Clinical Psychology

Objectives. Empathy (i.e., the ability to decode emotions, as well as cognitive and emotional empathy) is involved in moral reasoning, prosocial behaviour, social and emotional adequacy, mood and behaviour regulation. Hence, alterations in these functions could reduce behaviour control and the adoption of specific types of violence such as intimate partner violence (IPV). Although interventions for IPV perpetrators focus on reducing IPV risk factors and increasing protective factors to prevent this kind of violence, the study of the effectiveness of these programmes in promoting changes in empathy (cognitive and emotional) has been neglected. Design. Hence, the main aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two different modalities of IPV intervention programmes (Standard Batterer Intervention Programs [SBIP] vs. SBIP + Individualized Motivational Plan [IMP]) in promoting empathic improvements after both interventions. Method. Participants were randomly assigned to receive SBIP (n = 40) or SBIP + IMP (n = 53). The effectiveness of the intervention in the total sample and the group effects were evaluated with general linear model repeated-measures ANOVA. Results. Results revealed that only the IPV perpetrators who received the SBIP + IMP were more accurate in decoding emotional facial signals and presented better cognitive empathy (perspective taking) after the intervention programme. Conclusions. Our study reinforces the view that different modalities of IPV intervention might lead to different cognitive outcomes after the intervention. Thus, these results may help professionals to develop specific intervention programmes focused on improving cognitive abilities in order to reduce IPV recidivism. Practitioner points Interventions for batterers' neglected empathic changes after these programmes. Not enough randomized controlled trials for these kinds of interventions. An improvement in the ability to decode emotions after the intervention programme. An improvement in cognitive empathy (perspective taking) after the intervention programme. Different modalities of IPV intervention might lead to different cognitive outcomes after the intervention.

Up until recently, conventional psychiatry and psychology have regarded spiritual and transcendent experiences as pathological, seeking to suppress or somehow “normalize” the symptoms.  Transpersonal psychology accepts the validity and usefulness of non-ordinary states of consciousness, including spiritual crises which, in conventional psychology, is too often relegated as pathologies (Kaminker & Lukoff, 2013).  It turns out that spirituality is not necessarily all peace and comfort.  Cortright (2010, ch. 6) observed that adherents of spiritual paths may fall into obsession, cultism, and powers (e.g., kriyas, kundalini, and tremors) for which the person may be inadequately prepared, leading to anguish or even emergency hospitalization; worse yet, demons of the various religions may attach themselves to people, possessing them (or at least vulnerable people believe that this is what is happening to them) and even leading them to violence or suicide.  Research is needed for understanding what kinds of support and facilitator training are required to prevent negative reactions to spiritual experiences, or even to evaluate the efficacy of exorcisms or “disobsession” rituals.  Conventional treatments would be tragically inadequate for such emergencies (Cortright, 2010).

Altered, or non-ordinary, states of consciousness (ASC) are subjective experiences noticeably distinct from ordinary waking consciousness.  Such states are of limited duration, although “flashbacks” may emerge under certain conditions.  They are often self-induced, as with meditation, fasting, hypnosis, or psychedelics, but may appear spontaneously from emergencies, traumas, or strong emotional influences.  Much of the literature bespeaks the possible application of the better understanding of ASC toward improving treatments for psychiatric disorders (Studerus, Gamma, & Vollenweider, 2010). 
The current 5D-ASC test is an extension of the OAV instrument, which, in turn, is based on Dittrich’s APZ (“Abnormer Psychischer Zustaende” -- Abnormal Mental States) questionnaire, and the two revisions mentioned are widely used for self-reporting subjective experiences of ASC.  “OAV” stands for the German equivalents of the original three dimensions used: Oceanic Boundlessness (OB), Dread or Anxiety of Ego-death (DED or AED), and Visionary Restructuralization (VR).  One article (MacLean, Johnson, & Griffiths, 2011) gives these groupings as OSE, AIA, and VUS, respectively.

Purpose:

This instrument seeks to assist clinicians, psychotherapists, and other assessors to identify how an individual reacts to frustrations in life and typically prefer to engage with other people in order to guide against onset of frustrations (pre-emptive). Thus, when using this instrument, your aim is to identify the person’s preferred style of interacting with other people. Only use it when you suspect that the person’s way of interaction may be a source of a relationship problem (in marriage, friendship, employee-employee, employer-employee, business, etc.). For use in adolescents and children, it is to determine how their current developmental history will impact their adult behaviours so that planned interventions can be put in place to minimize the impact.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a controversial therapy widely used in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other anxiety and depressive disorders. Here I analize the effectiveness of EMDR for a complex disorder as PTSD is.

Although now over 25 years old, many of the essays are quite contemporary. As expected, none of the authors grasp the full relevance of W for the description of behavior, missing most of the points made in my comments above, his many examples of how S1 becomes S2, his role as a pioneer in EP, and his attempts to separate nature from nurture. Brose has many good points and is aware of the foundational nature of On Certainty, but is too scattered and does not clearly describe W's analysis of how our innate automatic unconscious S1 is the axiomatic basis for all behavior (but with a few exceptions nobody else to this day has either). Russell's article is excellent, especially the first part dealing with Kripke's famously distorted view of W. For a more recent and superb deconstruction of Kripke's W that is of very general application, see 'Kripke's conjuring Trick' by Read and Sharrock. I also found Coulter's article quite good, and like Margolis and Harre, he has continued his work to the present day and published widely. Margolis is very bright and well-read but his precious prose and attempt to include as many references as possible results in a lack of clarity and focus. Rosch makes the best effort to apply W to real research but also lacks the broad understanding of him that could transform his view of higher order thought. Harre has since become a major W scholar but has little to say here, so those interested should see my review of his 'Wittgenstein and Psychology'. Overall, considering that this book was written over 25 years ago, and most of the authors were not philosophers, they did a good job and the volume is still worth reading.

The psychological literature is n􀁅w replete with outcome studies validating MBSR as an adjunct to treatment in numerous clinical populations as well as for improved quality of life in non-clinical populations (Salmon et al., 2004; Salmon, Santorelli, Sephton, & Kabat-Zinn, 2009). This empirically supported program, used in conjunction with traditional medical and psychological interventions, has clear psychotherapeutic qualities and effects, yet, it is not a psychotherapy. Because MBis were not designed ei((clusively for diagnosed patients, instmctors are not expected to have clinical training. While MBis are not seen as psy­chotherapies among clinicians ( or insurers), 1 researchers have been keen to identify their therapeutic properties. For years, outcome research has looked for the intrapsychic "mechanism" (Kabat-Zinn, 2003; Shapiro, Carlson, Astin, & Freedman, 2006) of mindfulness (a single, hoped-for, seemingly secret, ingredi­ent). Whether MBis are viewed as psychotherapies or not, as clinical theorists we seek to identify the underpinnings of their psychotherapeutic benefits. Such understanding requires a new approach that clarifies the relational aspects of MBI pedagogy, moving away from narrowly mechanistic views of individuals, toward a theoretically sound framework.

This study investigated the association of hope and its factors with depression and glycemic control in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes. A total of 113 patients were invited to participate. Significant negative correlations were found between hope and HbA1c and also between hope and depression. Hope showed a significant association with HbA1c and depression in the stepwise regression model. Among the hope factors, "inner positive expectancy" was significantly associated with HbA1c and depression. This study supports that hope matters to glycemic control and depression. Intervention strategies focusing on hope should be further explored.

The purpose of this study was to identify changes in the risk of eating disorders after a one-year follow-up of a dissonance based eating disorders prevention program. The Body Project was implemented in a sample of male and female university students: 133, 110, and 74 at baseline, post-test, and follow-up respectively, and we tested the change in disordered eating behaviors (DEB) over time, and by levels of variables that according to the theoretical model lie on the path between the intervention and DEB, with one-way MANOVA analyses of repeated measures for the associations between internalization of the esthetic thin ideal, depressive symptoms, and DEB. The average value of DEB was 5.23 at pre-test, 3.45 at posttest, and 2.80 at follow-up. The model with DEB at each time point, as dependent variables, and internalization of the esthetic thin ideal and depressive symptoms, as independent variables, showed a significant effect of internalization of the esthetic thin ideal, F(2, 136) = 7.66, p = .0011, while there was no significant effect of depressive symptoms, F(2, 136) = 0.45, p = .6191, indicating that the intervention exerted its effect on DEB via the former variable. The intervention proved to produce effects after a one-year follow-up. These findings support the implementation of universal prevention programs using dissonance-based techniques.

In all kinds of dystopia novels, there is always a character who represents the government’s oppression on people and the hopelessness of the environment. Mildred Montag embodies a perfect model citizen for the government in the chaotic world of Fahrenheit 451, demonstrating the worst characteristics an antagonist can have: psychological imbalance, paranoia, and blind obedience.

This paper introduces a special issue of Transcultural Psychiatry, entitled "Other Psychotherapies": Healing Interactions Across Time, Geographies and Cultures. The special issue is intended to highlight that rather than being a modern phenomenon, variants of psychotherapy practice have existed for millennia in diverse sociocultural contexts. To open the special issue, this article explores the historical development of Western psychotherapy and points to the important contribution that Greco-Roman scholars from antiquity made to contemporary understanding of mental states and emotional wellbeing. The ways in which healing interactions have been localized to reflect the local cultural and geographic contexts are highlighted. This allows for distinctions and commonalities between various forms of psychotherapy to be pondered. Consideration is also given to how humans' relationship with technology might influence the future development of psychotherapy. This article serves to foreshadow the themes that are explored in more detail in the collection of articles that make up the "Other Psychotherapies" special issue. The various articles that contribute to the special issue are introduced, and the key issues explored by these articles briefly highlighted. The intention of the special issue is to facilitate an opportunity to appreciate the ways in which psychotherapies are a product of the epoch, setting and institutions that shape people's lives.

In the last decades, due the continuous and growing confirmation of science, which emphasized the usefulness and effectiveness of Eastern meditative philosophical practices, Tai-Chi Chuan has spread throughout the West. However, what is essentially Tai-Chi Chuan, is often not clear, and its essence also escapes many whom are fascinated by it . An ancient Taoist technique of longevity that applies the principles of Yin and Yang....

Old age is considered as the last stage of development and is associated with decline in physical as well as cognitive functions. Several studies can be found where it is reported that old age is associated with a number of problems.Present study was planned to examine the variation in depression, life satisfaction and general wellbeing of male and female old age people residing in urban and rural areas in the NCR region.A sample of 120 (60 males and 60 females) with equal number from rural and urban areas was administered measures of depression, life satisfaction and general wellbeing uniformly by the first investigator.Data were analysed using descriptive (mean and SD’s) and inferential (2*2 ANOVA) statistical test.Results revealed that old age people living in rural area are significantly more depressed than living in urban area and the old aged people living in urban area scored significantly higher score on general well being measures. The interactive effect of sex and area of residence was significant (p< .05) only in case of life satisfaction.The implications of the study for the aged, their family, government and social agencies are discussed.
Key Words: Depression, Life Satisfaction, General Well being, Elderly

Özet: Bu metin "sınıfın bilinçdışı" kavramını, bir kuram, araştırma ve politik yeniden inşa nesnesi olarak oluşturma çabasına katkı sunma amacı taşımaktadır. Sınıfın bilinçdışının tanınması ve tanımlanmasına yönelik yürütülecek bu tartışmada öncelikle, sınıf oluşumunda merkezi bir kavram olan sınıf deneyiminin, "belirlenme" ve "belirleme" olarak, ikili niteliğinden söz edilecek; bu bağlamda sınıfın bilinçdışının, deneyimin 'belirlenme' boyutuna oturup oturmadığı sorusu sorulacaktır. Bu soru üzerine düşünebilmek için ise bilinçdışı ve bilincin, öznellik ve nesnellik arasındaki diyalektik ilişkide nasıl bir yeri olduğunun anlaşılması gerektiğine vurgu yapılacaktır. Metinde, öznellik ve nesnellik arasındaki diyalektiği anlamamıza yardımcı olabilecek bir model önerisine bulunulacaktır. Ondan sonra da, bu modelin bize sunduğu mantık çerçevesinde sınıfın bilinçdışının nasıl kavranabileceğine dair bir tartışma yürütülecektir. Bu tartışma sonucunda sınıfın bilinçdışının hem sınıf nesnelliğinin izlerinin taşıyıcısı, hem de sınıf öznelliğinin itici gücü olduğu tespit edilecektir ve sınıf bilincinin de bir önkoşulu ve harcı olduğu vurgulanacaktır.

Abstract: This text aims to make a contribution to forming the concept and the phenomenon of "class unconscious" as an object of theory, research and political reconstruction. In this discussion intended for recognizing and defining the class unconscious, first, the double quality of class experience which is a central concept in the formation of class, as "being determined" and "determining", is going to be taken into account and the question whether class unconscious fits the dimension of 'being determined' is going to be asked. It is going to be adressed that in order to think about this question ,one needs to understand in which places the conscious and the unconcious stand in the dialectical relationship between subjectiviy and objectivity. In the text, there ise model that is going to be proposed and will probably help us understand the dialectics between subjectivity and objectivity. Then a discussion is going to be carried on how one can understand class unconcious taking the logic presented by the model as a base.