Barber Jacques P. - Visions in psychotherapy research and practice : reflections from the presidents of the Society for Psychotherapy Research

For more than 40 years, the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR) has been devoted to the development and dissemination of research, as well as the integration of empirical, theoretical, and clinical knowledge in psychotherapy. As such, SPR has played a significant role in the mental health field around the world with regard to the understanding, application, and refinements of psychosocial interventions. In particular, the work and voices of the presidents of the organization has been of great influence in shaping the field. Recognized internationally as leaders in psychotherapy research and psychotherapy in general, the presidents of SPR include innovative scholars and investigators from different theoretical orientations (psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, integrative therapies) who have developed research programs and treatment interventions for common clinical problems.

As part of the SPR tradition, each president presents a presidential address at the Annual Meeting of the organization. These addresses not only represent the highlight of a presidential mandate, but they are often perceived as the most important presentation of their entire career.

Since the foundation of the official journal of the society ( Psychotherapy Research ) in 1991, the presidential addresses have been published as articles in the journal. They are also very visible papers, which are highly regarded by other researchers and clinicians. As recent past presidents (20082010), we have shared the idea of bringing together the SPR presidential addresses of the last 20 years into this one book.

Primarily, the book provides a collection of the written versions of the addresses that have been published in Psychotherapy Research , from its first issue in 1991 until 2011. Two of the addresses included in the book (those of Karla Moras and Bernhard Strauss) have not been published before.

Although we are admittedly biased, the presidential addresses contain a variety of important visions, ideas, and thoughts that do not deserve to be forgotten and would benefit from being collected in one location/book. Because they have shaped the foundations and are still at the forefront of our current understanding and practice of psychotherapy, it is very likely that these papers will be of high interest to researchers, scholars, clinicians, educators, and students in the mental health field.

In order to go beyond an aggregated reprinting of presidential addresses, we have also asked the living presidents to comment on how the ideas and visions they described in their respective addresses have developed since their publications. Specifically, we asked each past president to provide a comment addressing the following three questions: 1) From your current perspective, what (if any) would you change in your address? 2) Have you observed changes in the field that you predicted in your talk, and/or that have been consistent with, perhaps even influenced by your talk? and 3) What are your predictions for psychotherapy research in the near future, including issues raised in your talk that you wish the field will pay attention to in the future?

The presidential addresses from the pre-journal era (before 1991) were not available in their entire format. Therefore, to complete the historical picture of the SPR and its presidents, we invited two past presidents who were involved in the creation of SPR, David Orlinsky and Irene Elkin, to provide an introductory chapter summarizing the 40 years history of SPR and the ideas developed by its presidents in the years before 1991.