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Despite high costs of domestic violence (DV) to survivors and witnesses, widely used treatments do not consistently reduce violence perpetration. Although research has only begun to examine third wave treatments targeting DV, components such as mindfulness demonstrate preliminary support for reducing underlying symptomatology, including trauma symptoms, personality disorder features, emotion dysregulation, and substance use. This paper provides a brief review of mindfulness interventions for individuals referred for DV treatment, with a focus on the population most often referred for DV treatment – cisgender heterosexual men. Databases were searched for studies of adults in therapies that targeted DV and included component of mindfulness and skills training. Six studies of five treatments targeting DV met criteria for inclusion. Preliminary results support potential utility of DV treatments that incorporate mindfulness – with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy interventions currently having the most evidence. Common elements of the treatments included a focus on clients' individual values; motivation/engagement strategies; addressing avoidance of emotions; managing urges/impulses; understanding relationships between cognitions, emotions, and behaviors; and reinforcement of adaptive behaviors. Despite the early stages of the literature, the largely positive results of the mindfulness treatments examined in this review suggest an initial foundation for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial research has noted the serious consequences of 1) co-occurring severe mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders, and 2) use of illicit drugs while maintained on methadone for opioid dependence. However, treatment needs of individuals who meet both of the above criteria remain largely unmet. This pilot study investigated the feasibility and acceptability of a 12-week, transdiagnostic group therapy (mindfulness and modification therapy [MMT]) tailored for opioid-dependent individuals (N = 6) with SMI and illicit drug use. Retention was 83%. At posttreatment and 2-month follow-up, participants rated the treatment as highly helpful (9 of 10; 8.67 of 10, respectively), reported routinely practicing the guided-mindfulness exercises, and reported high confidence that they would continue to practice. Assessments revealed clinically meaningful decreases in reported days of illicit drug use at posttreatment and follow-up, with large effect sizes. Preliminary evidence suggests that MMT may be a feasible and acceptable therapy that may improve treatment engagement in this underserved population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cognitive attentional syndrome (CAS) is characterized by threat monitoring, repetitive thinking, limitation in cognitive resources, unhelpful control strategies, and continued focus on the content of thinking (Wells 2000, 2002, 2006; Wells & Matthews in Cognition & Emotion, 8(3), 279-295, 1994). An alternative model of worry—the avoidance theory—proposes that worry is reinforced by the temporary decrease in arousal during the activation of "cognitive" or abstract worry (Borkovec et al. 2004; Borkovec and Inz in Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28(2), 153-158, 1990). The current study proposed that metacognitive processes are more likely to be activated if individuals have negative beliefs about emotional experience. Four hundred twenty-five participants completed the Metacognition Questionnaire (MCQ), Leahy Emotional Schema Scale (Leahy in Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9(3), 177-190, 2002), BDI-II, and the BAI. Negative beliefs about emotions were significantly correlated with each of the five metacognitive factors and with both depression (BDI-II) and anxiety (BAI). Almost all of the 14 emotional schema dimensions were related to the five metacognitive factors of worry. Mediational analyses suggested that uncontrollability/danger of worry partially mediated the relationship between negative beliefs about emotion and symptoms of anxiety. Similarly, uncontrollability/danger of worry and cognitive competence/confidence partially mediated the relationship between negative beliefs about emotion and symptoms of depression. These findings support metacognitive, avoidance, and emotional schema models by indicating that both metacognitive processes and beliefs about emotion separately contribute to depression and anxiety and that worry appears to be a strategy that is utilized to cope with negative beliefs about emotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, the field of emotion research has seen a marked increase in theories and studies of emotional schemas—core beliefs about emotions and emotional experiences. This review serves to organise this growing body of literature, particularly as it relates to clinical practice. Methods: The review focuses specifically on literature relevant to emotional schema conceptualisation, aetiology and development, and relation to psychoemotional functioning. Pervasive limitations of past research are highlighted and areas needing further empirical attention are identified. Results: Growing evidence attests to the potential clinical implications of emotional schemas. However empirical advancement in this area is impeded by limited theoretical and operational integration across research. Conclusions: Through strategic research, the field could begin to build a more universal theoretical framework of emotional schemas. This would greatly improve our ability to research, understand, and therapeutically target a construct that may underlie a broad range of psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alexithymia and low emotion differentiation restrict access to emotional information and increase propensity toward dysregulated and deviant behaviors, such as impulsive aggression. However, mechanisms underlying such effects are largely unknown. This study examined the mediating role of emotion regulation in the relationship between restricted access to emotional information and impulsive aggression. Alexithymic features and emotion differentiation explained 43% of the variance in impulsive aggression; these relationships were fully mediated by emotion-regulation difficulty. Contrary to previously held assumptions, alexithymic features and emotion differentiation were uncorrelated with one another, each limiting the translation of unique emotion information necessary for adaptive emotion and behavior regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives Disorders of behavioral dysregulation often involve more than one dsyregulated behavior (e.g., drug abuse and aggression, alcohol abuse and gambling). The high co-occurrence suggests the need of a transdiagnostic treatment that can be customized to target multiple specific behaviors. Method The current pilot study compared a 20-week, individual transdiagnostic therapy (mindfulness and modification therapy [MMT]) versus treatment as usual (TAU) in targeting alcohol problems, drug use, physical aggression, and verbal aggression in self-referred women. Assessments were administered at baseline, post-intervention, and 2-month follow-up. Results Wilcoxon signed-ranked tests and multilevel modeling showed that MMT ( n = 13) displayed (a) significant and large decreases in alcohol/drug use, physical aggression, and verbal aggression; (b) significantly greater decreases in alcohol/drug use and physical aggression than did TAU ( n = 8); and (c) minimal-to-no deterioration of effects at follow-up. Both conditions showed significant decreases in verbal aggression, with no statistically significant difference between conditions. MMT also displayed greater improvements in mindfulness. Conclusions Preliminary findings support the feasibility and efficacy of MMT in decreasing multiple dysregulated behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The current preliminary study investigated whether deficits in mindfulness (awareness, attentiveness, and acceptance of the present experience) may underlie the relationship of borderline personality disorder (BPD) features to self-injury and overall acts of harmful dysregulated behavior. Method Nonparametric bootstrapping procedures were used to examine theoretical relationships among variables in a psychiatric sample of adults ( N = 70). Participants were asked to imagine themselves in distress-inducing situations and then write what they would actually do to decrease distress in such situations. Results As hypothesized, mindfulness statistically mediated the relationship of BPD features to reported acts of (a) self-injury and (b) overall harmful dysregulated behaviors. Conclusions Difficulties in the ability to be aware, attentive, and accepting of ongoing experience may play a role in the relationship of BPD features to harmful dysregulated behaviors. Future research should clarify potential reciprocal effects between BPD features and mindfulness with prospective, multioccasion designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Increasing evidence suggests that deficits in mindfulness (awareness, attentiveness, and acceptance of the present moment) play a role in a range of disorders involving behavioral dysregulation. This paper adds to that literature by describing a transdiagnostic psychotherapy (Mindfulness & Modification Therapy; MMT) developed to target behavioral dysregulation. Design: An open-treatment pilot-trial investigated the feasibility, acceptability, and pre-post effects of MMT targeting women ( N = 14) court-referred for alcohol abuse/dependence and aggression. Results: Pre-post comparisons revealed significant decreases in alcohol use, drug use, and aggression. In addition, the retention rate was 93%. Conclusion: Preliminary evidence suggests that MMT is a feasible and acceptable treatment that decreases dysregulated behaviors such as substance use and aggression, while also potentially increasing retention. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 67:1-17, 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Deficits in emotion-regulation skills have been shown to be integral to the development and maintenance of a wide range of mental disorders. Aim: To evaluate the importance of these skills as a treatment target in psychotherapeutic interventions. Method: Nine specific emotion-regulation skills were assessed in a sample of 289 inpatients before and after cognitive-behavioural treatment. Self-reports of success in pretreatment skills application were first compared to those of 246 non-clinical controls. Pretreatment skills application and change in skills application during therapy were then related to a variety of outcome measures. Finally, the effects of integrating a brief training of general emotion-regulation skills into the CBT-based treatment were evaluated in a controlled trial. Results: Uni- and multivariate analyses identified the skills of acceptance, tolerance, and active modification of negative emotions as particularly important for current mental health and treatment outcome. Replacing parts of the standard CBT treatment with the emotion-regulation training enhanced the effects of the CBT treatment on skills application and on other measures of mental health. Conclusion: Incorporating interventions that directly target general emotion-regulation skills may improve the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The current study investigated whether deficits in mindfulness (the awareness, attention, and acceptance of the present moment) can account for variability in borderline personality (BPD) features and characteristic difficulties in emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and impulsivity. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regressions were utilized to examine the associations of trait mindfulness with BPD features, interpersonal problem-solving, impulsive and passive emotion-regulation strategies, and neuroticism in a sample of young adults (N = 342). As hypothesized, mindfulness was related inversely to BPD features and core areas of difficulty, and these associations continued even when controlling for neuroticism. Additionally, mindfulness deficits continued to predict borderline features even when interpersonal effectiveness, passive and impulsive emotion-regulation, and neuroticism were controlled. It is concluded that deficits in mindfulness may be integral to BPD features. Difficulties with attention, awareness, and acceptance of internal and external experience appear to explain borderline pathology even when controlling for problems with negative affectivity, behavioral dyscontrol, and emotional and interpersonal dysfunction--which have been described as definitional of this disorder. Thus, attention to mindfulness deficits may enhance clinical formulation of BPD symptomatology, as well as provide a vital component of effective BPD treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The current study examined the relations between biological sex, socialized masculinity, rumination, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms in a large sample of young adults (N =589). As hypothesized, socialized masculinity negatively predicted rumination, neuroticism, and depression even when biological sex was controlled. Structural equation modeling revealed that rumination-on-sadness predicted neuroticism and depression, whereas rumination-in-general predicted only neuroticism. Controlling for masculinity, rumination, and neuroticism, men were more likely to experience depressive symptoms than were women. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Alexithymia is a psychoemotional trait associated with many treatment‐resistant psychological and social difficulties. Research suggests that these difficulties stem primarily from an inability to appropriately apply linguistic labels to emotional experiences and content. The present research introduces and preliminarily evaluates a novel mindfulness‐informed exercise to improve emotion‐labeling ability in alexithymic persons. Based in culturally universal patterns of somatic experience, the Emotion Mapping Activity (EMA) directs alexithymic persons to reflect on their internal, somatic experiences as a source of information for interpreting and labeling emotional experiences. In the present study, 67 alexithymic persons completed a series of emotion‐labeling tasks either with or without assistance of the EMA. Results suggest that completion of the EMA may improve ability to label emotions that would be otherwise misinterpreted – without interfering with labeling that is already intact. Though further research is necessary, the present study suggests that the EMA may hold the potential to be incorporated into psychotherapy protocols as an exercise for improving emotion‐labeling ability in alexithymic clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite scientific favor, psychological interventions supported by research are often underutilized by practitioners due to perceived obstacles in implementation. Increased transparency between researchers and practitioners throughout treatment development and dissemination is therefore necessary. The rising popularity of mindfulness-based approaches in the treatment of substance-use disorders suggests such transparency is necessary in further developing, disseminating, and implementing such approaches within the context of substance treatment. Objectives: The present study aimed to increase transparency by surveying substance-treatment professionals regarding their perceptions of barriers to adopting mindfulness in the treatment of substance use. Methods: Substance-treatment professionals throughout the United States (N = 103) completed an online survey about their perceptions of potential barriers to implementing mindfulness into substance treatment. Results: Overall, professionals were moderately familiar with mindfulness as a treatment for substance use. Approximately one-third reported providing mindfulness in substance treatment; however, only 7% reported providing mindfulness using a research-supported treatment manual. Across professionals of various backgrounds, the need for further training was rated as the greatest barrier to implementation. Conclusions/Importance: Results suggest that practitioners are generally familiar with and willing to implement mindfulness in the treatment of substance use. Future research and implementation efforts should focus on methods of increasing training availability, accessibility, and relevance to address the needs and expectations of substance-treatment professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police officers are routinely exposed to situations that elicit intense negative emotions; thus, officers have a particularly strong need for effective methods of regulating such emotions. The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether a manualized emotion-regulation training (Integrative Training of Emotional Competencies; iTEC; Berking, 2010a) can improve the emotion-regulation skills of police officers. First, self-reports of 9 emotion-regulation skills were assessed in a sample of officers (N= 31) and compared to those of a matched community-based control group. Then, the effects of the training on the emotion-regulation skills of officers were evaluated in a time-staggered design with a waitlist control condition. Results indicate that, compared to controls, officers have difficulties in accepting and tolerating negative emotions, supporting themselves in distressing situations, and confronting emotionally challenging situations. The training significantly enhanced successful skill application, especially some skills with which officers reported difficulty applying. These findings suggest that a focus on emotion-regulation skills may be an important component for programs aimed at preventing mental-health problems in police officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deficits in emotion-regulation skills have widely been shown to be associated with poor emotional adjustment. However, it is still unclear whether these deficits are a cause or a consequence of poor adjustment. The purpose of the present research was to clarify the reciprocal effects between these 2 concepts. In 2 studies (Ns = 446 and 635), self-reports of emotion regulation and emotional adjustment were assessed twice with a 2-week interval. Cross-lagged regression analyses demonstrated that self- reports of emotion regulation predicted subsequent adjustment, over and above the effects of previous adjustment, whereas emotional adjustment did not predict subsequent emotion regulation. Thus, a focus on emotion-regulation skills may be important in the prevention and treatment of affect-related mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether self-compassion and emotional invalidation (perceiving others as indifferent to one's emotions) may explain the relationship of childhood exposure to adverse parenting and adult psychopathology in psychiatric outpatients ( N =326). Path analysis was used to investigate associations between exposure to adverse parenting (abuse and indifference), self-compassion, emotional invalidation, and mental health when controlling for gender and age. Self-compassion was strongly inversely associated with emotional invalidation, suggesting that a schema that others will be unsympathetic or indifferent toward one's emotions may affect self-compassion and vice versa. Both self-compassion and emotional invalidation mediated the relationship between parental indifference and mental health outcomes. These preliminary findings suggest the potential utility of self-compassion and emotional schemas as transdiagnostic treatment targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence Interventions: The Need for Theoretical Based Research" that was published in the previous issue of the periodical.

Abstract: Background and objectives: In order to clarify mechanisms underlying the association between emotion regulation and psychopathology, we tested whether the ability to modify negative emotions mediates the associations of other emotion-regulation skills with psychopathological symptoms in two studies. Methods: The first study included 151 college students; the second included 121 psychiatric inpatients. Bootstrapping-enhanced mediation analyses were utilized to assess associations between self-reports of emotion-regulation skills and psychopathology, as well as potential mediation effects. Results: In both samples, the ability to modify emotions completely mediated the association between symptoms and skills for most skills, but not for the skill of accepting/tolerating negative emotions. Limitations: Major limitations include the use of a cross-sectional design as well as exclusive use of self-report data. Conclusions: The ability to modify negative emotions may be the common pathway by which many emotion-regulation skills exert their influence on mental health; however, the skill of accepting/tolerating negative emotions may be beneficial to mental health regardless of whether or not it facilitates modification of emotions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: As emotion regulation is widely considered to be a primary motive in the misuse of alcohol, our aim in the study was to investigate whether deficits in adaptive emotion-regulation skills maintain alcohol dependence (AD). Method: A prospective study investigated whether emotion-regulation skills were associated with AD and whether these skills predicted alcohol use during and after treatment for AD. Participants were 116 individuals treated for AD with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Emotion regulation and severity of AD symptoms were assessed by self-report. Alcohol use during treatment was assessed by Breathalyzer and urine analysis for ethyl glucuronide; alcohol use during the 3-month follow-up interval was assessed by self-report. Results: Pretreatment emotion-regulation skills predicted alcohol use during treatment, and posttreatment emotion-regulation skills predicted alcohol use at follow-up, even when controlling for other predictors potentially related to emotion regulation. Among a broad range of specific emotion-regulation skills, the ability to tolerate negative emotions was the only skill that negatively predicted subsequent alcohol consumption when controlling for the other skills. Individuals in the AD sample reported significantly larger deficits in emotion-regulation skills than did those in a nonclinical control sample but significantly less than did those in a sample of individuals exclusively meeting criteria for major depressive disorder. Conclusions: Enhancement of general emotion-regulation skills, especially the ability to tolerate negative emotions, appears to be an important target in the treatment of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ojective: There are high rates of co-occurring alcohol dependence and intimate partner violence (IPV) among men seeking substance abuse treatment. The authors examined neurocognitive performance among treatment-seeking alcohol dependent men with (IPV +) and without reported physical violence (IPV -). Method: Twenty-five subjects participated in this pilot study. All participants underwent a neurocognitive battery including, Continuous Performance Test (CPT), California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), Digit Span, Iowa Gambling Test (IGT), Wisconsin Card Sort (WCST), Trail Making Test, Parts A & B, a visuospatial memory (VSWM) task and the Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT). Result: Alcohol dependent participants with IPV (IPV + ; n = 9) had more severe deficits in attention, concentration, cognitive flexibility compared to controls (n = 7). Both the alcohol dependent (IPV - ; n = 9) and IPV + groups had significantly more impairments on tasks of impulsivity than the smoking controls. The IPV - group had significantly more impairments on executive functioning compared to smoking controls, but was not significantly different than the IPV + group. Conclusions: Our preliminary results suggests that IPV + males have more severe neuropsychological impairments compared to the smoking control group than did the IPV - group. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this comment on Cooke, Michie, Hart, and Clark (2004) we highlight critical problems in the estimation of parameters for their hierarchical three-factor model of psychopathy, as assessed with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R; Hare, 1991, 2003), and their interpretation of these factors as causally related to socially deviant behavior. We argue that there is nothing "causal" about a model in which cross-sectional data are used to assert that antisocial tendencies are consequences of other more fundamental psychopathic traits. We present an equally viable model, based on the PCL-R four-factor solution (Hare, 2003), in which antisocial tendencies play a fundamental role in the construct of psychopathy, consistent with previous research and clinical tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alexithymia is often characterized as a chronic deficit in processing and communicating emotional information. However, there is a lack of empirical consensus regarding the relationship between alexithymia and other emotion difficulties. The current study aimed to further clarify differences between alexithymia and a similarly conceptualized construct, emotion differentiation. Participants completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 to assess alexithymia and a written autobiographical recall task to assess emotion differentiation. Linguistic analysis was then used to examine linguistic patterns associated with alexithymia versus emotion differentiation. Results suggested alexithymia was associated with a negative bias in emotional experience and hyper-focus on the self, whereas emotion differentiation difficulties were associated with stronger correspondence between emotional experience and situational context. Results provide further evidence to support alexithymia and emotion differentiation as separate constructs with distinct emotional experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]