Michael J. Constantino, Ph.D., Task Force Co-Chair (Level I)

Michael J. Constantino, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he directs his Psychotherapy Research Lab, teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on theories and techniques of psychotherapy, and supervises clinicians-in-training.

Dr. Constantino’s research centers broadly on psychotherapy process, outcome, and integration with adults. The focus is on understanding patient, therapist, and relational processes that influence psychosocial treatments, and on the development and systematization of therapeutic interventions that address pantheoretical principles of clinical change, such as treatment expectations, the therapeutic alliance, and corrective experiences. This work has been primarily related to depression, generalized anxiety, and bulimia nervosa. Although various treatments for these conditions have achieved some empirical support, response and relapse rates remain sobering. Furthermore, there remains a limited understanding of how therapy works or why it fails to do so for certain patients. Thus, there is ample room for improvement in understanding, refining, and delivering all forms of therapy, and Dr. Constantino adopts multiple research modalities in an attempt to contribute to such improvements.

Dr. Constantino has published both theoretical and empirical work in leading journals and books in the field, and he has received both internal and external grant support for his research. Dr. Constantino’s work has been recognized internationally, including with his receipt of the American Psychological Foundation’s 2007 Division 29 (Psychotherapy) Early Career Award and the Society for Psychotherapy Integration’s 2007 New Researcher Award.

Dr. Constantino currently serves as the Early Career Domain Representative on the Board of the American Psychological Association’s Division of Psychotherapy. He is also a Contributing Editor for Psychotherapy Bulletin and a Consulting Editor for Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training and Psychotherapy Research.

With his dedication to science-practice and psychotherapy integration, Dr. Constantino is deeply committed to the mission of the Unified Psychotherapy Project to map principles and procedures of therapeutic change so that psychotherapists can draw responsively on cutting edge and well-established treatment technologies.

Publications

Book Chapters:

Castonguay, L. G., Norberg, S. S., Schut, A. J., & Constantino, M. J. (in press). Psychotherapy research. In I. Weiner & W. E. Craighead and C. B. Nemeroff (Eds.), Encyclopedia of psychology and neuroscience (4th ed.). New York: Wiley.

Constantino, M. J., & Spofford, C. (2008). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). In F. T. L. Leong (Ed.), Encyclopedia of counseling: Volume two: Personal and emotional counseling (pp. 126-129). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Constantino, M. J., & Wilson, K. R. (2007). Negotiating difference and the therapeutic alliance. In J. C. Muran (Ed.), Dialogues on difference: Studies in diversity in the therapeutic relationship (pp. 236-242). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Constantino, M. J., Lembke, A., Fischer, C., & Arnow, B. A. (2006). Adult depression: Features, burdens, models, and interventions. In T. G. Plante (Ed.), Abnormal psychology in the 21st century (pp. 139-166). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Castonguay, L. G., Constantino, M. J., & Schut, A. J. (2004). Psychotherapy research. In W. E. Craighead and C. B. Nemeroff (Eds.), The concise Corsini Encyclopedia of psychology and neuroscience (pp. 778-780). New York: Wiley.

Constantino, M. J., Castonguay, L. G., & Schut, A. J. (2002). The working alliance: A flagship for the “scientist-practitioner” model in psychotherapy. In G. S. Tryon (Ed.), Counseling based on process research: Applying what we know (pp. 81-131). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Castonguay, L. G., Schut, A. J., & Constantino, M. J. (2000). Psychotherapy research. In W. E. Craighead and C. B. Nemeroff (Eds.), Encyclopedia of psychology and neuroscience (pp. 1346-1350). New York: Wiley.

Articles:

Constantino, M. J., Manber, R., DeGeorge, J., McBride, C., Ravitz, P., Zuroff, D., et al. (2008). Interpersonal styles of chronically depressed outpatients: Profiles and therapeutic change. Psychotherapy, 45, 491-506.

Constantino, M. J., & Smith-Hansen, L. (2008). Patient interpersonal factors and the therapeutic alliance in two treatments for bulimia nervosa. Psychotherapy Research, 18, 683-698.

Constantino, M. J., Marnell, M., Haile, A. J., Kanther-Sista, S. N., Wolman, K., Zappert, L., & Arnow, B. A. (2008). Integrative cognitive therapy for depression: A randomized pilot comparison. Psychotherapy, 45, 122-134.

O’Neill, R. M., & Constantino, M. J. (2008). Systems-Centered Training Groups’ process and outcome: A comparison with AGPA Institute Groups. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 58, 77-102.

Constantino, M. J., & DeGeorge, J. (2008, March). Believing is seeing: Clinical implications of research on patient expectations. Psychotherapy E-News. Retrieved from http://www.divisionofpsychotherapy.org/PsychotherapyENews/NewsUCanUse/NUCU5.pdf.

Constantino, M. J. (2008). Assimilating common factor treatment components into cognitive therapy for depression. Psychotherapy Bulletin, 43, 28-32.

Constantino, M. J., Manber, R., Ong, J., Kuo, T. F., Huang, J., & Arnow, B.A. (2007). Patient expectations and the therapeutic alliance as predictors of outcome in group CBT for insomnia. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 5, 210-228.

Arnow, B. A., Blasey, C. Manber, R., Constantino, M. J., Markowitz, J. C., Klein, D. N., Thase, M., Kocsis, J. H., & Rush, Jr., J. (2007). Dropouts versus completers among chronically depressed outpatients. Journal of Affective Disorders, 97, 197-202.

Constantino, M. J., & Castonguay, L. G. (2007, March). The working alliance: What do we know and how should we apply it? Psychotherapy E-News. Retrieved from http://www .divisionofpsychotherapy.org/PsychotherapyENews/NewsUCanUse/NUCU1.pdf.

Castonguay, L. G., Constantino, M. J., & Holtforth, M.G. (2006). The working alliance: Where are we and where should we go? Psychotherapy, 43, 271-279.

Greenberg, R. P., Constantino, M. J., & Bruce, N. (2006). Are expectations still relevant for psychotherapy process and outcome? Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 657-678.

Arnow, B. A., Hunkeler, E. M., Blasey, C., Lee, J., Constantino, M. J., Fireman, B., Kraemer, H. C., Dea, R., Robinson, R., & Hayward, C. (2006). Comorbid depression, chronic pain, and disability in primary care. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68, 262-268.

Constantino, M. J., Wilson, K. R., Horowitz, L. M., & Pinel, E. C. (2006). The direct and stress-buffering effects of self-organization on psychological adjustment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25, 333-360.

Horowitz, L. M., Wilson, K. R., Zolotsev, P., Turan, B., Constantino, M. J., & Henderson, L. (2006). How interpersonal motives help clarify the meaning of an interpersonal behavior: A revised circumplex model. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 67-86.

Constantino, M. J., Arnow, B. A., Blasey, C., & Agras, W. S. (2005). The association between patient characteristics and the therapeutic alliance in cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal therapy for bulimia nervosa. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 203-211.

Castonguay, L. G., Schut, A. J., Aikins, D., Constantino, M. J., Laurenceau, J. P., Bologh, L., & Burns, D. D. (2004). Integrative cognitive therapy for depression: A preliminary investigation of an. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 14, 4-20.

Arnow, B. A., & Constantino, M. J. (2003). Effectiveness of psychotherapy and combination treatment for chronic depression. Journal of Clinical Psychology/In Session, 59, 893-905.

Newman, M. G., Kachin, K. E., Zuellig, A. R., Constantino, M. J., & Cashman-McGrath, L. (2003). The Social Phobia Diagnostic Questionnaire: Preliminary validation of a new self-report diagnostic measure of social phobia. Psychological Medicine, 33, 623-635.

Constantino, M. J., & Castonguay, L. G. (2003). Learning from the basics: Clinical implications of social, developmental, and cross-cultural study of the self. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 13, 3-8.

Pinel, E. C., & Constantino, M. J. (2003). Putting self psychology to good use: When social psychologists and clinical psychologists unite. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 13, 9-32.

Jacobs, J. E., Bleeker, M. M., & Constantino, M. J. (2003). The self-system during childhood and adolescence: Development, influences, and implications. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 13, 33-65.

Newman, M. G., Zuellig, A. R., Kachin, K. E., Constantino, M. J., Przeworski, A., Erickson, T., & Cashman-McGrath, L. (2002). Preliminary reliability and validity of the GAD-Q-IV: A revised self-report diagnostic measure of generalized anxiety disorder. Behavior Therapy, 33, 215-233.

Constantino, M. J. (2000). Interpersonal process in psychotherapy through the lens of the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 9, 153-172.

Castonguay, L. G., Schut, A. J., Constantino, M. J., & Halperin, G. S. (1999). Assessing the role of treatment manuals: Have they become necessary but non-sufficient ingredients of change? Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6, 449-455.