Projects per year
Personal profile
Personal Statement
I trained in the US as a Clinical Psychologist and am licensed as a Psychologist in the State of Ohio. I have expertise in Person-Centred-Experiential psychotherapy and counselling in general and specifically in Emotion-Focused Therapy, of which I am one of the originators. I am a psychotherapy research methodologist with experience in a wide variety of research methods. I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA in 1978. I taught at the University of Toledo 1978-2006, where I am now Professor Emeritus of Psychology. I have also held visiting faculty positions as Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), York University (Canada), University of Sheffield (UK), and La Trobe University (Australia). I served as President of the Society for Psychotherapy Research (2000-2001) and as co-editor of the journal Psychotherapy Research (1994-1998). I co-authored Facilitating emotional change (1993, with Leslie Greenberg and Laura Rice), Learning process-experiential psychotherapy (2004, with Jeanne Watson, Rhonda Goldman, and Leslie Greenberg), and Research methods in clinical psychology (3rd ed., with Chris Barker & Nancy Pistrang), as well as more than 150 journal articles or book chapters. I am a Fellow in the Divisions of Psychotherapy, Clinical Psychology, and Humanistic Psychology of the American Psychological Association. In 2008 I received the Carl Rogers Award for Contributions to Humanistic Psychology form the American Psychological Association, as well as the Distinguished Career Award of the Society for Psychotherapy Research. I also served as co-editor of the journal, Person-Centered Counseling and Psychotherapy (2001 – 2005).
Expertise & Capabilities
• Person-Centred-Experiential psychotherapy and counselling
• Emotion-Focused Therapy
• Research methods in applied psychology
• Psychotherapy research, including process and outcome research
• Single case research
• Measure development
• Meta-analysis and qualitative meta-synthesis
Research Interests
In general, my main research focus is on how clients change in humanistic-experiential psychotherapies, especially Person-Centred and Emotion-Focused therapies for social anxiety. By necessity, this encompasses studying the outcome of these therapies, as well as clients' experiences of what they found helpful or unhelpful. I believe that a range of research methods are appropriate for studying change processes, including quantitative and qualitative, group designs and single case studies, measure development research, meta-analyses and meta-syntheses, and even, where appropriate, randomised clinical trials.
More specifically, my current research focuses on the process and outcome of Emotion-Focused Therapy with Social Anxiety. I am also involved the following:
• Measure development research to support research on humanistic-experiential psychotherapies (eg, individualised outcome assessment; assessment of person-centred-experiential therapist competence)
• Meta-analytic research on the effectiveness of humanistic-experiential psychotherapies across a variety of client populations (eg, depression, anxiety, psychosis)
• Development of a person-centred taxonomy of client presenting problems based on the Personal Questionnaire
Teaching Interests
• Counselling and psychotherapy research methods (PG Diploma and MSc levels)
• Person-centred/experiential counselling and psychotherapy
• Emotion-Focused Therapy
Industrial Relevance
• Mental health assessment and intervention
Academic / Professional qualifications
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, University of California
Award Date: 1 Jan 1978
Bachelor of Arts, University of California
Award Date: 1 Jan 1968
Keywords
- Humanistic-Experiential Psychotherapy
- Research methodology
- Psychotherapy Research
Network
Projects
- 3 Finished
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A Qualitative Outcome Study for Social Anxiety
Robinson, A., Rogers, M. B. & Elliott, R.
1/08/16 → 1/08/17
Project: Research - no external funding
Research Output
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Authority in therapeutic interaction: a conversation analytic study
Smoliak, O., MacMartin, C., Le Couteur, A., Hepburn, A. & Elliott, R., 20 Oct 2020, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Essentials of Descriptive-Interpretive Qualitative Research: A Generic Approach
Elliott, R. & Timulak, L., 15 Jun 2020, (Accepted/In press) Washington. DC. 120 p. (Essentials of Qualitative Research)Research output: Book/Report › Book
Prizes
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Carl Rogers Award (for contributions to humanistic psychology), Division of Humanistic Psychology, American Psychological Association
Elliott, Robert (Recipient), Aug 2008
Prize: National/international honour
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Distinguished Career Award, Society for Psychotherapy Research,
Elliott, Robert (Recipient), Jun 2008
Prize: National/international honour
Activities
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British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Conference
Robert Elliott (Organiser)
May 2011 → …Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organiser of major conference
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British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Conference
Robert Elliott (Organiser)
May 2010Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organiser of major conference