Model of Occupational Empowerment and Gunnarsson’s Tree Theme: Intervention for Mothers in Recovery

In this study the authors investigated Gunnarsson's Tree Theme Method as an occupational therapy intervention program for mothers in recovery from addiction in accordance with Fisher and Hotchkiss's Model of Occupational Empowerment (2008 Fisher , G. , &; Hotchkiss , A. ( 2008 ). A model of occupational empowerment for marginalized populations in community environments . Occupational Therapy in Health Care , 22 , 55 – 71 . Retrieved from EBSCOhost .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Each session of this mixed design study consisted of relaxation exercises, discussions on self-help readings, and participation in the Tree Theme Method. Two participants out of three improved their personal growth initiative. Participant reflection provided insight into the women's inner feelings. Fisher and Hotchkiss's model (2008 Fisher , G. , &; Hotchkiss , A. ( 2008 ). A model of occupational empowerment for marginalized populations in community environments . Occupational Therapy in Health Care , 22 , 55 – 71 . Retrieved from EBSCOhost .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) was supported as the women achieved personal growth. Further research is needed concerning how this may guide occupational therapy practice with disadvantaged populations.     

A Qualitative Study of Community–University Partnerships That Support Psychosocial Occupational Therapy

Community partner voices are important to understand because they provide the contexts in which occupational therapy (OT) students research community-identified needs and together, create evidence-based occupation-focused programs while developing clinical reasoning skills in a natural context. The purpose of this study is to understand how community partners experienced partnerships that support community-based research in psychosocial settings. This retrospective study explores the perspectives of community partners that hosted OT students for two-semester service-learning project over 3 years. Findings revealed partners value effective communication with faculty and students, spending time observing, listening, and developing meaningful relationships with clients and staff.     

Changes in Inkblot Perception with Presentation of the Holtzman Inkblot Technique as an “Intelligence Test”

The Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT) was administered by the Group Method to 180 college students. Half the Ss received the standardized HIT instructional set; the other 90 Ss had the HIT represented as a test of intellectual ability. The difference in instructional set caused a significant decrease in HIT variables, Penetration, Hostility, Animal, and Pathognomic Verbalization. The results are interpreted as representing a “tightening up” of the cognitive-perceptual process, but without any accompanying increase in constriction or stereotopy of responses.     

Psychosocial Variables as Predictors of Psychological Stress–Induced Ischemia in the Laboratory

This study examined ischemic reactivity to a psychological stress protocol and whether psychological variables could reliably classify individuals as ischemic reactors. Participants were 54 male Veterans Administration patients who had or were suspected of having CAD. Psychological inventories were administered prior to a psychological stress protocol consisting of a surgical video, the Stroop Color–Word task, an arithmetic task, and discussion of a stressful event. Cardiac functioning was evaluated using an ECG Holter monitor and 23.53% of participants were classified as reactors. Mean differences between reactors and nonreactors were found for State Anger, Health Locus of Control—Powerful Others (MHLC-PO), and Depression. State Anger and MHLC-PO emerged as significant predictors of reactor status in logistic regression analyses. Models based on individual scale items suggested three items could be used to achieve higher classification rates. Implications for revising screening procedures for determining risk and possible mechanisms underlying psychological stress–induced ischemia are discussed.     

Building Solutions in Youth: Evaluation of the Human–Animal Resilience Therapy Intervention

The effectiveness of the human-animal resilience therapy (HART) intervention was examined using a randomized comparison group design with youth ages 10–18 (n = 29). Paired samples t-test analyses revealed statistically significant differences between pretest and posttest scores for anxiety, depression, and disruptive behavior inventories for participants in both the treatment and comparison groups. No significant differences were found for the self-concept or anger inventories. An analysis of variance on gain scores of the treatment and comparison groups revealed no between group differences. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Older Adults’ Psychosocial Responses to a Fear of Falling: A Scoping Review to Inform Occupational Therapy Practice

Abstract

Falls in older adults are a major health concern, yet the “fear of falling”, a common psychosocial response that can occur post-fall, has seldom been investigated. A scoping review was conducted to identify and map interventions that occupational therapists can use to manage the fear of falling psychosocial response (FoFPR) among older adults. Thirteen electronic databases were searched and 22 studies were retrieved. Cognitive behavioral therapy, guided imagery, and Tai Chi were interventions found to help older adults deal with their FoFPRs. Occupational therapists assisting older adults in this area can play a significant role.     

Effects of an Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention on Children’s Quality of Life

Journal of Child and Family Studies - The present study examined if an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)–based online intervention for parents had indirect effects on their...     

Occupational Stigma and Coping Strategies of Women Engaged in the Commercial Sex Industry: A Study on the Perception of “Kyaba-Cula Hostesses” in Japan

This study focuses on “kyaba-cula hostesses” as women who engage in Japan’s commercial sex industry. Their commoditized service is primarily not physical but consists of communication with male customers while offering food and drinks. This study analyzes the different types of kyaba-cula hostesses, their varying professional circumstances, and the effectiveness of their respective cognitive coping strategies for maintaining self-esteem and personal adjustment. The original research took the form of a questionnaire survey interviewing women working as kyaba-cula hostesses in Tokyo, Japan (N?=?92), about their work. About 80 % of the participants were in their 20s, and about 40 % had been working there for less than 1 year. Twenty-two percent were students, and about 30 % were married or had children. The questionnaire results revealed the following: (1) kyaba-cula hostesses demonstrated a higher perceived occupational stigma than workers in general Japanese society; (2) their most effective coping strategies were Social Comparison and Social Value Added for maintaining self-esteem and Family Value Added for reducing their sense of maladjustment; (3) ultimately, in this study, the Disengagement strategy was revealed to be unsuccessful, as it decreased occupational self-esteem and increased their sense of maladjustment; and (4) kyaba-cula hostesses can be grouped into four types (Long-term Low Income, Child-Rearing, High Income, and Part-time) according to the job and demographic characteristics, and the perceived occupational stigma or coping strategies differed among these types.     

‘Heart-talk:’ Considering the Role of the Heart in Therapy as Evidenced in the Quran and Medical Research

The emphasis on scientific approaches and evidence-based therapy has been a key force in developing and refining existing models of therapy. While this has been unquestioningly invaluable, it has similarly restricted the development and so implementation of those models that do not lend themselves easily to current research methodology, since the lack of evidence-practice research means they are not considered as ‘legitimate’ therapeutic practice. That the mind and body have an inter-dependent relationship is readily evidenced in numerous religious texts, but the lack of acknowledgement of that relationship in contemporary therapeutic approaches means that patients are not able to benefit from its use in sessions. Ironically, it is current developments in medical research that have discovered the reality around this relationship that have enabled such models to be further explore within an accepted context of evidence-based practice. This paper highlights the relationship between the heart and brain function as evidenced with brief reference to Quranic verses and medical (namely, neurocardiological) research. Further, it raises questions around the implications of this information for therapists working in both physical and mental health. The concept of ‘heart talk’ is an extension of the term ‘heart brain’ coined by Dr Armour (Professor of Pharmacology) in 1991 and is suggestive of its use in the world of psychological therapy. It relates to those cognitions which patients suggest come ‘from the heart’ which though previously dismissed are now suggestive of having some scientific basis and are potentially a legitimate source of information in understanding patients experiences.     

“The Gift of an Apple or the Twist of an Arm”: Negotiation in Couples and Couple Therapy

This paper explores the role of negotiation in couples and couple therapy from a relational perspective, situated at the interface of psychoanalytic and systems theories, that emphasizes intersubjectivity. We consider the clinical processes through which members of a couple may be helped to develop competence in basic elements of intimate communication and negotiation, including reflective listening, mentalization, and recognition. Clinical examples illustrate therapeutic movement from projective-introjective “transference” repetitions within a couple's relationship toward a growing ability to transcend the intrapsychic “demons” that haunt the couple. Specific technical measures are described, including the use of communication “exercises” and “homework” in the context of analytic couple therapy—what we term working from the outside-in and the inside-out—as well as the potential functions of a cotherapist team for particular couples.     

Finding the Body of the Mind: Integrating Occupational Therapy’s Theories of Mutual Regulation and Dysregulation into Psychotherapy

ABSTRACT

A child’s state of emotional dysregulation is often the explicit complaint of parents, teachers, and others involved in child referrals. Psychoanalytic and, more recently, neuropsychoanalytic thinking along with attachment research have created a foundation for understanding the biological and relational development of parent and child emotional engagement. In particular, these perspectives have clarified the nature of what Donald Winnicott termed impingements on the potential space between parent and child. An important addition to the understanding of biological and relational impingements on parent-child emotional dynamics comes from the field of occupational therapy (OT), which views sensory-motor regulatory capacities as forming the basis for quality relating and engaging. From an OT perspective, impingements on relating and adaptive functioning result from compromised regulation of arousal, affect, attention, and activity level on the part of the child, the parent, and/or the child/parent “fit.” Sensory integration and sensory processing theories offer additional frameworks for understanding and communicating with parents about patterns of mutual dysregulation in the parent-child relationship. When integrated with psychodynamic formulations, these ideas from OT research and practice can provide parents with new, more effective and flexible narratives of their children’s inner lives and behavior, and of their own narratives as parents.     

“Sharing in people's pain is not an easy thing to do”: Cognitive Behavioural Therapists' understandings of compassion in the workplace

Objectives

Compassion is central to the aim of improving patient care and staff well-being within healthcare systems. To inform service development, explorations of experiences and meanings of compassion are needed. This study explored cognitive behavioural therapists ' understandings of compassion within their work environment.

Design

A qualitative study was conducted using semistructured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

Methods

Data were obtained from five practicing cognitive behavioural therapists.

Results

Two superordinate themes were developed, each with two subordinate themes. CBT therapists reported entering the profession with intrinsic motivation to care for others. They further developed an interest in compassion with exposure to clients and ongoing professional development in compassion-focused therapy (CFT). Compassionate work environments helped to facilitate compassionate practice; however, for many, workplaces were perceived to lack compassion. Challenges were encountered when negative workplace interactions left therapists feeling fatigued, distressed and demoralised. There was a desire for recognition and to be seen as more than a “work machine,” the experience of which was a threat to retaining therapists within the profession.

Conclusions

Current recruitment and training processes are producing staff with skills and motivation to deliver compassionate care. However, lack of compassion within workplaces can be a barrier to actioning these skills and motivations. Research needs to focus on how to effectively implement and run systems that are compassionate for both staff and clients. To provide compassionate care, staff need work environments that show compassion to them. These findings provide some insights into and practical suggestions regarding how this can be achieved.     

Use of the Labour-Intensive Method in the Repair of a Rural Road Serving an Indigenous Community in Jocotán (Guatemala)

This paper reports the results obtained in an aid project designed to improve transport in the municipal area of Jocotán (Guatemala). The rural road network of an area occupied by indigenous people was analysed and a road chosen for repair using the labour-intensive method-something never done before in this area. The manpower required for the project was provided by the population that would benefit from the project; the involvement of outside contractors and businesses was avoided. All payment for labour went into the pockets of the local people. The small earth movements made and the use of local materials guaranteed the project's environmental sustainability, while the on-site training of the local community prepared its members for the continued maintenance of the road, thus investing the project with social sustainability.     

“Method and meaning”: Storytelling as decolonial praxis in the psychology of racialized peoples

In psychology, there is a growing recognition of how racialized groups are often dehumanized and pathologized, and how racist and colonial legacies still inform our research and practices today. In order to dismantle racism within academic institutions we must decolonize and indigenize psychological science. One promising strategy is the use of storytelling methodology wherein participants from racialized groups share their lived experiences. However, the process of how storytelling contributes to decolonization is rarely explained, and decolonization is rarely defined. The present paper systematically reviewed studies that examined racialized individuals’ lived experience using storytelling methodology in order to synthesize conceptualizations of decolonization and of how storytelling contributes to decolonizing psychological research. Findings suggest storytelling meaningfully contributes to decolonial praxis in psychology. Researchers must work consciously and collaboratively, center research around liberating racialized communities, and explicitly define how their study decolonizes in order to be accountable to their community of study and to the colonial history of the lands on which they're situated.     

The Disarticulation of Time: the Zeitbewußtsein in Phenomenology of Perception

In an effort to reassess the status of Phenomenology of Perception and its relation to The Visible and the Invisible, this essay argues that Merleau-Ponty's engagement with Husserl's text and his discussion of the “field of presence” in La temporalité are intended to think through the field in which time makes its appearance as one of passage. Time does not show itself as presence or in the present but manifests itself as Ablauf, as lapse or flow, an écoulement that is simultaneously an explosion, an éclatement. Merleau-Ponty's account of temporality in these pages is thus legible as recovering the primordial experience of time as a self-differentiating déhiscence in its dual power of articulation and erosion. Time is thus simultaneously the vehicle of the world's appearance and of its “disarticulation”, the passage of a rhythm of affirmation and disintegration.     

Individual Differences in Children��s Occupational Aspirations as a Function of Parental Traditionality

The current study was designed to test the application of the social-cognitive theory of gender development in predicting the traditionality of children??s occupational aspirations (Bussey and Bandura 1999). Of primary interest was the influence of children??s efficacy for nontraditional tasks on their occupational aspirations. Participants were 150 children and their mothers from the southern United States. Mothers reported their gendered attitudes, their perception of their children??s skills, and their family??s division of paid and unpaid labor. Children reported their occupational aspirations and efficacy for traditional and nontraditional skills, occupations, and school topics. Mothers who reported nontraditional attitudes had children with nontraditional occupational aspirations. This association was mediated by children??s efficacy for nontraditional tasks, indicating some support for the social-cognitive theory.