Tuning into the psychotic wavelength: Psychoanalytic supervision for mental health professionals

In this paper, material is presented from supervision groups run for mental health professionals in different mental health settings. I will argue that a psychoanalytic framework, which puts the transference and countertransference at the centre of clinical practice, offers an important model for thinking about psychosis and psychotic means of communication. When staff are able to ‘tune in’ to their patients' communications it can help to change a patient's monologue about his/her delusional world into a meaningful dialogue about their emotional world.     

Deliverance,demonic possession,and mental illness: some considerations for mental health professionals

This paper outlines an unconventional treatment for mental illness, the exorcism or deliverance ritual used by Pentecostals and some other charismatic Christians. Deliverance beliefs and practices are based on the assumption that both mental and physical ills result from possession of the sufferer by demons, and are to be treated by the expulsion of those demons. Deliverance practitioners claim to treat schizophrenia, ADHD, and Reactive Attachment Disorder, and believe that these problems are related to sins either of the person in treatment or of an ancestor. Clinicians and counsellors dealing with clients who partially or completely espouse deliverance beliefs may need to understand their worldviews and to discuss their belief system before managing to engage them in conventional mental health treatments. Unusual ethical problems may also be met in the course of such work.     

Relationship of mental health and illness in substance abuse patients

This study examined the latent structure of a number of measures of mental health (MH) and mental illness (MI) in substance use disorder outpatients to determine whether they represent two independent dimensions, as Keyes (2005) found in a community sample. Seven aspects of MI assessed were assessed – optimism, personal meaning, spirituality/religiosity, social support, positive mood, hope, and vitality. MI was assessed with two measures of negative psychological moods/states, a measure of antisociality, and the Addiction Severity Index’s recent psychiatric and family–social problem scores. Correlational and exploratory factor analyses revealed that MH and MI appear to reflect two independent, but correlated, constructs. However, optimism and social support had relatively high loadings on both factors. Antisociality and the family–social problem score failed to load significantly on the MI factor. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the existence of two obliquely related, negatively correlated dimensions. Study findings, although generally supporting the independence of MH and MI, suggest that the specific answers to this question may be influenced by the constructs and assessments used to measure them.     

The relationship between mental toughness and subjective mental illness recovery

Recently there has been an increasing interest in subjective mental illness recovery, and it has been recognised that there is an important role for characteristics such as self-efficacy and locus of control. Mental toughness describes a set of characteristics important for dealing with stress and pressure, and is comprised of challenge, commitment, control of emotion, control of life, confidence in abilities, and interpersonal confidence. The current study explored relationships between mental toughness and subjective mental illness recovery. Seventy-seven participants (nineteen males and fifty-eight females, the majority of which were young adults aged 18–21 years) who had previously recovered from, or were currently recovering from a mental illness (self-reported) completed questionnaire measures of mental toughness and subjective mental illness recovery. Mental toughness had a positive significant relationship to recovery, with particular roles for commitment and confidence in abilities. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for recovery-oriented practice, intervention, and measurement. Further research should examine the role of mental toughness in different aspects of subjective recovery, and also explore relationships with objective measures of recovery.     

The (Neglected) role of the father in Children's mental health

BackgroundAlthough the bulk of the literature on child development, historically, has focused on the significant role of the mother, less attention has been given to that of the father. Therefore, more attention has been given to fathers’ roles in the last 20–30 years.AimThe aim of the current review was to explore the role of the father on a child's development.MethodsAn extensive literature search using 'Psycharticles', ‘PsychInfo’, and ‘Google Scholar’ databases using terms like 'father's role', 'child/children's', 'child development', and 'mental health' was conducted to achieve the objective of the study.ResultsFathers were found to play a significant role in nurturing their children. Fathers are considered to be important for the development of the child's autonomy, the shaping of gender identity, and the development of the moral system of the child. Usually, he is the one who establishes the feeling of security in the child's mind. He is considered to be the protector and defender of the family Freud's position is that the father is the symbol of security, power, and authority for the child.ConclusionAlthough the original aim of the research was to draw a line between parents' roles in the family and shed light on the father's role, the findings suggest that the fundamental concept in nurturing children depends on the complementary roles of parents as children need their parents equally.