Luciano L'Abate

Relational Competence Theory: Research and Mental Health Applications

to Relational Competence Theory.- Background for a Hierarchical Theoretical Framework.- Internal and External Measures to Evaluate Models of the Theory.- Metatheoretical Assumptions.- Model1: The Width of Relationships.- Model2: The Depth of Relationships.- Model3: Socialization Settings for Relational Competence.- Theoretical Assumptions.- Model4: Ability To Love.- Model5: Ability To Control and Regulate Self.- Model6: Combination of Both Abilities.- Model7: The Triangle of Living.- Normative Theoretical Models.- Model8: Self-Identity Differentiation.- Model9: Styles in Relationships.- Model10: Interactions in Intimate Relationships.- Model11: Selfhood.- Model12: Priorities.- Clinically Relevant Models.- Model13: Distance Regulation.- Model14: A Pathogenic Drama Triangle.- Model15: Intimacy.- Model16: Negotiation.- The Improvement of Relational Competence.- Promotion of Relational Competence: Approaching Positive Experiences.- Prevention of Relational Incompetence: Avoiding Negative Experiences.- Treatment of Severe Relational Incompetence: One Approach Is Not Enough.- Conclusion.- Fully Functional Relational Competence.

Toward a Relational Theory for Psychiatric Classification

This relational theory is composed of (a) two requirements, verifiability and applicability in laboratory, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention settings, (b) three meta-theoretical assumptions about horizontality, verticality, and settings for intimate relationships (close, committed, inter-dependent, prolonged), (c) two assumptions about distance and ability to love (Axis II, Cluster C personality disorders), control and ability to negotiate (Cluster B), and one correlate about contents and sexual deviations, (d) four major models about: developmental identity-differentiation, styles in intimate relationships, selfhood with four propensities, (selfulness, selfishness, selflessness, no-self) that relate to Axis I syndromes and Cluster A, and priorities, (e) four models applied to distance regulation, the genesis of psychopathology, intimacy, and negotiation, and (f) an overall and a comparative model.

Reviewing 25 Years of Professional Practice: Homework Assignments and Length of Therapy

This exploratory review of 25 years of part-time professional practice with individuals, couples, and families, evaluated the number of face-to-face psychotherapy sessions with and without written homework assignments. Contrary to predictions from the literature, administration of a workbook lengthened significantly the number of face-to-face psychotherapy sessions for all groups. The exploratory nature of this review and its inability to deal with a host of uncontrolled variables made it impossible to deal with the issue of effectiveness. These results, nonetheless, raise questions about the claimed cost-effectiveness of written homework assignments. Future research will need to concentrate on variables that could not be controlled in this review.

Enrichment and Written Messages with Couples.

Abstract The field of paradoxical therapy has mushroomed in a variety of conceptual and methodological ways. One of the latest methods is the use of paradoxically worded letters that will be given to couples and families, usually at the outset of therapy. To check on the validity of this approach, 56 couples were evaluated before and after a course of six sessions of marital enrichment. One group received no enrichment. A second group received enrichment. A third group received linearly worded messages at the end of the fourth session of enrichment, while a fourth group received paradoxically worded messages. The effect of these messages on the outcome is analyzed and discussed.

Linking Theory With Practice: Theory-Derived Interventions in Prevention and Family Therapy

This article shows how it is possible to progress from evaluations to direct interventions in prevention and family therapy. Models derived from a developmental relational theory of competence socialization in intimate relationships can be applied when evaluation is linked directly to specific intervention. The theory is linked to normative and nonnormative dimensions isomorphic with classifications from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—IV. In addition to verbally based interventions, nonverbal prescriptive tasks derived from models of the theory can also be administered as homework assignments. Self-help written workbooks or protocols derived from theoretical models can also be administered as alternative or additional structured interventions.

Validity and reliability of a theory-derived measure of intimacy

Abstract The purpose of this study was to create a measure of intimacy defined as the “sharing of hurts.” From an original list of 200 items developed from written narratives, a final list of 39 items, covering different aspects of personal hurts and vulnerability, yielded significant correlations with three established measures of intimacy. This instrument has been pared down to 28 items, which are presented.

A Workshop Format to Facilitate Intimacy in Married Couples.

To sustain an intimate committed marriage, two differentiated individuals with well developed identities need to cultivate the skills of communicating, accommodating and negotiating within the partner dyad. This article presents a structured enrichment workshop designed to facilitate marital intimacy, featuring three modules: ra) self-hood and differentiation, (b) communication of emotions, and (c) negotiation. Theoretical bases of each module are outlined, with special attention given to the role of sharing of hurt feelings as a primary dimension of intimacy. Specific exercises in each module are also described.

Structured Enrichment (SE) with Couples and Families.

The historical background of Structured Enrichment (SE) with couples and families is linked to the need for educational, preventive intervention models that are ethical, realistically relevant, cost-efficient, useful, versatile, and easily tested. The nature and process of SE are also related to its diagnostic, preventive, paratherapeutic, propaedeutic/didactic, and research functions. Four major representative functions are summarized briefly to indicate the testability of SE. The future of SE is considered in terms of further research on comparative usefulness, expansion to clinical populations, and the testing of component skills.

Testing a Relational Model of Psychopathology With the MMPI-2

The purpose of this study is to validate a relational, contextual selfhood model of psychopathology with the MMPI-2. Positive and negative attributions of importance to self and intimate others were hypothesized as producing four personality propensities: a functional one, self-fullness, and three dysfunctional ones or extreme deviations, selfishness or externalization, selflessness or internalization, and no-self and psychopathology. These propensities have meaning specifically in intimate (committed, prolonged, and close) relationships and may not generalize to public, short-lived, or superficial, ones. Four algorithms, composed from validity and clinical scales of the MMPI-2, evaluated whether the four personality propensities of the model can be validated with the MMPI-2. An early study using undergraduates gave some support for the reliability of classifications obtained from the four algorithms. However, the use of nonclinical cases and the lack of an external criterion to evaluate level and type of psychopathology required a larger sample of clinical cases and the use of an external criterion. Both criteria were met with a much larger clinical sample with one external criterion about type and extent of psychopathology, the Multiaxial Diagnostic Inventories (MDI) using ratings by respondents themselves and diagnoses by psychologists evaluating them. The results of the MDI tended to support possible links between the relational model and an empirical test like the MMPI-2.

Likeness: A Hidden Ingredient in Family Therapy

The purpose of this paper is to show how one can progress from a validated theoretical model to its practical application in family therapy. The model applied in this case is the Likeness Continuum consisting of six degrees of Likeness: symbiosis, sameness, similarity, differentness, oppositeness, and alienation. A formal Task to evaluate this model in family therapy is attached to provide a basis for the evaluation of this model in the laboratory and in the therapy office.