Harold Sampson

Interpersonal guilt : The development of a new measure

We describe the development of a new measure to assess guilt related to concern about harming others. The two versions of the Interpersonal Guilt Questionnaire, a 45-item and 67-item version, include theoretically-based and clinically relevant categories of guilt: survivor guilt, separation/disloyalty guilt, omnipotent responsibility guilt, and self-hate guilt. Preliminary reliability and validity studies for both versions are presented, based on clinical and nonclinical samples of subjects. Subscales on both versions show good internal consistency; however, the second version, which expanded on the first, is more psychometrically sound overall. Both versions demonstrated predicted correlations with previously published measures of guilt and related affects, such as shame and depression, and with attributional style. Differences between clinical and nonclinical samples are reported and the relevance of survivor guilt and shame to psychopathology is noted.

The Plan Formulation Method

The Plan Formulation Method, a procedure for developing comprehensive clinical case formulations, is illustrated using the case of Ms. Smithfield. The theory out of which the Method developed and the steps involved in developing a Plan Formulation are described. The Plan Formulation Method has been employed with excellent reliability to a wide variety of cases by different researchers. The validity of the Method has been tested in both process and outcome studies. Applications of the Method to the empirical validation and comparison of different theories of psychotherapy are discussed.

Accurate Interpretations and Brief Psychotherapy Outcome

Weiss has proposed (1986) that a patient in therapy works in accord with a plan to disconfirm certain pathogenic beliefs and attain certain goals. Weisss plan concept provides clinician and research investigator with case-specific criteria for evaluating the accuracy of interpretations. An interpretation that is judged likely to help a patient carry out his/her plan is called “plan compatible”. Independent judges using the patients history and a formulation of his/her plan were able to achieve high interrater reliability about the plan compatibility of interpretations in seven brief therapy cases. There was low variability among ratings in six of the seven cases. In this sample, a high and statistically significant correlation was found between plan compatibility of interpretations and outcome immediately after therapy, and six months later. This finding suggests the predictive power of the plan concept, and shows that this concept may be a useful guide to the therapist.