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In this paper I discuss John Riker's article, "A Critique of Stolorow's Erasure of Self Psychology and his Appropriation of Heigegger's Theory of Authenticity, plus the Possibility of an Intersubjective Self Psychology" a paper in which Riker sets out to evaluate Stolorow's intersubjectivity theory and its contribution to psychoanalysis. I attempt to add something to Riker's consideration of intersubjectivity especially as it relates to our shared mortality, a topic addressed by Stolorow in a lifetime of books and papers. I also comment on some of the similarities and differences between the ideas of Kohut and Stolorow, suggesting that to some extent these differences lie more in the distinctive languages coined by the two authors than in the ideas themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I discuss Magid, Fosshage and Shane's impressive overview of the contributions to Relational Self Psychology in the psychoanalytic literature, contributions they see as having emerged for the most part after Kohut's death and therefore as having been carried out almost entirely by Kohut's followers. But while the authors see Kohut's work as having hewed closely to a one-person psychology, I use my discussion to highlight what I see as the two-person themes in Kohut's own writings, suggesting that he may have been more relational in his thinking than initially meets the eye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author outlines his understanding of self-psychology as an independent psychoanalytic treatment paradigm created by the late Heinz Kohut and initially geared toward the psychoanalytic treatment of narcissistic disorders. Since then, self-psychology theory and practice have been enriched by new theoretical and clinical considerations and have been introduced into other forms of psychotherapy, counseling, and education, for example. One important conceptual contribution to developmental theory was Heinz Kohut's differentiation of separate narcissistic and "object love" related developmental tasks. Today, new paradigms as i.e. relational analysis stress the value of human relationships and of the value of mutual recognition. This warrants a revisiting of the clinical value of the self-psychological understanding of narcissism. According to the author it lies in the nature of unattended narcissistic needs that when unattended they take primacy over relational aspects and demand adequate attention in order to open up the space for mutuality, reciprocity et cetera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two principal resources will be used to discuss Darren Haber's paper Simulated Selfhood, Authentic Dialogue: An Intersubjective Systems Look at Treating Addiction. They are Intersubjective Self Psychology: A Primer and Narcissus in Wonderland: The Self Psychology of Addiction and its Treatment. Both of these resources provide a different and more complete way of understanding this excellent case presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Native residents are indispensable participants in developing and conserving the natural environment. Specifying the factors that lead to responsible behavior among the local people can help increase sustainability. This paper aims to investigate the pro-environmental behavior among the local residents of the Kashmir region defined by the components of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Value Belief Norm (VBN) Theory. To analyze the data, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) has been used as research methods. The results reveal that the three components of TPB (general environmental attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavior control) have a positive and significant impact on the pro-environmental behavior of residents. Moreover, the findings also demonstrate that the factors of VBN (altruistic, egoistic and biospheric values) significantly influence the general environmental attitude which in turn impacts the pro-environmental behavior of local residents. The paper seeks to contribute to the existing literature by adding local community insights based on the explanations given by socio-psychological theories within the context of natural environment. The study will help policymakers to understand better the residents' intentions and pro-environmental behavior so that they can develop strategies to manage and combat the environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive Organisational Psychology (POP) has experienced significant growth in the past two decades, contributing to our understanding of work-related well-being and performance. However, the discipline is now on the cusp of a new wave of research and innovation that may reshape its discourse. This paper introduces the concept of 'Positive Organisational Psychology 2.0' (POP 2.0) as an evidence-based, data-driven field that utilizes technological advancements and human-centred design to understand and enhance positive characteristics of individuals, organisations, and society for optimal psychological functioning, wellbeing, and performance. The paper begins with an overview of POP's emergence, highlighting its key characteristics and exploring the factors behind its rapid growth and declining relevance. We then conceptualize POP 2.0, outline its defining features, and advocate for a broader scope, expanded focal audience, enhanced methodologies, and transformative role shifts for practitioners. We conclude by outlining opportunities, challenges and perspectives for the next wave of innovative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work conducted in the critical posthumanisms and postqualitative inquiry (i.e., the posts) has expanded in many fields, including psychology. Despite claims that the posts can help inquirers venture beyond the purported limits of conventional qualitative research (i.e., the conventional), the posts are not absolved of questioning. The present paper experiments with cascade questioning to interrogate what is with the intent to instigate what could be by contemplating the entangled identity politics of the conventional/posts. The paper begins with an introductory anecdote, followed by conjectures on identity and politics. Six interrogations/contemplations are then offered. The first five interrogations/contemplations present key criticisms that have been attributed to the conventional and the posts. The paper subsequently adopts a more conciliatory tone, with the sixth interrogation/contemplation (i.e., envisioning entangled futurities for methodology) positioning the conventional/posts not as antagonists but as always already entangled in their coarticulated becomings. Implications for the human subject and for psychology are offered, followed by concluding thoughts. Ultimately, if the posts are to fulfil their political promise, they must remain nimble and open for debate by constantly challenging the identities they erect and the futurities they create relative to the conventional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes as its premise the idea that transferential phenomena emerge out of the endless interactions between the wider social context, including myriad social injustices, and the inter and intra psychic events psychoanalytic therapists are more familiar with thinking about. Freud's was a neuro-psycho-social model of development, with the interrelationship between internal life and social practices carefully mapped in 'Totem and Taboo' (1913) and 'Civilisation and Its Discontents' (S. Freud, 1930). However, what Freud left undone, and is still only nascent in its development, is the work of mapping how this interaction between internal and external, between psycho and social, manifests in the consulting room. Focusing on race, as one aspect of identity that powerfully impacts transferential phenomena, the paper presents accounts of clinical events, one disguised, one fictionalised, to explore the meaning of the author's own Whiteness in this context. Using a Kleinian and post-Kleinian understanding of very early Oedipal struggles, 'Whiteness' is formulated as an anti-developmental merger with the ideal breast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is about the connection between logic and discrimination, with special focus on Plumwood's ideas in her groundbreaking article 'The Politics of Reason. Towards a Feminist Logic' (1993). Although Plumwood's paper is not focused on the notion of discrimination, what she writes is useful for illuminating some basic mechanisms of thought that are at the basis of discriminatory practices. After an introductory section about the concepts of logic and discrimination and their possible interconnections, I present Plumwood's ideas in 1993 with a special focus on their relevance for understanding the nature of discrimination. More specifically, I use examples of discriminatory practices that make the connection between logical operations and oppression envisaged by Plumwood clear. I focus especially on two questions: Can logic produce discrimination? Can logic contribute to the fight against discrimination? If so, how? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on a specific aspect of the emergence of psychology and psychiatry as scientific disciplines in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It examines how psychological knowledge, which was scattered across different fields of knowledge such as philosophy and anthropology, as well as medical subfields such as physiology, pathology and state medicine, was filtered into medical education in three medical faculties of the Habsburg Monarchy: Vienna, Prague and Pest. As education was the primary arena of producing authoritative medical knowledge, the three institutions played a key role in the transfers of knowledge within the Monarchy and in shaping 'official' medical practices acknowledged by the state. These in turn could be used to validate different measures to normalize or optimize its population. Through the lens of education and the underlying tension between the different approaches to psychological knowledge that constituted a type of 'arcane knowledge' in the period, with fluid and often dubious boundaries and questionable applicability, the article points at the epistemological uncertainty and transitory nature of the psychological field. The paper also looks at how it was nevertheless integrated into medical education with varying success by the 1840s as part of the professionalization of psychiatry and with the pronounced aim of training specialists who could cooperate in creating functioning spaces for the mad where they could not only be kept, but also normalized and (re)integrated into society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we respond to this special issue's critical focus on mental health in education by considering the medicalised and homogenising approaches to the mental health of young people and the severely negative consequences for young people. Our argument is underpinned by the need to destabilise the hegemony of the current dominant discourses and practices of mental health used in education. The problem with these discourses and practices, informed by particular forms of psychiatry and psychology, is precisely their dominance and their popularised proxy take-up of these. We firstly outline this problem, explore the emergence and saturation of a 'damaged self' in education and consider the impact on young people. We offer counter-narratives that involve a reframing of the self in relation to ethics, politics, capability and the arts and can assist in countering the psy-dominance in education. The paper concludes with some reflections on how teachers might work against the damaging effects of the psy-disciplines and instead support young people in finding their counter-narrative selves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary is a response to Veronica Csillag’s exploration of the influence of historical and transgenerational trauma on the lives of immigrants, and on the psychoanalytic process (this issue). Dr. Csillag’s paper deepens our understanding of the intrapsychic life of immigrants who have suffered collective trauma pre-migration and continue to suffer from “ghosts” from the past. Her ideas are critical to examining not only the specific traumas incurred in Europe related to the Nazi Holocaust and totalitarian and socialist regimes but also to contemporary traumas related to social identity and position in the United States. In this commentary, I elaborate three primary areas within Dr. Csillag’s contribution: (a) the illusion of choice in traumatic migration, (b) secrecy and privacy, and (c) experience of the outsider and the insider. My discussion underscores the importance of engaging with historical and ongoing trauma in psychoanalytic psychotherapy as a path to healing within individual and collective dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2018, the Association of European Qualitative Researchers in Psychology (EQuiP) was founded – a society that aims to create bridges among qualitative researchers in psychology across Europe – between researchers from different European countries but also between different traditions of qualitative inquiry in psychology, and bridges between academics and practitioners. In this paper, we will present the work of EQuiP in order to make it known do a wider audience. We will start by providing an overview of the history of EQuiP and the aims it pursues. We will also present an update on past and present activities and events of the association, including an outlook on the upcoming international conference in 2024 in Milano. We invite scholars to join us in our endeavour not only to strengthen qualitative research in psychology across Europe but also to highlight the plurality and heterogeneity that are inherent to this kind of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

U.S. service members are at an enhanced risk for developing mental disorders. To address these challenges, while promoting operational readiness and improving mental health outcomes, the Department of Defense directed each service component to develop and implement universal resilience enhancing programs. This paper provides a review of theoretical approaches conceptualizing resilience to trauma, including the theoretical foundations of programs currently in place. The resilience programs of U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps are described, and available program effectiveness data are reviewed. Gaps between theory and practice are identified and an alternative method of assessing psychological readiness in Army units that is informed by resilience theory is offered as one way to address these gaps and scientific concerns. By comprehensively assessing the stressors affecting Soldiers at regular intervals, military leaders may be able to better identify and mitigate stressors in a systematic way that bolsters individual and unit psychological fitness. An enhanced psychological readiness metric stands to strengthen the validity of current resilience programs, bring clarity to the mechanisms of resilience, and provide a novel way for leaders to promote readiness in their units. Application of this metric within the infrastructure of existing reporting systems stands to improve mental health outcomes for Service Members, enhance the psychological readiness of the force, and reduce healthcare costs over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While positive psychology has been in development for more than 20 years, positive psychologists still face the challenge of finding optimal measurements of well-being. The PERMA framework provides a new understanding of well-being based on years of research. However, whether it adds value in terms of being distinct from the already established measures of Subjective Well-Being (SWB) has recently been under debate. Certain characteristics of PERMA make it unsuited for traditional factor analysis and data analysis techniques. In this paper, we argue that a network approach is more suitable for understanding the interrelated nature of PERMA components. We then show how the components of PERMA and SWB are distinct using exploratory graphical analysis. Our results show that while PERMA predicts SWB, PERMA provides us a more nuanced way to understand the interrelated antecedents of well-being, which we refer to as the web of well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are we becoming ‘posthuman’, and, if so, what does that mean for our understanding of ourselves as persons? In this paper, I argue that we have good reasons to retain a notion of personhood despite posthuman claims, but that the science of psychology, which ought to be well-equipped to study and defend human personhood, has – with some notable exceptions – failed to develop illuminating ideas of what persons are and how they come into the world phylogenetically, ontogenetically, and sociogenetically. First, I articulate a short history of the concept of the person from antiquity and to the Enlightenment. Second, I describe four current challenges to these modern approaches to personhood. Third, I argue that personhood is inescapable in psychology and human life as such, and that a qualitative psychology should try to find a way of preserving the insights of posthuman thinking and its critiques without thereby abandoning personhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engagement with medical education podcasts among health professions learners has been increasing steadily over the last several years. Prior '12 Tips' publications have focused on helping medical educators create and publish their own podcasts. However, there is a gap in available resources to help educators incorporate an already existing and growing library of medical education podcasts into their curriculum rather than create their own. In this paper, the authors provide medical educators '12 Tips' on how to integrate podcasts into their teaching sessions grounded in fundamental principles of curriculum development, cognitive science, and accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trends in moral psychology largely support the role that emotion plays in moral cognition with human lesion studies offering the most compelling evidence to date. Specifically, data from ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) patients on moral judgment tasks has suggested the necessity of having intact emotion to behave in morally appropriate ways. However, patients with vmPFC damage also have deficits in a variety of complex judgment and decision-making tasks, regardless of whether emotion is involved. This paper argues that a basic information processing perspective of vmPFC functionality is a better interpretation of vmPFC patient deficits, specifically with the vmPFC being necessary for value assessment rather than being specific to emotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stigmatised attitudes are known to be associated with negative outcomes in schizophrenia, yet there is little focus on the role of stigma in the recovery process. Attempts to develop interventions to reduce self-stigma in schizophrenia have not been found effective. This paper presents a theoretical integration based on a narrative review of the literature. PsycINFO, Medline and Embase databases were searched up to the 11th December 2023. Studies were included if they were: i) empirical studies using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods studies investigating mental health stigma; ii) included participants based in the United Kingdom, fluent in English, between the ages of 16 and 70, meeting criteria for a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis. Fourteen studies were included. In Part 1, we propose a novel theoretical model derived from a synthesis of service-user perspectives on the relationship between stigma and schizophrenia. Stigmatised attitudes were commonly perceived to be caused by a lack of education and further exacerbated by disinformation primarily through the media and cultural communities. Stigma led to negative self-perceptions, negative emotional responses, social isolation and increased symptom severity, ultimately acting as a barrier to recovery. In Part 2, we identify several factors that ameliorate the impact of stigma and promote clinical and subjective recovery among service-users: education, empowerment, self-efficacy, self-acceptance, hope and social support. We argue that the notion of stigma resistance may be helpful in developing new interventions aimed at promoting recovery in individuals with schizophrenia. Wider implications are discussed and recommendations for future research and practice are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with Kohut's classic 1959 paper on the subject, empathy has been conceptualized as a process of finding something in one's self (introspection) that has resonance with one's experience of the other. This paper, inspired by advances in queer studies, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and the Black American theater, identifies the limitations of this understanding. By putting Kohut's ideas about empathy in dialogue with French philosopher Jean-François Lyotard, Black American playwrights Jeremy O. Harris, Michael R. Jackson, and James Ijames, and the author's own clinical experience, a queered empathy is theorized that relies less on self-reference and more on passibility. The theoretical and clinical implications of this shift are explored, and the possibilities for a queered Psychology of the Self that contain a heightened possibility for responsiveness to marginalized experience are suggested. The hope of this paper is that the reader, from a multidisciplinary perspective, will be inspired to imagine a psychoanalysis and Self Psychology for all that has the potential to flourish for generations to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the global nursing shortage. As the shortage worsens, reliance on internationally educated nurses is expected to increase, presenting challenges and opportunities for health care systems and nurse leaders worldwide. While internationally educated nurses bring cultural and ethnic diversity to domestic workforces, they face significant hurdles in successfully integrating due to racism, discrimination, and isolation, which can have a negative impact on their self-determination. The challenges encountered by internationally educated nurses can not only affect their self-determination, but they can also pose risks to patient safety. Objectives: This purpose of this paper was to examine the extant literature to describe the experiences of internationally educated nurses through the lens of Ryan and Deci's Self-Determination Theory. Another aim was to offer nurse managers and administrators strategies for supporting internationally educated nurses within their health care facilities. Design: Discussion Paper. Conclusions: Health care organizations should allocate time and resources to facilitate the professional transition of internationally educated nurses, promoting their psychological well-being and self-determination by fostering autonomy, competence, and relatedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the non-linear effect that money has on cooperative behavior. In economic theory, money is assumed to have a positive effect on cooperation, by providing incentives to agents. The evidence from field experiments indicates instead that small positive incentives can be detrimental to cooperation, crowding out intrinsic motivation, while larger incentives crowd it back in. The same happens, in the opposite direction, with negative incentives. By reviewing the existing qualitative evidence from economics and psychology, the paper proposes a possible mechanism that can lead to this non-linear effect, based on the methodology and the experimental results from economics and psychology. Money increases mutual benefits but decreases altruism, having a negative effect on cooperation when introduced in lesser amounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What role do texts play in LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) parents’ experiences of disability service systems? In interviews with 15 LGBTQ parents of disabled children in Toronto, Canada, participants selected documents to be used as a focus for discussion. Parents considered how LGBTQ identity and other intersectional identities influenced their experiences of institutional texts including adoption certificates, intake forms, and assessments. Findings suggest that documentation practices can operate as forms of systemic gatekeeping. LGBTQ identity was sometimes very significant in parents’ accounts, and sometimes less central than other aspects of their families' identities and experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper shows the theoretical similarities between Harm Reduction Psychotherapy and Heinz Kohut's Self Psychology, and delineates how each of these clinical perspectives complement and enhance one another. Using these two theories in tandem provides further opportunities for clinicians to treat a larger proportion of the substance using population not yet ready for cessation or abstinence. A case involving crystal meth addiction is presented, and aspects of the treatment are explicated including identifying the self-regulatory and symbolic functionality of substance use, and working with the patient's own ambivalence about his behavior. A self- object "twinship" is also highlighted as having an important mutative impact on the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper authentically represents the voices of non-verbal children with cerebral palsy using a case study design. Policy suggests that children should have the right to play and leisure opportunities, however non-verbal children with cerebral palsy have fewer choices. Additionally, children with communication, learning and mobility limitations are usually excluded from research. The aim of this research was to capture the voices of non-verbal children by exploring their well-being impact in terms of their experiences and choices about their level of participation in recreational activities. A qualitative case series study included interviews, observations, photographs and diaries. Where possible, the diaries were completed by both caregivers and children. Data were analysed thematically, and the lens of positioning theory applied. Seven children aged nine to sixteen years participated. The findings showed how equipment, people and environments enabled or hindered the children's participation. The children also advocated as champions for their own well-being. Positioning theory was applied across the data and was adapted offering a way to better understand the children's well-being responses. The findings demonstrate how these children were able to self-advocate, demonstrating their well-being by their intentional behaviours from their level of participation in a recreational activity. The voices of non-ambulant and non-verbal children are underrepresented in the literature. This study offers an innovative approach to highlight their voices using visual data. The images project the narrative about their choices for participation in recreational activities. The proposed kaleidoscope of well-being offers a way to demonstrate the fluctuations in their emotional responses from their participation. Choices for participation in recreational activities remains limited for non-ambulant and non-verbal children with cerebral palsy. Designers and policy makers should consider how equipment and environments can be adapted or created to increase the choices for non-ambulant and non-verbal children with cerebral palsy. Practitioners in health and social care should consider how to listen to the voices of non-verbal and non-ambulant children with cerebral palsy and their parents/guardians and work towards jointly setting participation goals to affirm their strengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates Friedrich Schleiermacher's (1768–1834) use of recognition (Anerkennung) terminology, focusing on the early On Religion (1799) and the late Glaubenslehre (1830). While the term occurs only rarely in On Religion, Schleiermacher speaks of the "recognition of otherness" (Anerkennen des Fremden) in a distinctive fashion in this work. In Glaubenslehre, recognition terminology is frequently used. Here, Schleiermacher considers that the doctrine of justification should be considered as an event in which God recognizes human beings. Recognition is compared with the adoption terminology of the Roman law (agnitio filii). Schleiermacher's use of the term is to some extent indebted to Johann Joachim Spalding and Johann Gottlieb Fichte. As Schleiermacher highlights the role of feeling, he also participates in the sentimentalist current of the Enlightenment. In theological contexts, however, his view is highly original, replacing the older upward model of a servant recognizing the Lord frequently with downward and horizontal models of religious recognition. Philosophically, Schleiermacher does not embrace Hegelian recognition but moves within the pre-Hegelian models of Fichte and sentimentalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a commentary on the articles in this Technology, AI Bots and Psychology Special Issue. The Special Issue presents a range of conceptual, practice-based and empirical reflections on digitally mediated therapy. This includes looking back to a significant shift in digital engagement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with anticipations regarding the landscape of future therapeutic practices mediated by digital technologies. I will discuss key themes resonating across the Special Issue, along with attending to some of the nuance and diversity of the potential and real implications of a greater integration of digital technologies in current and future therapeutic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facilitated communication (FC) has been a heavily debated and documented topic across multiple disciplines, including sociology, education, psychology, pediatrics, speech-language pathology, and disability studies. Although many professionals from various disciplines and advocates have offered opinions, suggestions, and research on the topic, there has been minimal input from the occupational therapy (OT) profession. The lack of OT input is noteworthy as OTs are experts in enabling upper extremity performance and independence through a variety of training, adaptation and modification strategies, and use of external supports. Because of their professional code of ethics and a specific knowledge base, OTs are uniquely positioned to provide a host of ethical and evidence-based strategies that enable independent access to communication technology. The consideration of multiple access options is contrary to the typical facilitated encounter where facilitators exclusively choose to manipulate an upper extremity in order for letters to be selected on a display or keyboard. The purpose of this paper is threefold: (a) To offer insight into the standard of care by OTs including their ethical standards; (b) to identify varied accommodations that enable access using a feature-matching standard of care that eliminates the need for a facilitator; and (c) to highlight how to increase independent assistive technology/augmentative and alternative communication access, thus dissuading the need or use of facilitated access to letters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical social work practice in organisational settings is complex and challenging. Effective practice is contingent on knowledge and skills that are particular for systems-based work involving multiple interprofessional mental health practitioners and clients interacting in a relational matrix. Yet, not all social work theories and constructs that were developed for application in individual, group, and family modalities are directly transferable to the practice environment of a treatment system. This paper offers a conceptual framework that synthesises contemporary psychodynamic theory with systems theory – referred to as a psychodynamic systems approach – to inform and advance knowledge of systems-based social work practice. This approach considers the interplay of dynamic processes among the four levels of the socially co-constructed system which constitute the system as a whole. It examines how five key clinical phenomena – transference, countertransference, splitting, projective identification and enactment – are actualised in systems. Definitions of these phenomena formulated from a dyadic perspective and a contemporary psychodynamic systems approach are offered, and their similarities and differences are discussed. A composite case example is provided to illustrate how several of these phenomena manifest in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence indicates that pediatric chronic health conditions (CHCs) often impair executive functioning (EF) and impaired EF undermines pediatric CHC management. This bidirectional relationship likely occurs due to biobehavioural and social-structural factors that serve to maintain this feedback loop. Specifically, biobehavioural research suggests that inflammation may sustain a feedback loop that links together increased CHC severity, challenges with EF, and lower engagement in health promoting behaviours. Experiencing social and environmental inequity also maintains pressure on this feedback loop as experiencing inequities is associated with greater inflammation, increased CHC severity, as well as challenges with EF and engagement in health promoting behaviours. Amidst this growing body of research, a model of biobehavioural and social-structural factors that centres inflammation and EF is warranted to better identify individual and structural targets to ameliorate the effects of CHCs on children, families, and society at large. This paper proposes this model, reviews relevant literature, and delineates actionable research and clinical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses apartheid political history and ‘coloured’ identity challenges in South African society. A textual analysis of Nadine Gordimer’s My Son’s Story (MSS, 1990) adheres to understanding ‘coloured’ identity struggle as an ‘Other’ and their racial marginality during apartheid. This research deeply studies race and identity theories with Frantz Fanon’s psychological notion of racism, decolonisation and the idea of cross-racial relations are important to analyse MSS. A textual study of MSS is significant for examining the impact of apartheid on ‘coloured’ characters. This research finds that ‘coloured’ community’s struggle and their racial consciousness of being other were political and psychological challenges during apartheid time. To put in a nutshell, apartheid stories are not individual representations but these are collectively representing the ‘coloured’ community's struggle in South Africa. Racial consciousness of being other was a form of racial exclusion so, a discussion on ‘coloured’ discourse becomes important to contextualise political history. The negligence of the ‘coloured’ issues during apartheid questioned the psychological development of ‘coloured’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a distance-based doctoral supervisory model to support students in the process of navigating self, agency, and emotions over their doctoral journey. The model emerged through our examination of the lived experiences of three Chinese female doctoral students who, though enrolled as internal students in our New Zealand university, were prevented by the pandemic from returning from their Spring Festival sojourn to China, and continued their study by distance. We employed narrative analysis to deeply engage with their stories shared in diaries and one-on-one interviews, alongside social media interactions. These revealed a strong commitment to study emanating from answerability toward their research projects, already underway, and agentive actions to maintain peer-to-peer academic and emotional support, enabling resilience and reflexivity about personal values and needs. Learning from this experience, we emphasize in our model the need to nurture important bonds between students, their peers and their supervisors in online environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychosexual therapy has undergone numerous developments since the introduction of behavioural therapy for sexual difficulties by Masters and Johnson in the 1960s. We argue that theory and practice from Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) offers a novel and relevant development to existing approaches to psychosexual theory and practice. CFT presents a theory driven, flexible, transdiagnostic and integrative way of understanding, formulating and treating general mental health problems. In this paper we propose that the underlying theory from CFT integrates well with existing approaches to psychosexual therapy, and offers some helpfulways of formulating sexual problems to present a coherent rationale for treatment strategies. We also argue that some additional CFT treatment strategies already used in general mental health settings are appropriate and helpful for those experiencing sexual difficulties. This paper outlines how CFT can be theoretically integrated with existing psychosexual therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an argument that mainstream psychological practice is not equipped to respond to distress associated with the climate emergency. This is because the field focusses on individual pathology, rather than ecological context. It remains reticent about activism and politics and is ontologically aligned with the Anthropocene, a new era in which the human species is creating an observable effect in the geological record, to the detriment of the planet and its life forms. An introduction is provided to ecopsychology, a movement that has sought to subvert and transform mainstream psychology over the last three decades. Ecopsychology still offers an opportunity for mainstream psychology to alter its approach in the face of the climate emergency. What is already known about this topic: Clinical psychology is focussed on intrapsychic processes and indiivdual therapy. Psychology is typically hesitant about including political activism in clinical theorising or practice. New conceptualisations of both the psyche and practice are required in the Anthropocene. What this paper adds: Eco-psychology provides a framework for psychology in the climate crisis. The history of eco-psychology has ontological implications for traditional psychology. Interventions need to consider human distress as tied to the distress of non-human others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) modalities has increased the potential of simulation in paramedicine education. The integration of AR/MR into education programmes should be underpinned by sound learning design; however, little is known about their effective use. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify the application and integration of AR/MR within paramedicine education. The review searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychInfo, CINAHL and ERIC up to February 2020 to identify peer-reviewed articles describing the application or integration of any AR/virtual reality (VR) in the context of paramedicine education. The search yielded 11 records for qualitative synthesis from 170 unique records. The quality assessment showed diversity, from good to very poor quality papers. Categories of AR/MR were identified: computer-based avatar worlds, headset-based VR and screen-projection immersive spaces. An application was diverse, with triage and management of mass casualty featuring prominently. One paper described cost-effectiveness, and none discussed issues associated with volume or frequency of exposure required to achieve sustained outcomes. This review identified a small and heterogeneous evidence base describing AR/MR in paramedicine education. Limited, weak evidence demonstrates outcomes of equal to or better than traditional simulation when using AR/VR in paramedicine education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed-effects models are an analytic technique for modeling repeated measurement or nested data. This paper explains the logic of mixed-effects modeling and describes two examples of mixed-effects analyses using R. The intended audience of the paper is psychologists who specialize in cognitive development research. Therefore, the concepts and examples covered will focus primarily on repeated-measurement data resulting from studies in which participants respond to multiple items or trials. However, many of the concepts and examples we cover will likely be of use to readers outside this area of psychology. Finally, we discuss recommendations for dealing with practical challenges, suggest approaches for troubleshooting, and provide guidance on reporting results from mixed-effects models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we offer an overview of the philosophical and psychological literatures on expertise. Work so far has failed to engage with recent work in embodied and encultured cognition--in particular the notions of interactivity and semiosis. We suggest how bringing these concepts on board reveals new areas of research concerning the philosophy and psychology of expertise. We conclude with a brief synopsis of each paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vulnerable children refer to the special group of children with deviation in the process of children's psychological development and personality formation due to growth dilemmas. This may incur a series of serious social and family problems. The vulnerable children mainly cover the children suffering from children's psychological problems, such as childhood autism, autism, social anxiety and hypersensitivity, fear, depression, and PTSD arising from other factors. At present, the research results at home and abroad mainly focus on the psychological dynamic correlation investigation and solution discussion of a certain kind of difficult factor in the children's psychological development based on statistical data by the experimental methods, such as scale and model, and there is a blind spot in the humanistic orientation theory construction of psychological treatment for vulnerable children, causing the social reflection on children's psychological predicament from the humanistic perspective cannot be performed in related researches and going against searching for universal and integral theoretical paradigm for solving related problems. Sophisticated technologies for the observations have emerged increasingly for enabling the psychological features of vulnerable children through developmental cognitive neuroscience experiments. This paper introduces humanistic art therapy theory, focuses on the construction of a theoretical paradigm, and verifies its effectiveness based on the experimental results on the psychological development of vulnerable children, with an efficient performance. This study mainly refers to children with difficulty in social inclusion and psychological development. The results showed that two kinds of art therapy can obviously improve the psychological disorders of vulnerable children. The goal was to enhance self-cognition, strengthen emotional interaction, and implement positive motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2023, the Department of Education published the 'Primary Curriculum Framework' for primary and special schools in Ireland. Reflecting trends in international curriculum reform centred on the needs and priorities of twenty-first century learning and life, the Framework proposes a set of seven key competencies which are presented to underpin children's learning and development during their time in primary school. In this paper, we focus on one such key competency, 'being an active learner.' We aspire to theoretically conceptualise this key competency in relation to the psychological constructs of 'learner identity' and 'learning to learn.' We argue that such a conceptualisation must not only reflect the cognitive and metacognitive 'how' of learning, but also the affective 'who' of the learner. Arising from this, we explore Irish primary school children's perceptions of themselves as learners, drawing on 188 children's open-ended descriptions of themselves as learners and 136 online survey responses to the 'Myself-As-Learner Scale' (MALS). Despite a majority of children describing themselves as learners in positive terms, findings indicate that Irish primary school children report lower mean MALS scores than standardisation data for the scale, with statistically significant differences revealed between genders and class levels. Implications for policy and practice are discussed, as well as opportunities associated with the key competency if meaningfully realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve health and wellbeing, it is crucial that people regularly interrupt their sitting. In this paper, we propose a framework for examining and changing sitting behavior that addresses two key steps in the process towards developing effective interventions. First, we suggest that research should move away from its current focus on sitting time, which is an outcome of behavior. Rather, researchers should focus on stand-to-sit and sit-to-stand transitions, which are discrete units of behavior. Second, drawing on goal hierarchy models, we suggest that people rarely engage in stand-to-sit and sit-to-stand transitions for the purpose of being in a sitting or standing position; rather, we suggest that these transitions are means to higher-order goals (e.g., to complete work tasks, to watch television, to eat dinner). To improve adherence to and effectiveness of sitting behavior interventions, intervention designers should aim to increase the frequency of sit-to-stand (and stand-to-sit) transitions. To achieve this aim, intervention designers should capitalize on the higher-order goals that are typically served by these transitions. We suggest four concrete intervention strategies to increase sit-to-stand transitions in congruence with people’s everyday goals. We also describe the implications of our framework for theory and methods in sitting behavior research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Relative Value Unit (RVU) system was initially developed to account for costs associated with clinical services and has since been applied in some settings as a metric for monitoring productivity. That practice has come under fire in the medical literature due to perceived flaws in determination of "work RVU" for different billing codes and negative impacts on healthcare rendered. This issue also affects psychologists, who bill codes associated with highly variable hourly wRVUs. This paper highlights this discrepancy and suggests alternative options for measuring productivity to better equate psychologists' time spent completing various billable clinical activities. Method: A review was performed to identify potential limitations to measuring providers' productivity based on wRVU alone. Available publications focus almost exclusively on physician productivity models. Little information was available relating to wRVU for psychology services, including neuropsychological evaluations, specifically. Conclusions: Measurement of clinician productivity using only wRVU disregards patient outcomes and under-values psychological assessment. Neuropsychologists are particularly affected. Based on the existing literature, we propose alternative approaches that capture productivity equitably among subspecialists and support provision of non-billable services that are also of high value (e.g. education and research). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since immersive virtual reality (IVR) emerged as a research method in the 1980s, the focus has been on the similarities between IVR and actual reality. In this vein, it has been suggested that IVR methodology might fill the gap between laboratory studies and real life. IVR allows for high internal validity (i.e., a high degree of experimental control and experimental replicability), as well as high external validity by letting participants engage with the environment in an almost natural manner. Despite internal validity being crucial to experimental designs, external validity also matters in terms of the generalizability of results. In this paper, we first highlight and summarise the similarities and differences between IVR, desktop situations (both non-immersive VR and computer experiments), and reality. In the second step, we propose that IVR is a promising tool for visual memory research in terms of investigating the representation of visual information embedded in natural behaviour. We encourage researchers to carry out experiments on both two-dimensional computer screens and in immersive virtual environments to investigate visual memory and validate and replicate the findings. IVR is valuable because of its potential to improve theoretical understanding and increase the psychological relevance of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare data based on computerized and paper versions of health status questionnaires (HSQs) for sampling patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). In addition, to examine associations between patient characteristics (age, education, computer experience) and differences between versions. Finally, to evaluate the acceptability of computer-based questionnaires among patients with FM.Method: The study population comprised female patients diagnosed with FM. All patients completed six HSQs: the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the painDETECT questionnaire (PDQ), the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Self-Assessment Questionnaire (GAD-10), both on paper and using a touch screen. One HSQ was tested at a time in a repeated randomized cross-over design. The two versions were completed with a 5-min interval and between each HSQ the participants had a 5-min break. Means, mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), medians, median differences, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for all HSQs, including relevant subscales. Associations between patient characteristics and differences between versions were explored using Spearman's correlation coefficients.Results: Twenty women, mean age 48.4 years, participated in the study. Except for one item, ICCs between touch-screen and paper versions of the HSQs examined indicated acceptable agreement (ICC = 0.71-0.99). Overall, mean and median differences revealed no differences between versions. No significant associations were observed for patient characteristics. None of the participants preferred paper questionnaires over computerized versions.Conclusions: The computerized HSQs using a touch screen gave comparable results to answers given on paper and were generally preferred by the participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author presents the treatment of a deeply traumatized, high conflict couple, massively overwhelmed by multiple stressors. Building upon the rich legacy of self psychology, this paper aims to illustrate how couple therapists can invite traumatized partners to move from despair and rage into hope and connection. This treatment approach is fundamentally based upon a systems perspective, but nested within that overarching stance are several foundational principles, including: 1) the concept of thirdness, or the view that surrendering one's own perspective for the sake of connection allows an additional perspective 2) empathic, subject-centered listening that includes emotional dwelling as advocated by self psychology; 3) conceptualizing the system as a whole, rather than only the individuals, as lacking adequate soothing; 4) recognizing the influence of cultural forces upon the couple; 5) working with each partner's self states or the idea that each individual has many parts within themselves and when invited into the treatment room can generate greater connection and healing; and 6) enlisting the partners as co-therapists. These basic tenets helped a mutually traumatized couple find their way out of fear. The paper illustrates how even in a barren landscape, where there is emotional dwelling, hope can germinate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges faced by those who are returning to the community after prison are well documented. Community re-entry, especially for those who have sexually offended, is particularly stressful and fraught with many difficulties. Community maintenance programmes (CMPs) are community programmes designed to assist those who are released from prison, who have generally completed an offence-specific custodial treatment programme. There remains however no known published research that has examined the programmatic features of CMPs, their efficacy, the experiences of those who facilitate and participate in CMPs, and little is known about the theoretical underpinnings of CMPs. This paper reviews some of the factors that may contribute to behaviour change and the maintenance of that change, with a particular focus on CMPs for those who have sexually offended. Stemming from two recent qualitative studies interviewing CMP participants and service providers in Australia's largest CMP, this paper proposes Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as an underpinning for CMPs. There will also be a consideration of implications for practice as well as future research. This paper proposes Self-Determination Theory as a framework for the delivery of community maintenance programmes (CMPs) for those who have sexually offended. It is the first time a framework for the delivery of CMPs is considered, with practical implications related to the content and focus of the programme discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses humanitarian compassion within the Derridean notion of hospitality. Reflecting on the age of Imperial Humanitarianism where Evangelists formed administrative missions to save the souls of the slaves in the colonial provinces of Europe, it aims to address the link of compassion with Christianity and colonialism. Setting the Christian scene of humanitarianism, hospitality as a Derridean concept is introduced to depict that compassion and aid work in-between certain 'guest and host' territories. The impossibility of hospitality under these circumstances highlight the play of power relations in which the other is produced. While Derrida argues that hospitality cannot be power-balanced unless the language of the host is deconstructed, psychology in the humanitarian sector performs an 'emotional hospitality' which seeks to extract a story of confession. Ψ as method works to open a discussion on suffering, Christianity, and colonialism as a modern form of conversion: the confession of truth in a psychological discourse. Challenging compassion and aid as constituted in psychological discourse, this paper invites therapists to rethink the contextualisation under which these ideals emerged while introducing a discussion on what the language of psychology 'does' to refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Filipino psychologist Fr. Jaime C. Bulataosuggested that a shared collective consciousness allows for telepathy to occur. In the context of psychotherapy, telepathy may strengthen rapport between therapist and client, as well as enrich insight. This paper aims to describe and discuss a framework of Bulatao-inspired psychotherapy that integrates telepathy as part of the therapeutic practice. Thus, the paper asks the question: What does the Bulatao therapeutic process of telepathy look like? Descriptive phenomenology revealed four phenomenological structures: (a) Mental quietude and psychic openness; (b) Perceiving the client; (c) Receiving and reacting to telepathic stimuli; and (d) Anomalous insight. This paper has the potential to inspire a conversation with regard to the potential therapeutic uses of Bulatao's transpersonal world view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Chicago class culminates, a number of our students go on to complete the psychoanalysis minor, which requires a capstone paper that can deal with theoretical issues in psychoanalysis or relate psychoanalysis to the subjects of their majors, such as literature, psychology/neuroscience, or their own independently designed majors. We include three representative papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of users' personality traits and emotions expressed through textual communications on YouTube to detect cyberbullying using a series of ensemble classifiers. Personality traits were determined using the Big Five model whereas emotions were based on Ekman's basic emotion theory. Annotated YouTube textual comments in English (N = 5152; i.e. 2576 number of bullying versus 2576 non-bullying instances) were used to detect cyberbullying incidents using several ensemble classifiers, including Random Forest and AdaBoost. Performance metrics revealed both personality traits and emotion to significantly improve the identification of cyberbullying presence, with accuracy and F-score values of more than 95%. Further fine-grained analysis revealed anger and openness to be more profound compared to other emotions and personalities. Further, neurotic individuals tend to be driven to cyberbullying by joy, disgust and fear. The findings show that personality and emotions play pertinent roles in cyberbullying, and the identification of specific traits and emotions can help in designing a more strategic intervention programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates Nietzsche's assessments of Pascal's embrace and rejection of various branches of skepticisms that Montaigne embodies or ignores. Nietzsche admires Pascal for intellectual probity and skepticism. Pascal finds fault with Montaigne's Academic Skepticism, viewing it as insufficiently honest, because it ceases to inquire into Nature, and takes the self as the anchor of psychological tranquility. Inspired by Pascal's criticism of Montaigne's Skepticism in his Essais III.13, in D 46, Nietzsche also disapproves of Montaigne's sluggish tranquility and deems this a symptom of feebleness and nihilism. Some scholars claim that Nietzsche admires Montaigne's earthly cheerfulness and probity as that of a free spirit regarding Montaigne's adoption of Pyrrhonian. By contrast, I argue that Nietzsche misinterprets Montaigne's Academic Skepticism in the Essais III.13.1218 as Pyrrhonian Skepticism, because the Skepticism here is characterized by ignorance and incuriosity instead of probity. Montaigne's very Academic Skepticism vexes Pascal because of the latter's complacent lack of curiosity about the supernatural world. Regarding this, Nietzsche inveighs against Pascal's insufficient honesty as entangled with a dogmatic observance of Christian truthfulness instead of a free-spirited honesty, but advocates Montaigne's this-worldly naturalism. Nietzsche sees Pascal's unyielding application of Christian self-examination will finally lead to his skepticism of Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]