Overview

Human beings change constantly; we are in an endless state of flux as we grow, mature, learn, and adapt to a myriad of physical, environmental, social, educational, and cultural influences. Change can be thought of as planful when it is motivated by the desire to be and feel different, such as the change that comes about as a result of deliberate intervention, usually initiated by a troubled individual and aided by another, typically a professional.In How and Why People Change Dr. Ian M. Evans revisits many of the fundamental principles of behavior change in order to deconstruct what it is we try to achieve in psychological therapies. All of the conditions that impact people when seeking therapy are brought together in one cohesive framework: assumptions of learning, motivation, approach and avoidance, barriers to change, personality dynamics, and the way that individual behavioral repertoires are inter-related. Special emphasis is placed on environmental, social, and cultural influences that allow people to manage their feelings and promote adaptive thoughts and activities. The result is a novel and refreshing look at factors that help people change, which can be mobilized by individuals themselves or their therapists. By looking past the formal techniques of cognitive-behavior therapy, this book explores the processes of therapy as well as the nature of meaningful, long-range, and lasting change. Drawing on a variety of classic and new research studies, this unifying approach is evidence-based, but in a different way from the empirical validation of standardized protocols and manuals. The aim is to encourage both novice therapists and experienced clinicians to re-evaluate basic psychological assumptions in order to promote innovative, individualized, and culturally acceptable interventions. By understanding the sources of change that most influence clients' functioning, the commonalities in apparently different therapeutic theories are recognized, providing a critical perspective for clinical researchers. Rather than suggesting how therapy should be conducted, Evans shows how many different approaches can be understood on the basis of common underlying principles.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ian M. Evans (Professor of Psychology, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 23.60cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 15.50cm
Weight:   0.544kg
ISBN:  

9780199917273

ISBN 10:   0199917272
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   17 January 2013
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Setting the scene: Why we need a theory for change Chapter 2 What is therapeutic change? Chapter 3 Motivation to change Chapter 4 Individual differences in ability to change: Personality and context Chapter 5 Conditioning: Changing the meaning and value of events Chapter 6 Contingencies: Therapy is learning and unlearning Chapter 7 Response relationships: The dynamics of behavioral regulation Chapter 8 Cognition: Changing thoughts and fantasies Chapter 9 Self-influence Chapter 10 Social mediators and the therapeutic relationship Chapter 11 Culture as behavior change Chapter 12 Conclusions: How and why people can change and be changed References Index

Reviews

<br> Evans is one of a regrettably small number of clinical researchers and theorists who argue for the importance of principles of change rather than treatment packages for putatively homogeneous disorders. In this lucid and beautifully written book, he makes the case with scholarliness and clear-headed thinking and will, I hope, help to reset the scientific and applied agendas in the quest for evidence-based assessments and interventions. -- Gerald C. Davison, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Southern California and Past-president, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies <br><p><br> How and why people change are two extremely complex, but imperative, issues that mental health professionals have been wrestling with for centuries. Evans addresses these topics head-on in a commanding, thorough, thoughtful, comprehensive, and user-friendly manner. Moreover, he brings us closer to having answers. If you only have time to read one new book this year, this should be the one. -- Arthur M. Nezu, Ph.D., ABPP, Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, Drexel University and Editor, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology <br><p><br> With an extraordinary depth and breadth of scholarship and a wide range of clinical experience, Evans provides the highest level of an integrative theoretical account of behavior change. Proponents of recent evidence-based psychotherapies will particularly appreciate his sensitive and effective use of formal principles for creating an emotionally positive therapeutic context for children as well as adults. It is highly recommended to all therapists. -- Junko Tanaka-Matsumi, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Integrated Psychological Science, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology <br><p><br> In this book, Evans seeks to shift the focus of much of contemporary, evidence-based psychotherapy from prescribing what therapists should do to how their efforts t

Evans is one of a regrettably small number of clinical researchers and theorists who argue for the importance of principles of change rather than treatment packages for putatively homogeneous disorders. In this lucid and beautifully written book, he makes the case with scholarliness and clear-headed thinking and will, I hope, help to reset the scientific and applied agendas in the quest for evidence-based assessments and interventions. -- Gerald C. Davison, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Southern California and Past-president, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies How and why people change are two extremely complex, but imperative, issues that mental health professionals have been wrestling with for centuries. Evans addresses these topics head-on in a commanding, thorough, thoughtful, comprehensive, and user-friendly manner. Moreover, he brings us closer to having answers. If you only have time to read one new book this year, this should be the one. -- Arthur M. Nezu, Ph.D., ABPP, Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, Drexel University and Editor, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology With an extraordinary depth and breadth of scholarship and a wide range of clinical experience, Evans provides the highest level of an integrative theoretical account of behavior change. Proponents of recent evidence-based psychotherapies will particularly appreciate his sensitive and effective use of formal principles for creating an emotionally positive therapeutic context for children as well as adults. It is highly recommended to all therapists. -- Junko Tanaka-Matsumi, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Integrated Psychological Science, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology In this book, Evans seeks to shift the focus of much of contemporary, evidence-based psychotherapy from prescribing what therapists should do to how their efforts t

"""Evans is one of a regrettably small number of clinical researchers and theorists who argue for the importance of principles of change rather than treatment packages for putatively homogeneous disorders. In this lucid and beautifully written book, he makes the case with scholarliness and clear-headed thinking and will, I hope, help to reset the scientific and applied agendas in the quest for evidence-based assessments and interventions."" -- Gerald C. Davison, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Southern California and Past-president, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies ""How and why people change are two extremely complex, but imperative, issues that mental health professionals have been wrestling with for centuries. Evans addresses these topics head-on in a commanding, thorough, thoughtful, comprehensive, and user-friendly manner. Moreover, he brings us closer to having answers. If you only have time to read one new book this year, this should be the one.""-- Arthur M. Nezu, Ph.D., ABPP, Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, Drexel University and Editor, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology ""With an extraordinary depth and breadth of scholarship and a wide range of clinical experience, Evans provides the highest level of an integrative theoretical account of behavior change. Proponents of recent evidence-based psychotherapies will particularly appreciate his sensitive and effective use of formal principles for creating an emotionally positive therapeutic context for children as well as adults. It is highly recommended to all therapists.""-- Junko Tanaka-Matsumi, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Integrated Psychological Science, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology ""In this book, Evans seeks to shift the focus of much of contemporary, evidence-based psychotherapy from prescribing what therapists should do to how their efforts translate into universal change processes. Firmly grounded in the empirical literature, his focus on understanding and assessing change places the therapist in charge of deducing what specifically will work best, even how to develop novel treatments, for each particular patient.""-- Stephen A. Lisman, Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and Director of Clinical Training, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University (SUNY) ""Evans distils the common elements of psychotherapeutic change across theoretical approaches, client populations, and treatment goals to identify the foundational principles of how and why people change. This scholarly volume begins with a thought-provoking treatise on therapeutic change that wends its way through the evolution and devolution of therapeutic approaches based on sound theory and basic science in the absence of the foundational principles of change. It proceeds with compelling illustrations of the foundational principles applied to disparate treatments for children and adults, integrating current knowledge from learning theory and the social sciences throughout. Seasoned clinical psychologists from all schools of thought will find the analyses of change fascinating -they may find their approach to case conceptualization indelibly changed."" -- Sheila Eyberg, PhD, ABPP, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida"

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