In light of dialectic behavioral therapy's effectiveness in treating suicidal adults, the treatment has been adapted for use in diverse clinical populations, including adolescents who are suicidal and have multiple problem. Walking the Middle Path is a new skill- training module that addresses specific problems and skill deficits of adolescents and their families. The present study evaluated the acceptability of Walking the Middle Path, in order to establish a basis for further assessment of the module's effectiveness. Fifty participants receiving DBT for adolescent were administered a Treatment Acceptability Scale, a skills-rating scale and an open-ended, qualitative assessment. Results indicated high ratings of acceptability. Middle Path skills ranked highly among the DBT skills perceived as most helpful, with validation rated the most beneficial aspect of skills training. The study provides preliminary support for inclusion of Middle Path in the skills training component of DBT with adolescents and their caregivers. Clinical implications of responses and the role of validation in improving family functioning are discussed.

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Could sympathetic hyperarousal limit treatment success in complicated grief? The present study investigated persons with complicated grief, a chronic condition with distinct symptoms including persistent intense yearning and longing for the person who died, avoidance of reminders that the person is gone, deep relentless sadness, self-blame, bitterness, or anger in connection with the death, and an inability to gain satisfaction or joy through engaging in meaningful activities or relationships with significant others. Length of bereavement did not correlate with complicated grief scores. Catecholamines (i.e., epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine) in plasma were assessed pre- and post-psychotherapeutic treatment. Participants with the highest levels of epinephrine at pre-treatment had the highest levels of complicated grief symptoms at post-treatment, accounting for baseline levels of symptoms. This predictive relationship was not seen for depressive symptoms. The present study supports the hypothesis that catecholamine levels are affected by bereavement, and in turn, can affect the ability of those with complicated grief to benefit from psychotherapy.

This article aims to help psychoanalytically oriented clinicians address and manage the needs of patients in Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs, who represent an understudied population in our field. Drawing upon clinical experiences, it focuses on four challenges that arise for psychoanalytic clinicians, including conflicts between psychoanalytic considerations and the disease model, transference/countertransference dynamics that may emerge when a patient addresses a major problem of living in a separate context that is inaccessible to the analyst; considerations impacting the appropriate stance and level of neutrality clinicians might adopt in regards to AA participation; and factors that may prevent useful exploration of the spiritual components of AA. For each challenge, implications are discussed and considerations are offered for addressing these dynamics in treatment.