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The purpose of this introductory chapter was to give an historical overview of how homework assignments fit within the context of the process and outcome of psychotherapy. Whatever their nature, homework assignments are meaningful and intentional activities incorporated into psychotherapy to facilitate patient adjustment and benefit. This book aims to provide readers with focused teaching on how to effectively use homework assignments in a range of therapy approaches and clinical populations heretofore absent in the psychotherapeutic literature. As the reader will note, the field is left with many unanswered questions about the role of homework assignments in psychotherapy. We hope that this Handbook will provide a step forward in the development of further theoretical and empirical work. Our patients are likely to benefit from the fields advancement towards defining the mechanism by which homework contributes to effective psychotherapy practice and prevention.

Homework is an essential component of behavior therapy. Homework affords patients the opportunity to be their own therapists and to solidify the learning that took place during sessions. This opportunity to practice being one’s own therapist likely plays an important role in maintaining treatment gains and preventing relapse once treatment is over. Given the relationship of homework to outcome, it is essential that therapists are careful about the way that they assign and review homework and take care of issues of noncompliance as soon as they arise.

Homework plays a central role in cognitive therapy. A significant part of each session is devoted to designing assignments to help clients improve between sessions and tomoti vating clients to carry out these assign ments. Therapists use a cognitive conceptualization of the client to guide treatment, including the development of homework assignments. When difficulties in completing assignments arise (other than those due to practical problems), the therapist again conceptualizes the difficulties in cognitive terms, uncovering and helping clients respond to interfering cognitions. A major thrust in homework is oriented toward relapse prevention: having clients learn skills that they can use long after treatment has ended.

IPT-A is a time-limited treatment for adolescent depression with studies supporting its efficacy and effectiveness. The treatment, which is based on the premise that depression occurs in an interpersonal context, works by addressing interpersonal problems that may be causing or contributing to the adolescent’s depression. “Work at home” is an extension of the work done in the session and is focused on improving interpersonal communication and problem-solving. The therapist and adolescent collaboratively select homework that is relevant for the identified problem area and is appropriate for the phase of treatment. Although the use of homework in IPT-A has not been empirically tested in a dismantling study, our belief is that treatment will be more effective when the adolescent addresses outside relationships. The goal of the “work at home” is to practice new interpersonal skills so they become part of the adolescent’s interpersonal repertoire. This will lead to a decrease in depression. Furthermore, interpersonal “work at home” will increase the likelihood of maintaining treatment gains since these assignments lead to the internalization and generalization of important interpersonal skills. Continued practice once treatment has ended will help maintain treatment gains and help prevent relapse.

ACT is an example of a third wave behavior therapy that saves direct change strategies for overt behaviors and utilizes contextual and experiential methods such as mindfulness and acceptance to address cognitive process that hinder and limit overt behavioral change. The treatment is informed by RFT and is based on the philosophical position of functional contextualism. ACT seeks to undermine the literal grip of language (relational framing) that fosters experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, and behavioral inflexibility, through the application of six core psychological techniques: acceptance, defusion, contact with the present moment, self-as as-context, values, and commitment to behavior change. Homework can play an integral role in the application of these techniques, by supporting the in-session therapy. Homework can be especially useful because it allows the client to utilize these principles in situations that cannot be created in the therapy sessions, such as public situation for someone who struggles with anxiety. As with most therapies, ACT has its own homework assignments, but therapists often create new techniques to serve the clients needs.

Homework tasks are an essential com ponent of BSFT. Therapists strategically implement tasks to achieve improvements in family interactions that are directly related to the prevention or reduction of adolescent behavior problems. The use of tasks in BSFT is consistent with the model’s emphasis on having family members “do” rather than simply “talk about.” Tasks are assigned based on the therapist’s assessment of family functioning. Early in treatment relatively easier tasks are assigned to foster a sense of success and competence in family members. Later in treatment, tasks tend to be more difficult and complex. In all instances, however, the therapist creates opportunities for family members to practice and demonstrate competence in the task, prior to assigning homework.

In this chapter wehavetried to introduce the reader to a range of between-session assignments that are congruent with the spiritand focus of personal construct therapy, which aims to help clients articulate, elaborate, and extend the network of meanings by which they construct a sense of self. We believe that these methods, and the larger repertory of constructivist interventions from which they are drawn, make a useful and empirically informed contribution to the practice of psychotherapy, and invite their broader use by therapists of other traditions.