Intersecting heterologies

The author proposes that it has largely been underestimated that the therapeutic community is placed within two discourses – that of therapy and that of community – and has almost exclusively focused on the first. In so doing, it has been restricted within a medical or pseudo-medical conceptual framework. In an appeal to re-frame the discussion about the therapeutic community in relation to its forgotten discourse reference is principally made to the work of the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan and to two of his sources – Heidegger and Socrates – and more specifically to Lacan’s notion of lack which is contrasted to modernity’s trope of expectation which corresponds to the Imaginary phallus.     

Risk or resource: Does school climate moderate the influence of community violence on children’s social‐emotional development in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Exposure to community violence is thought to create risk for the social and emotional development of children, including those children living in low‐income, conflict‐affected countries. In the absence of other types of community resources, schools may be one of the few community resources that can help buffer children from the negative effects of community violence exposure. We sampled 8,300 students ranging in age from 6–18 years in 123 schools from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to examine whether and how two distinct dimensions of positive school climate can protect two key features of children's social‐emotional development in the presence of community violence. Multi‐level models tested the hypothesis that students’ perceptions of a positive school climate moderated the relation between community violence and self‐reported mental health problems and peer victimization. Findings support the hypothesis. Specifically, a positive school climate protected against mental health problems and peer victimization in the presence of high community violence. Students who experienced high community violence and a negative school climate generally demonstrated the worst development. We find complex interactions between the dimensions of school climate and exposure to violence on student social‐emotional development that highlight the salience of children's contexts for developmental studies in low‐income countries. We use dynamic developmental systems theory and differential impact to discuss the dual potential of schools as a buffer against the effects of violence or as a source of compounded risk.     

Emotional Intelligence: An Opportunity for Occupational Therapy

Emotional intelligence theory developed within the psychology and business fields and is described as an ability to monitor emotions and to use the information to guide thinking and problem solving. Emotional intelligence skills are needed by occupational therapy practitioners to support therapeutic use of self, promote client-centered care, and foster communication skills within the workplace. A scenario illustrates how emotional intelligence supports the therapeutic use of self during a clinical interaction. The Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test is introduced as a resource for occupational therapy practitioners to measure and develop therapeutic relationship skills based upon emotional intelligence research.     

Emotions,Me, Myself and I

We are prone to think that the emotions someone undergoes are somehow revelatory of the sort of person she is, and philosophers working in the field have frequently insisted upon the existence of an intimate relation between a subject and her emotions. But how intimate is the relation between emotions and the self? I first explain why interesting claims about this relation must locate it at the level of emotional intentionality. Given that emotions have a complex intentional structure – they are about an object and evaluate it – this means that the relation between emotions and the self may take different shapes. My discussion focuses on three different claims about this relation. According to the first claim, all emotions are about the subject who undergoes them. The second claim appeals to a more moderate form of reflexivity and affirms that emotions always feature a representation of other psychological states of the subject. The third understands the relation between emotions and the self in evaluative terms: emotions are said to evaluate relationally, one of the terms of this relation being the subject who undergoes it. I argue that all three claims apply, at best, only to a limited subset of emotions and that they must sometimes give way to claims that do not presuppose any intentional connection between emotions and the self.     

Social and emotional self‐efficacy at work

Research has shown that self‐efficacy is often one of the most important personal resources in the work context. However, because this research has focused on cognitive and task‐oriented self‐efficacy, little is known about social and emotional dimensions of self‐efficacy at work. The main aim of the present study was to investigate social and emotional self‐efficacy dimensions at work and to compare them to a cognitive and task‐oriented dimension. Scales to measure social and emotional self‐efficacy at work were developed and validated and found to be well differentiated from the cognitive task‐oriented occupational self‐efficacy scale. Confirmatory factor analyses of data from 226 Swedish and 591 German employees resulted in four separate but correlated self‐efficacy dimensions: (1) occupational; (2) social; (3) self‐oriented emotional; and (4) other‐oriented emotional. Social self‐efficacy explained additional variance in team climate and emotional self‐efficacy in emotional irritation and emotional exhaustion, over and above effects of occupational self‐efficacy. Men reported higher occupational self‐efficacy, whereas social and emotional self‐efficacy revealed no clear gender differences. The scales have strong psychometric properties in both Swedish and German language versions. The positive association between social self‐efficacy and team climate, and the negative relationships between self‐oriented emotional self‐efficacy and emotional irritation and emotional exhaustion may provide promising tools for practical applications in work settings such as team‐building, staff development, recruitment or other training programs aiming for work place health promotion. The next step will be to study how social and emotional self‐efficacy relate to leadership, well‐being and health over time.     

Discomfort in the community. The place of psyche: Between zōē and bios

In this paper, the author considers the treatment of people diagnosed with a psychosis or borderline personality disorder in therapeutic communities from a psychoanalytic perspective, with a particular focus on the work of Jacques Lacan and of André Green. He discusses two key questions. First, how are these patients to recover life? – not just in the biological sense but in terms of subjectivity. Secondly, is it ever really possible to build relationships with them? In relation to this second question, the author emphasizes the importance of the training and supervision of practitioners, as well as their own analysis. Therapeutic communities, above all, he argues, can provide structure and security in a society which is increasingly fragmented and unstable.     

Self‐esteem and emotional health in adolescents – gender and age as potential moderators

Moksnes, U. K. & Espnes, G. A. (2012). Self‐esteem and emotional health in adolescents – gender and age as a potential moderators. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 483–489. The present paper investigates possible gender and age differences on emotional states (depression and anxiety) and self‐esteem as well as the association between self‐esteem and emotional states. The cross‐sectional sectional sample consists of 1,209 adolescents 13–18 years from public elementary and secondary schools in mid‐Norway. The results showed that girls reported higher scores on state anxiety and state depression, whereas boys consistently scored higher on self‐esteem in all age groups. Self‐esteem was strongly and inversely associated with both state depression and state anxiety. An interaction effect of gender by self‐esteem was found on state depression, where the association was stronger for girls than for boys. The associations found give support for the positive role of self‐esteem in relation to adolescents’ emotional health and well‐being.     

Poverty,affect and breaking the cycle: Implementing a ‘vulnerability unit’ in a white working-class community school

Schools serving communities experiencing poverty continue to be challenged as to how to best meet the needs of their pupils. This article documents how educators in one school in Wales developed and implemented a ‘vulnerability unit’ – called The Bridge – which centred on trusting relationships to improve the educational experience for primarily white working-class pupils. In the United Kingdom, the white working class remains the lowest performing socio-economic group. To make sense of the ‘emotional archive’ of the vulnerability unit and how subjects were constituted in this school space, I draw on theories of affect. The investigation considers affective relationships as not only integral to fostering inclusive practices but also closely aligned with physical and social spatiality within the community school. I argue The Bridge is a dynamic space which informs the participants' relationships with themselves and each other. With this in mind, the article contributes to research on the importance of affect and space to inclusive education and pastoral support.     

Emotional health,support, and self‐efficacy in young adults with a history of language impairment

Children and adolescents with language impairment (LI) are at risk of emotional health difficulties. However, less is known about whether these difficulties continue into adulthood for this group, or about the potential role of environmental resources (e.g., social support) or internal resources (e.g., self‐efficacy). This study investigates emotional health in 81 adults with a history of developmental LI (aged 24) compared with 87 age‐matched peers (AMPs) using Beck Inventories. Social support and self‐efficacy measures were examined as predictors. The results were fourfold: (1) adults with LI had higher levels of emotional health problems; (2) whilst the availability of social support was similar across groups, people with LI received more help from others compared to peers; (3) social support was not significantly related to emotional health in those with LI – in contrast, for AMPs, uptake of support indicated poorer emotional health; (4) self‐efficacy was the strongest predictor of emotional health in both groups and fully mediated the relationship between language and emotional health (no moderation by group). This cross‐sectional study has implications for concurrent factors that might affect emotional health outcomes for children and young people with and without LI.     

领导情绪智力对团队绩效和员工态度的影响——公平氛围和权力距离的作用

本研究共收集了74个工作团队的数据, 探讨了领导情绪智力对团队层面绩效(任务绩效、利他行为)和态度(满意度、团队承诺)的影响、公平氛围的中介作用以及团队权力距离的调节作用。研究结果表明：领导的情绪智力对团队绩效和态度均有显著的正向影响; 程序公平氛围中介了领导情绪智力对团队任务绩效和利他行为的影响, 交互公平氛围中介了领导情绪智力对团队任务绩效、满意度和团队承诺的影响; 团队权力距离调节了领导情绪智力和交互公平氛围的关系, 该调节关系通过交互公平氛围的中介作用影响团队任务绩效、满意度和团队承诺。     

Parent Perspectives on Family Involvement in Therapeutic Foster Care

There has been an increasing focus on family involvement in the treatment of children with serious emotional disorders, but it has received only limited attention in relation to out-of-home placements. I present the findings from a qualitative study of family involvement from the perspectives of parents whose children were placed in therapeutic foster care (TFC). Parents' perspectives on their involvement in placement decisions, relationships with professionals and TFC providers, practices related to family involvement, barriers to involvement, and strategies to enhance family involvement are described. Parents of children in TFC wanted to have contact with their children and to participate in decision making. They described relationships and practices that contributed to their involvement.     

Sharing My Music with You: The Musical Presentation as a Tool for Exploring,Examining and Enhancing Self‐Awareness in a Group Setting

Musical presentation (MP) is a diagnostic and therapeutic music therapy tool which focuses on the participant's emotional exploration and awareness‐insight development. Using this tool people present themselves through music of their choice and subsequently receive feedback from their peers. This study investigates MP as a tool for enhancing self‐awareness in the context of a voluntary activity that was integrated in courses for undergraduate students in order to demonstrate its possible uses. Open‐ended in‐depth interviews with 15 MP presenters and focus‐group interviews with 41 MP peers who listened to the presentations were conducted. The Johari Window, which is a cognitive psychological model used to help people better understand their interpersonal communication and relationships, served as a conceptual framework for this study. Qualitative analysis of the data showed that presenters' self‐awareness was enhanced through the use of both music and words. As an accessible and creative tool, the MP can be used as a way for people in both therapeutic and non‐therapeutic settings to present themselves via their music to a group and increase their self‐awareness.     

Emotional display rules and emotion self‐regulation: Associations with bullying and victimization in community‐based after school programs

We explored linkages among different components of emotional competence and bullying and victimization in children enrolled in community after school programs. Seventy‐seven children were recruited from after school programs and their display rule knowledge for sadness and anger was evaluated. Their emotion self‐regulation skills and bullying experiences were also assessed. Knowledge of display rules for sadness was a negative predictor of physical victimization whereas emotional lability/negativity was positively related to bullying. Boys bullied more than girls and family income was negatively related to bullying and emotional lability/negativity and positively associated with emotion self‐regulation. Emotion self‐regulation mediated the relation between family income and bullying. Analyses also suggested that bullies and bully‐victims had poorer emotion self‐regulation skills than non‐bullies/victims or victims. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

小学生道德自我觉知与情绪体验的关系及影响因素

该研究采用道德情境故事问卷,以192名小学生为被试,考察了道德自我觉知与情绪体验的关系及其影响因素。结果发现:(1)小学生道德自我觉知的内容和程度与其情绪体验的性质紧密相关;(2)行为情境对小学生的道德自我觉知具有普遍影响,行为意图对小学生的道德自我觉知具有特定影响。     

Group Activities to Promote Early Rehabilitation in an Acute Psychiatric Ward: A Relationship-Based Approach Focusing on Movies

Our Psychiatry Institute has a long-standing tradition of providing training in the importance of relational and emotional skills and helping relationships. Here we describe techniques that are routinely used on our psychiatric ward (Maggiore della Carità Hospital, Novara, Italy) to promote early rehabilitation of acute psychiatric inpatients. We focus on the Cinema group, which is typical of our approach to informal, therapeutic group activity. Targeting social and relational issues as adjunct to treatment as usual is useful in acute settings and can begin at an early stage of hospitalization. Our intervention is designed to improve patients’ coping strategies, relational and communication skills, and overall quality of life.     

Counselling children and young people: A review of the evidence for its effectiveness

This paper summarises and presents the results of a BACP commissioned systematic scoping review on the research evidence on counselling children and young people. The methodology was based on a structured, hierarchical, systematic approach to searching and reviewing the research literature. Inclusion criteria defined the scope of the review in relation to a range of issues in counselling children and young people: behavioural problems and conduct disorders; emotional problems including anxiety, depression and post‐traumatic stress; medical illness; school‐related issues; self‐harming practices and sexual abuse. Four groups of counselling approaches were examined: cognitive‐behavioural; psychoanalytic; humanistic; and creative therapies. The findings indicate that the four therapeutic approaches are effective to a greater or lesser degree in relation to the range of issues. Although the findings show that there is little or no evidence for the effectiveness of some therapies for particular issues, this may not reflect the lived experience of children and young people engaged in counselling in a range of community and institutional settings. Instead, the absence of evidence is likely to reflect a lack of published studies that fit the inclusion criteria for this review.     

“When I say I'm depressed,it's like anger.” An exploration of the emotional landscape of climate change concern in Norway and its psychological,social and political implications

Climate anxiety discourse focuses predominantly on individualised and potentially mentally disturbing aspects of emotional responses to the awareness of climate change which can silence the mobilising charge of strong emotions in response to climate change. We critically examine this perspective and explore the range, context, and perceived effects of emotional responses to climate change based on 33 in-depth interviews with people self-identified as highly concerned about this issue in the context of oil-wealthy Norway. Thematic analysis revealed that lived emotional experience of concern about climate change is characterised by a complex palette of co-occurring and dynamically linked emotions reported in relation to 16 evocative themes. We analyse the perceived effects of these emotions focusing on five areas: participants' mood and wellbeing, concerns about existing and hypothetical children, feelings of alienation, responsibility for the climate situation, and positive experience in the context of climate change. We discuss the psychological, social and political implications of participants' emotional experience, considering the Norwegian context, and we conclude that it goes beyond potentially debilitating and paralysing feelings, and includes politically charged moral anger and collective guilt, as well as love for nature, and a sense of community around collective climate action.     

Individual treatment needs in the therapeutic environment of a special school

This paper is about the therapeutic process and technique in psychotherapy with deprived children. The need to monitor as a coherent whole both the broader environmental setting and the movements of the transference is illustrated by clinical case material. It is concluded that a) the child's attack on the setting and therapeutic relation has to be picked up and contained both in the transference relationship and in the broader network by the team-work, and b) by carefully following the transference, the child can be helped to a dependent relationship inside which feelings can be made sense of, thus furthering resilience by achieving a better ability to separate good qualities of the self from self-destructive, anti-social aspects of the internal object.     

Two measures of affect and emotion in Italian children aged 6 to 11 years

The authors investigated the relation between affective and cognitive processes in fantasy play and emotional understanding of 50 Italian children (25 boys and 25 girls) enrolled in regular elementary school in Northern Italy. Children were administered a standardized play task, the Affect in Play Scale, and answered questions about their understanding of emotions. Consistent, yet modest, relationships were found between dimensions of fantasy play and emotional understanding.