הקליניקה של המחלקה לפסיכולוגיה בבר-אילן מובילה מחקרים פורצי-דרך בתחום הפסיכותרפיה מבוססת-ראיות (Evidence-Based Psychotherapy), ונחשבת לאחד המרכזים המחקריים המתקדמים והפוריים ביותר בארץ ובעולם. המחקר והטיפול בקליניקה מזינים את זה, כך שהממצאים המחקריים מתורגמים לעבודה טיפולית יעילה ואיכותית יותר, ובאותו הזמן ממש,  העבודה הטיפולית מייצרת ומכווינה שאלות מחקריות חדשות. 

המחקר העכשווי על תוצאות הפסיכותרפיה (Psychotherapy Outcome Research) מתמקד בזיהוי הגורמים המאפשרים לנבא מי מהמטופלים יפיק תועלת מהטיפול ובאיזה אופן. ממצאים עקביים מצביעים על כך שמעבר לטכניקה הספציפית, משתנים הקשורים לתהליכים תוך-טיפוליים (process variables) הם המנבאים החזקים ביותר לשינוי סימפטומטי. מחקרים עדכניים מדגישים מגוון רחב של משתנים התורמים להצלחה טיפולית ארוכת-טווח, ובניהם היכולת לנוע בין "מצבי עצמי" שונים וגמישות פסיכולוגית, עיבוד רגשי, חוזק הברית הטיפולית, סנכרון מטפל-מטופל, רפלקציה ומנטליזציה, ועוד. 

פרופ' דנה אציל-סלונים, חברת סגל בכירה במחלקה לפסיכולוגיה ומנהלת המחקר בקליניקה, מרכזת ומובילה את המחקרים בתחום זה, לצד פרופ' יוגב קיוויתי, פרופ' רבקה תובל-משיח, פרופ' אשכול רפאלי, גב' אביגיל רוזנפלד גנזל, ד"ר יעל בר-שחר וד"ר מור קינן-בר. 

Alfi-Yogev, T., Hasson-Ohayon, I., Lazarus, G., Ziv-Beiman, S., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2021). When to disclose and to whom? Examining within- and between-client moderators of therapist self-disclosure–outcome associations in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Research, 31(7), 921–931. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2020.1867774

Alfi-Yogev, T., Kivity, Y., Hasson-Ohayon, I., Ziv-Beiman, S., Yehezkel, I., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2023). Client–therapist temporal congruence in perceiving immediate therapist self-disclosure and its association with treatment outcome. Psychotherapy Research, 33(6), 704–718. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2022.2151947

Alfi-Yogev, T., Kivity, Y., Atzil-Slonim, D., Paz, A., Igra, L., Lavi-Rotenberg, A., & Hasson-Ohayon, I. (2024). Transdiagnostic effects of therapist self-disclosure on diverse emotional experiences of clients with emotional disorders and schizophrenia. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 80(3), 678–691. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23648

Arnon-Ribenfeld, N., Hasson-Ohayon, I., Lavidor, M., Atzil-Slonim, D., & Lysaker, P. H. (2017). The association between metacognitive abilities and outcome measures among people with schizophrenia: A meta-analysis. European Psychiatry, 46, 33–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.08.002

Arnon-Ribenfeld, N., Bloom, R., Atzil-Slonim, D., Peri, T., de Jong, S., & Hasson-Ohayon, I. (2018). Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy (MERIT) among people with schizophrenia: Lessons from two case studies. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 71(4), 175–185. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20180037

Arnon-Ribenfeld, N., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Silber, Y., Fisher, H., Peri, T., Lysaker, P. H., & Hasson-Ohayon, I. (2019). Tracing metacognition in psychotherapy: Associations with symptoms of general distress and depression. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 207(11), 936–943. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001051

Atzil-Slonim, D. (2019). Psychodynamic psychotherapy for adolescents. In J. S. Ogrodniczuk & D. Kealy (Eds.), Contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy (pp. 253–266). Academic Press, Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813373-6.00017-9

Atzil-Slonim, D. (2024). What are some primary future directions for psychotherapy research, practice, and training? In F. T. L. Leong, J. L. Callahan, J. Zimmerman, M. J. Constantino, & C. F. Eubanks (Eds.), APA handbook of psychotherapy: Evidence-based practice, practice-based evidence, and contextual participant-driven practice (pp. 323–338). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000354-021

Atzil-Slonim, D. (2026). Leveraging theoretical and technological innovations to study the mechanisms that underlie therapeutic change in psychotherapy. In L. Castonguay, D. Atzil-Slonim, M. Barkham, & W. Lutz (Eds.), Practice-based evidence in the psychological therapies: Towards clinical, training, and public policy guidelines. Oxford University Press.

Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Rafaeli, E., Lutz, W., Schiefele, A. K., Rubel, J., & Peri, T. (2015). Therapeutic bond judgments: Congruence and incongruence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(4), 773–784. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000015

Atzil-Slonim, D., Reshef, M., Berman, E., Peri, T., & Shulman, S. (2015). Changes in romantic competence and career adaptability among emerging adults in psychotherapy. Emerging Adulthood. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696815620964

Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Fisher, H., Peri, T., Rubel, J., Lutz, W., & Rafaeli, E. (2018). Emotional congruence between clients and therapists and its effect on treatment outcome. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65(1), 51–64. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000250

Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Fisher, H., Lazarus, G., Hasson-Ohayon, I., Lutz, W., Rubel, J., & Rafaeli, E. (2019). Therapists' empathic accuracy toward their clients' emotions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(1), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000354

Atzil-Slonim, D., & Tschacher, W. (2020). Dynamic dyadic processes in psychotherapy: Introduction to a special section. Psychotherapy Research, 30(5), 555–557. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2019.1662509

Atzil-Slonim, D., Juravski, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Tuval-Mashiach, R., Shapira, N., & Goldberg, Y. (2021). Using topic models to identify clients' functioning levels and alliance ruptures in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 58(2), 324–339. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000362

Atzil-Slonim, D., Stolowicz-Melman, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Paz, A., Wolff, M., & Feldman, R. (2022). Oxytocin reactivity to the therapeutic encounter as a biomarker of change in the treatment of depression. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 69(5), 755–760. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000617

Atzil-Slonim, D., Paz, A., & Bar-Kalifa, E. (2023). Dynamics of synchrony between patients and therapists. Sihot – The Israeli Journal of Psychotherapy, August (3). [Hebrew-language journal; no DOI available]

Atzil-Slonim, D., Soma, C. S., Zhang, X., Paz, A., & Imel, Z. E. (2023). Facilitating dyadic synchrony. In C. E. Hill & J. C. Norcross (Eds.), Psychotherapy skills and methods that work (pp. 327–366). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197611012.003.0012

Atzil-Slonim, D., Soma, C. S., Zhang, X., Paz, A., & Imel, Z. E. (2023). Facilitating dyadic synchrony in psychotherapy sessions: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychotherapy Research, 33(7), 898–917. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2023.2191803

Atzil-Slonim, D., Eliassaf, A., Warikoo, N., Paz, A., Haimovitz, S., Mayer, T., & Gurevych, I. (2024). Leveraging natural language processing to study emotional coherence in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 61(1), 89–92. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000517

Atzil-Slonim, D., Yehezkel, I., Paz, A., Bar-Kalifa, E., Wolff, M., Dar, A., & Gilboa-Schechtman, E. (2024). Facing change: Using automated facial expression analysis to examine emotional flexibility in the treatment of depression. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 51(4), 501–508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-023-01310-w

Bar-Kalifa, E., Atzil-Slonim, D., Rafaeli, E., Peri, T., Rubel, J., & Lutz, W. (2016). Accuracy and bias in therapists' assessments of clients' functioning. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(12), 1044–1056. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000157

Bar-Kalifa, E., Prinz, J., Atzil-Slonim, D., Rafaeli, E., & Lutz, W. (2019). Physiological synchrony and therapeutic alliance in an imagery-based treatment. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66(4), 508–517. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000358

Bar-Kalifa, E., Goren, O., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Wolff, M., Rafael, D., Heiman, S., Yehezkel, I., Scheniuk, A., Feldman, R., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2023). Clients' emotional experience as a dynamic context for client–therapist physiological synchrony. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 91(6), 367–380. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000811

Castonguay, L. G., Atzil-Slonim, D., de Jong, K., & Youn, S. J. (2024). Practice-oriented research: An introduction to new developments and future directions. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 51(3), 287–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-024-01369-z

Castonguay, L. G., Atzil-Slonim, D., Barkham, M., & Lutz, W. (2026). Developing strategic recommendations for prioritizing local and national policies to promote practice-based evidence. In L. Castonguay, D. Atzil-Slonim, M. Barkham, & W. Lutz (Eds.), Practice-based evidence in the psychological therapies: Towards clinical, training, and public policy guidelines. Oxford University Press.

Castonguay, L. G., Atzil-Slonim, D., Barkham, M., & Lutz, W. (2026). Practice-based evidence and practice-oriented research: Setting the stage for the expansion of the scientific foundations of psychological therapies. In L. Castonguay, D. Atzil-Slonim, M. Barkham, & W. Lutz (Eds.), Practice-based evidence in the psychological therapies: Towards clinical, training, and public policy guidelines. Oxford University Press.

Castonguay, L. G., Atzil-Slonim, D., Barkham, M., & Lutz, W. (Eds.). (2026). Practice-based evidence in the psychological therapies: Towards clinical, training, and public policy guidelines. Oxford University Press.

Chen, R., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Hasson-Ohayon, I., & Rafaeli, E. (2018). Therapist recognition of alliance ruptures as a moderator of change in alliance and symptoms. Psychotherapy Research, 28(4), 560–570. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2016.1227104

Chen, R., Rafaeli, E., Bar-Kalifa, E., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Lutz, W., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2018). Moderators of congruent alliance between therapists and clients: A Realistic Accuracy Model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65(6), 703–715. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000285

Chui, H., Atzil-Slonim, D., & Barber, J. P. (2021). Beyond symptom reduction: Development and validation of the Complementary Measure of Psychotherapy Outcome (COMPO). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 68(5), 550–561. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000536

Cohen-Chazani, Y., Lavidor, M., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Roe, D., & Hasson-Ohayon, I. (2022). Meta-analysis of the effect of psychotherapy in an inpatient setting: Examining the moderating role of diagnosis and therapeutic approach. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 85(4), 399–417. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.2022.2062660

Fisher, H., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Rafaeli, E., & Peri, T. (2016). Emotional experience and alliance as common factors that synergistically contribute to therapeutic change. Psychotherapy, 53(1), 105–116. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000041

Fisher, H., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Rafaeli, E., & Peri, T. (2019). Growth curves of clients' emotional experience and their association with emotion regulation and symptoms. Psychotherapy Research, 29(4), 463–478. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2017.1411627

Fisher, H., HaCohen, N., Shimshi, S., Rand-Lakritz, S., Shapira, K., & Tuval-Mashiach, R. (2020). Ability to move between self-states and emotional experiencing and processing as predictors of symptomatic change. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 93(4), 723–738. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12256

Fisher, H., Rafaeli, E., Bar-Kalifa, E., Barber, J. P., Solomonov, N., Peri, T., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2020). Therapists' interventions as a predictor of clients' emotional experience, self-understanding, and treatment outcomes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 67(1), 66–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000377

Fisher, H., Sened, H., Falkenström, F., Rafaeli, E., Bar-Kalifa, E., Watson, J., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2025). Reliability and validity of the Emotional Processing Self-Report. Psychotherapy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000575

Galili-Weinstock, L., Chen, R., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Peri, T., & Rafaeli, E. (2018). The association between self-compassion and treatment outcomes: Session-level and treatment-level effects. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(6), 849–866. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22569

Galili-Weinstock, L., Chen, R., Atzil-Slonim, D., Rafaeli, E., & Peri, T. (2020). Enhancement of self-compassion in psychotherapy: The role of therapists' interventions. Psychotherapy Research, 30(6), 815–828. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2019.1650979

Galili-Weinstock, L., Lazarus, G., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Rafaeli, E., & Peri, T. (2020). Self-compassion among psychotherapy clients is in the details of negative, not positive, emotions. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(4), 478–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1627396

Gilboa-Schechtman, E. (2024). Case conceptualization in clinical practice and training. Clinical Psychology in Europe, 6(Special Issue), Article e12103. https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.12103

HaCohen, N., Atzil-Slonim, D., Shapira, K., Bar-Kalifa, E., & Tuval-Mashiach, R. (2018). Investigating the mutual changing of patient's and therapist's self-states: An integrative clinical research study of a single case. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000144

HaCohen, N., Atzil-Slonim, D., Tuval-Mashiach, R., Bar-Kalifa, E., & Fisher, H. (2019). Multiplicity and mutuality in the transition of patient and therapist's self-states: Comparison of good vs. poor outcome groups. Psychotherapy Research, 29(6), 770–783. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2017.1411625

Igra, L., Lavidor, M., Atzil-Slonim, D., Arnon-Ribenfeld, N., de Jong, S., & Hasson-Ohayon, I. (2020). A meta-analysis of client–therapist perspectives on the therapeutic alliance: Examining the moderating role of type of measurement and diagnosis. European Psychiatry, 63(1), Article e67. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.67

Igra, L., Shilon, S., Kivity, Y., Atzil-Slonim, D., Lavi-Rotenberg, A., & Hasson-Ohayon, I. (2023). Examining the associations between difficulties in emotion regulation and symptomatic outcome measures among individuals with different mental disorders. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 944457. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.944457

Imel, Z. E., Creed, T., Kious, B., Althoff, T., Atzil-Slonim, D., & Srikumar, V. (2025). A framework for automation in psychotherapy. Current Directions in Psychological Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251386047

Koole, S. L., Atzil-Slonim, D., Butler, E., Dikker, S., Tschacher, W., & Wilderjans, T. (2020). In sync with your shrink: Grounding psychotherapy in interpersonal synchrony. In J. P. Forgas, W. D. Crano, & K. Fiedler (Eds.), Applications of social psychology (Sydney Symposium of Social Psychology) (pp. 161–185). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367816407

Lavi-Rotenberg, A., Kivity, Y., Igra, L., Atzil-Slonim, D., & Hasson-Ohayon, I. (2023). A dyadic session-by-session assessment of therapeutic alliance and short-term outcome among clients with schizophrenia in comparison with clients with emotional disorders. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 96(4), 1029–1043. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12494

Lazarus, G., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Hasson-Ohayon, I., & Rafaeli, E. (2019). Clients' emotional instability and therapists' inferential flexibility predict therapists' session-by-session empathic accuracy. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66(1), 56–69. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000310

Lev Ari, H. S., Tuval-Mashiach, R., Hay, D. E., Bernstein, Z. L., Kagan, L., Kivity, Y., & Gilboa-Schechtman, E. (2025). A meta-analysis of client–therapist perspectives on the therapeutic alliance: Examining the moderating role of eating disorders versus anxiety disorders, treatment orientation, and measurement time points. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000355

Mendlovic, S., Doron, A., Saad, A., Atzil-Slonim, D., Mar'i Saed, I., Bloch, Y., & Ben-Yehuda, A. (2017). The MATRIX, a novel tool exploring dynamic psychotherapy: Preliminary psychometric properties. Psychiatry Research, 258, 344–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.08.047

Mendlovic, S., Saad, A., Roll, U., Ben Yehuda, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2019). The association between patient–therapist MATRIX congruence and treatment outcome. Psychotherapy Research, 29(7), 935–946. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2018.1448479

Paz, A., Rafaeli, E., Bar-Kalifa, E., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Gannot, S., Laufer-Goldshtein, B., Narayanan, S., Keshet, J., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2021). Intrapersonal and interpersonal vocal affect dynamics during psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 89(3), 227–239. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000623

Paz, A., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2024). Expanding the scope of the role of prosodic features in psychotherapy: A commentary. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/cps0000251

Paz, A., Rafaeli, E., Bar-Kalifa, E., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Gannot, S., Narayanan, S. S., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2024). Multimodal analysis of temporal affective variability within treatment for depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000901

Paz, A., Rafaeli, E., Bar-Kalifa, E., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Gannot, S., Narayanan, S., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2026). Dampening versus amplification: Intrapersonal and interpersonal vocal affect dynamics during psychotherapy for depression. Psychotherapy Research, 36(5), 929–942. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2025.2534973

Rubel, J., Bar-Kalifa, E., Atzil-Slonim, D., Schmidt, S., & Lutz, W. (2018). Congruence of therapeutic bond perceptions and its relation to treatment outcome: Within- and between-dyad effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 86(4), 341–353. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000280

Schwartz, B., Uhl, J., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2023). Assessments and measures in psychotherapy research: Going beyond self-report data. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, Article 1276222. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1276222

Shalom, J. G., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., Atzil-Slonim, D., Bar-Kalifa, E., Hasson-Ohayon, I., Van Oppen, P., Hendriks, G. J., Kampman, M., Keijsers, G. P. J., & Aderka, I. M. (2018). Intraindividual variability in symptoms consistently predicts sudden gains: An examination of three independent datasets. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 86(11), 892–902. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000344

Stolowicz-Melman, D., Lazarus, G., & Atzil-Slonim, D. (2023). Is empathic accuracy enough? The role of therapists' interventions in the associations between empathic accuracy and session outcome. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 70(6), 682–690. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000708

Stolowicz-Melman, D., Atzil-Slonim, D., Paz, A., Bar-Kalifa, E., Gilboa-Schechtman, E., & Feldman, R. (2025). Associations between interpersonal synchrony and clients' perception of session quality are moderated by depression severity. Psychotherapy Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2025.2462150

Uhl, J., Altmann, U., Rafaeli, E., Bungart, P., & Lutz, W. (2025). Within- and between-therapist variability in movement and physiological synchrony and its effects on symptom change. Psychophysiology, 62(1), Article e14742. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14742