Psychological Mindedness: A Contemporary Understanding

by Mary McCallum (Editor), William E. Piper (Editor)

Psychodynamically-oriented clinicians have long emphasized the relevance of psychological mindedness to effective therapy. But what does the term mean? That has been a difficult question to answer. There have been a variety of definitions and measures not only of psychological mindedness but of related constructs such as alexithymia, private self-consiousness, self-focused attention, social perspective taking, and personal intelligence.

Over the past decade, McCallum and Piper have developed their own definition and measure of psychological mindedness, and have examined the extent to which it predicts patient response to psychodynamic psychotherapy. This book is both a collection of both their own efforts and those of their fellow researchers in this broad field. It attempts to increase mental health practitioners' understanding of psychological mindedness and its importance to patient assessment and treatment. It also provides practical methods for assessing psychological mindedness and addresses its relevance to interpersonal contexts outside the mental health field.

This book will facilitate clinicians' efforts to select the most appropriate patients for their particular approaches to therapy, which will in turn reduce client dropout rates and maximize therapeutic processes and outcomes.

296 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1997