by placing the individual into full family and social context. The ambitious volume Relational Competence Theory: Research and Mental Health Applications opens out the RCT literature with emphasis on its applicability to interventions, and updates the state of research on RCT, examining what is robust and verifiable both in the lab and the clinic. The authors begin with the conceptual and empirical bases for the theory, and sixteen models demonstrate the range of RCT concerns and their clinical relevance, including: - Socialization settings for relational competence. - The ability to control and regulate the self. - Relationship styles. - Intimacy and negotiation. - The use of practice exercises in prevention and treatment of pathology. - Appendices featuring the Relational Answers Questionnaire and other helpful tools. Relational Competence Theory both challenges and confirms much of what we know about the range of human relationships, and is important reading for researchers, scholars, and students in personality and social psychology, psychotherapy, and couple and family counseling.

This book updates and expands on Relational Competence Theory developed originally by Dr. Luciano L'Abate since 1976. Over the years, this theory has received various updates and expansions, especially after being produced according to a hierarchical flowchart, as common in most complex human organisations. The present book concentrates particularly on a condition called Alexithymia, similar but not the same as the Asperger Syndrome, the inability to experience feelings and to express them as emotions. Most chapters in this book expand on the first model of RCT about how feelings are experienced and expressed using an expanded revision of the Relational Answers Questionnaire. Self-presentation was evaluated with a new scale, and Selfhood was expanded with a widely revised and expanded Self-Other Profile Chart.

Core Competencies of Relational Psychoanalysis provides a concise and clearly presented handbook for those who wish to study, practice, and teach the core competencies of Relational Psychoanalysis, offering primary skills in a straightforward and useable format. Roy E. Barsness offers his own research on technique and grounds these methods with superb contributions from several master clinicians, expanding the seven primary competencies: therapeutic intent, therapeutic stance/attitude; analytic listening/attunement; working within the relational dynamic, the use of patterning and linking; the importance of working through the inevitable enactments and ruptures inherent in the work; and the use of courageous speech through disciplined spontaneity. In addition, this book presents a history of Relational Psychoanalysis, offers a study on the efficacy of Relational Psychoanalysis, proposes a new relational ethic and attends to the the importance of self-care in working within the intensity of such a model. A critique of the model is offered, issues of race and culture and gender and sexuality are addressed, as well as current research on neurobiology and its impact in the development of the model. The reader will find the writings easy to understand and accessible, and immediately applicable within the therapeutic setting. The practical emphasis of this text will also offer non-analytic clinicians a window into the mind of the analyst, while increasing the settings and populations in which this model can be applied and facilitate integration with other therapeutic orientations. Core Competencies of Relational Psychoanalysis is inspired by Barsness’ students; he was motivated to create a primary text that could assist them in understanding the often complex and abstract models of Relational Psychoanalysis. Relevant for graduate students and novice therapists as well as experienced clinicians, supervisors, and professors, this textbook offers a foundational curriculum for the study of Relational Psychoanalysis, presents analytic technique with as clear a frame and purpose as evidenced based models, and serves as a gateway into further study in Relational Psychoanalyses.

Jordan explores the history, theory, and practice of relationship centered, culturally oriented psychotherapy. This new edition highlights new research on the effectiveness of RCT in a variety of real-world situations such as developing team-building exercises in workplaces, and providing a theoretical frame for an E.U.-sponsored conference on human trafficking.

Self-help is big business, but alas not a scienti c business. The estimated 10 billion—that’s with a “b”—spent each year on self-help in the United States is rarely guided by research or monitored by mental health professionals. Instead, marketing and metaphysics triumph. The more outrageous the “miraculous cure” and the “r- olutionary secret,” the better the sales. Of the 3,000 plus self-help books published each year, only a dozen contain controlled research documenting their effectiveness as stand-alone self-help. Of the 20,000 plus psychological and relationship web sites available on the Internet, only a couple hundred meet professional standards for accuracy and balance. Most, in fact, sell a commercial product. Pity the layperson, or for that matter, the practitioner, trying to navigate the self-help morass. We are bombarded with thousands of potential resources and c- tradictory advice. Should we seek wisdom in a self-help book, an online site, a 12-step group, an engaging autobiography, a treatment manual, an inspiring movie, or distance writing? Should we just do it, or just say no? Work toward change or accept what is? Love your inner child or grow out of your Peter Pan? I become confused and discouraged just contemplating the choices.

This book summarizes the important and promising emerging theories of human communication that go beyond received traditions. It includes essays on emerging theories of communication and culture; relational communicative competence; conflict communication; communication and peace; agenda setting and the role of mass media in democratic political processes; new rhetoric and new social movements; and communication and management of public-sector competitiveness. Contributors to this volume include Deborah Blood, Dudley D. Cahn, Donal Carbaugh, Ron B. Cullen, Donald P. Cushman, William A. Donohue, Timothy Gibson, Gerard A. Hauser, Trudy Milburn, Hiroshi Ota, Jiro Takai, Susan Whalen, John M. Wiemann, Mary O. Weimann, and Jian H. Zhu.

A marriage can thrive when the husband constantly pursues his wife, seeking to win—again—what he already holds: her heart! Through his constant pursuit, a man of God emulates the consistent, gentle pursuit of the Holy Spirit in his own life. The Christian Husband’s Handbook challenges the reader to pursue full Christlike masculinity by embracing sacrificial servant leadership in his home. This book offers a fresh perspective on marriage and family living, supported by a bibliography of almost 120 recently published sources. The Handbook features two unique sections at the end of each chapter: 1. “Listen to the Lady” offers a woman’s reflection on the topics; her thoughts enrich and illustrate the chapter’s content in a unique way. 2. “Deal with It,” a four-part application section at the end of each chapter, invites the reader to grow as a husband and father by reading additional sources, thinking-reflecting on their content, and then praying about, and acting on, the chapter’s primary message. Both authors firmly believe that Christian homes should be places of laughter, joy, and growth as men of God constantly pursue the treasure they already hold.

This provocative volume updates L' Abate's signature ideas, focusing in particular on the concepts of concreteness and specificity as basic tenets of evaluation and therapy. Noting society's growing familiarity with technology, current concerns about treatment accessibility, and widespread interest in wellness promotion, he argues for remote-writing exercises targeted to specific client issues and monitored by the clinician instead of relying on traditional talk-based therapy. This attention to concreteness and specificity in baseline evaluation, post-treatment evaluation, and follow-up, the author asserts, is central to making treatment replicable, less subject to impasses or missteps, and more professional, with the potential of changing how therapy is conducted as well as how clinicians are trained and practice. The book's framework includes rationales, models, empirical data, and examples of prescriptive remote-writing exercises. Featured in the coverage: Online interventions: here to stay and to grow. Verifiability in clinical psychology practices. Present status and future perspectives for personality and family assessment. Practice without theory/combining theory with practice. Toward a unifying framework of human relationships PIPES: Programmed Interactive Practice Exercise and Prescriptions. Concreteness and Specificity in Clinical Psychology will bring a new level of discussion and debate among clinical psychology practitioners and practicing psychotherapists in private practice and the public sector.