We are excited to announce the publication of “A practice based study of relational virtues and alliance correspondence in psychodynamic psychotherapy.” This longitudinal study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, found a sample of clients of psychodynamic psychotherapy increased in scores of gratitude, forgiveness, and well-being and declined in symptom scores. These findings provide empirical support for one of what Nancy McWilliams terms “psychological vital signs”: an “enhanced capacity for acceptance, forgiveness, and gratitude”. The study also found associations between client-therapist ratings of the therapeutic alliance and these vital signs of progress, pointing to constructive relational dynamics as influential on growth in relational virtues and well-being. Below are the citation for our study and the citation of McWilliams’ book referencing psychological vital signs.

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Jankowski, P. J., Sandage, S. J., Captari, L. E., Crabtree, S. A., Choe, E. J., Gerstenblith, J. (2024). A practice-based study of relational virtues and alliance correspondence in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23669

McWilliams, N. (2021) Psychoanalytic supervision. The Guilford Press,.