Scientific Program

Mediational analysis has become one of the core methods for researchers interested in characterizing causal and indirect sequences or processes, yet popular mediation analysis tools do not easily accommodate the nested structure of psychotherapy data (e.g., repeated measures nested within patients, patients nested within therapists). Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM; Preacher, Zyphur, & Zang, 2010) is a flexible statistical methodology that can model mediational processes in clustered data. This workshop will provide an introduction to the MSEM framework, with a focus on how to conduct multilevel mediational analyses that account for time, patient, and therapist contributions. Empirical examples using psychotherapy data will be used to illustrate how to conduct multilevel mediation in the Mplus computing software.

1. Identify the common types of nesting in psychotherapy data and the ways in which this multilevel data structure can impact mediational analyses.

2. Fit and interpret multilevel mediational models that take into account time, patient, and therapist effects.

3. Learn how to use the Mplus statistical software to fit multilevel mediational models using MSEM.

This interactive, 2-hour workshop, has been designed to provide participants with a grounding in the history and key practices associated with Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) alongside examples and guidance for applying CBPR in a range of settings. The roots of CBPR in participatory and action-oriented models of research are briefly addressed, followed by key steps including (i) the cultivation of effective and meaningful partnerships with stakeholders and organizations with an emphasis upon lived experience engagement, (ii) the collaborative development of research objectives, processes, and knowledge mobilization strategies, (iii) the ethics of CBPR, and (iv) addressing common challenges alongside the unique opportunities CBPR represents for mental health care reform and optimizing the delivery of relevant and equitable services. Concrete examples from both adult and youth service contexts will be provided. Participants will discuss how these practices align with their own research agendas and contexts along with the challenges and successes of this approach to research in psychotherapy settings and beyond.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to identify the key terms, practices, and issues related to CBPR

2. Participants will be able to describe the unique challenges, issues, and opportunities that CBPR presents in clinical care contexts.

Psychotherapy research often involves the unique details of participants’ lives, whether through in-depth case reports, qualitative methodologies, or even brief descriptions used to highlight quantitative research findings. The inclusion of participants’ stories can enhance the field of psychotherapy research by illustrating interventions or diagnostic presentations in an engaging way. However, there may be significant ethical and clinical consequences to using research participants’ private experiences in such a public manner. This may be especially complicated for clinician-researchers who are describing their own patients in case reports or other research. This workshop is particularly relevant for psychotherapy researchers who write about individual research participants. It will demonstrate how to navigate the complexity of maintaining ethical and legal compliance and protecting confidentiality while continuing to advance the field. The tension between participant or patient disguise and scientific validity will be discussed in detail. The workshop is also appropriate for journal editors, to ensure that their editorial policies are ethically and clinically sound, as well as all consumers of psychotherapy research so they may critically analyze the way such research is conducted. The workshop will include a multimedia presentation of how individual life stories have been utilized in both historical and current publishing practices; a review of the relevant empirical literature; an examination of how multicultural issues and power dynamics may be enacted; a discussion of the benefits and risks of researchers using informed consent, participant disguise, and case composites; suggestions for journal editors who need to create or revise related author instructions and guidelines; and an analysis of ethical standards, including Informed Consent to Research and Reporting Research Results. Specific recommendations will be provided, and workshop participants will create Personal Research Action Plans informed by best practices and ethical imperatives.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to compare the benefits and risks of engaging in informed consent, using participant disguise, and creating composites when using participants' stories in psychotherapy research.

2. Participants will be able to identify relevant ethical standards and HIPAA guidelines when describing participants’ lives in psychotherapy research.