Objective: In cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), case formulation (CF) is an integral process in ensuring clinicians’ work is grounded in evidence-based practice (EBP). The objective of this study was to evaluate psychologists’ perceptions and self-reported applications of CBT-CF, and whether these differed according to clinician experience, training, and professional accreditation. Method: A scale was developed to assess CF beliefs and applications by clinicians who had been practising CBT for a minimum of 6 months. The development of scale items was based on two CBT-CF conceptual models. Seventy-nine psychologists registered in Australia took part in this online survey. Results: Psychologists’ beliefs pertaining to CBT CF supported a three-factor model. On average, psychologists perceived all activities related to CF at least moderately important, and were implemented at least some of the time. However, activities related to use of external evidence were rated as less important, and less frequently implemented. Clinical psychologists endorsed theory and EBP in structuring CF as more important, which also translated into self-reported practice of CF CBT implementation relative to generalist psychologists. Conclusions: The findings indicate some gaps in the knowledge and application of CF CBT in clinical practice and has implications in strengthening clinician training in CF CBT.

Explicit measures of disgust and threat overestimation have consistently been found to be involved in contamination aversion. However, evidence of the involvement of these factors at the implicit level is mixed, and the role of both responses has not been looked at concurrently. This study aimed to compare the ability of implicit and explicit measures of disgust and threat overestimation to predict contamination aversion and whether this depends on the type of contaminant. Sixty-five participants completed explicit and implicit measures of disgust and threat overestimation, as well as several measures of contamination aversion, including obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and contamination fear and avoidance of contaminants directly associated with disease (direct contaminants) and harmful substances (harm contaminants). It was found that both explicit disgust and explicit threat overestimation predicted contamination-fear obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Explicit disgust predicted contamination fear and avoidance of direct contaminants, whereas explicit threat overestimation predicted contamination fear and avoidance of harm contaminants. The involvement of implicit processes was weak, with some suggestion of difficulty disengaging predicting avoidance of contaminants. Implications for understanding dysfunctional contamination aversion are discussed.

The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and different versions of the Padua Inventory (PI) are frequently used instruments to measure symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, little is known of how these different versions of the PI compare to each other in their sensitivity to measuring treatment outcome, and there is currently no adequate explanation to account for the weak relationships between self-report measures and the Y-BOCS. This study aimed to investigate the sensitivity of these measures to treatment outcome, and to examine whether differences in how they measure symptom severity can explain the weak relationships. Hypotheses were: (1) the Y-BOCS would be significantly more sensitive to measuring treatment outcome than the PI versions; (2) correlations between the measures would be significantly stronger for change scores as compared to relations measured at a single point in time; (3) weak relationships can be explained by the PI measuring symptom severity based on content and the Y-BOCS measuring symptoms, independent of content. Results showed that the Y-BOCS was significantly more sensitive to measuring treatment outcome than the PI versions, while differences between the questionnaires in which severity is measured can provide a partial account for why weak relations are observed between these measures.

Previous research has shown that long-term mindfulness training has beneficial effects on cognitive functioning and emotional regulation, but results are mixed regarding single mindfulness exercises, especially on attention and memory tasks. Thus, the present study aimed to analyse the effects of the Focused Breathing Exercise (FB) on cognitive performance, using standardised tests. Forty-six healthy undergraduate students were randomly assigned either to a FB or a Control condition. Two cognitive tasks (the Concentrated Attention task of the Toulouse-Pierron Factorial Battery and the Logical Memory Subtest I from the Wechsler Memory Scale III), along with mood evaluations (the Positive and Negative Affect Scale), were implemented both before and after the interventions. Results showed no significant differences for the attention task and mood evaluations. Nonetheless, the FB enhanced performance for the memory task significantly more than the Control exercise. The findings highlight that mindfulness does not affect equally all types of cognitive performances. Task characteristics may be important and their analysis can help to disentangle how mindfulness interferes with cognitive processes.