From Melancholia to Meaning How to Live the Past in the Present

Freud's theory of melancholia has lately experienced a renaissance among those interested in the creative potentialities of the psyche. In this essay, I consider the ways in which melancholia can contribute to the actualization of these potentialities by preparing the ground in which inspiration can later take root. I also outline the circumstances in which the melancholy subject's refusal to abandon its lost objects represents an entirely valid response to loss. At the same time, I propose that if the subject is to develop an affirmative and imaginatively supple relationship to its psychic history, it must in the end move from melancholia to meaning production. Insofar as melancholia signals the psyche's inability or stubborn unwillingness to move forward, its powers by necessity remain dormant until the subject is able to exchange its sadness for the versatile meaning-making capacities of the signifier. I moreover argue that it is only when the subject is able to transcend its melancholia enough to begin to desire new objects that it can develop loving and responsible relationships with others—that it can begin to welcome others in their own terms rather than reducing them to its own narcissistic image.     

Soviet Patriarchy: Past and Present

The myth that women had equal rights and were emancipated in the Soviet Union masks the reality that the Soviet state, like all totalitarian states, is a manifestation of patriarchal ideology. The true democratization of Russian society requires the rejection of masculinist ideology and constitutes one of the most important social and cultural challenges.     

Embodying the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competency Movement: Voices From the Field

This article illustrates counselors’ embodiment, over time, of the multicultural and social justice counseling competency movement leading to the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2015). The authors discuss the multicultural and social justice counseling competency movement in the context of relationships as appropriate to the counseling field. Aligned with contemporary research perspectives, the authors focus on the lived experiences of 2 pioneering social justice and multicultural competency advocates, Drs. Patricia Arredondo and Derald Wing Sue. The authors integrate scholarship with these historical and personal perspectives, as well as their own, to demonstrate the ways in which people and movements drive counseling leadership and advocacy.     

REBT: Past,Present and Future

In this article, I reflect on what I believe are Albert Ellis’ important contributions to the field of psychotherapy. Having worked closely with Albert Ellis for 32 years, I offer my opinions on some misconceptions of Albert Ellis.     

浅谈内隐社会认知的研究与现状

内隐社会认知是无意识思想、认知理论和社会心理研究日渐整合的结果。作为认知心理学研究的一个组成部分,内隐社会认知的研究从方法论上,得益于内隐记忆研究中逐步完善的间接测量方法;从内容上,尽管内隐社会认知的研究还比较初浅,但却已经涵盖了社会认知、社会态度以及归因评价的多个方面。     

Appreciating a Scientist-Theologian: Some Remarks on the Work of John Polkinghorne

Perhaps the greatest irony about the contemporary religion-science dialogue is the fact that, despite their own strongly articulated denials, many thinkers implicitly accept the "warfare" thesis of A. D. White—that is, they agree with White that traditional theology has proved unable to engage science in fruitful conversation. More than most others, John Polkinghorne understands just how badly White misread the history of Christianity and science, and how much theology has been impoverished by its failure to challenge this core assumption of modernity.     

Family Therapy in Norway: Past and Present

This article will describe the development of family therapy in Norway. First, this article will review the main theoretical influences on Norwegian family therapy, followed by a discussion about its international influence in the field. The second section of this article will address psychiatric health care, family counselling, and how systemic thinking and systemic practice have spread to other areas in the fields of health, social work, and pedagogy. Particularly, a special emphasis will be placed on child protection work in Norway. Then, the family therapy union and Norwegian and Scandinavian congresses will be presented. This article will then describe family therapy education and research in Norway. Finally, future developments in the field will be discussed.     

REBT: Past,Present, and Future

After a walk down memory lane, I take a tour through Ellis’s shifts in philosophy, plus shifts in self theory, and concepts of value. I contrast them all as an appeal to authority compared to pragmatism. The changes in Ellis’s thinking seemed to me more a tribute to Ellis’s diversity and his monumental contribution to psychotherapy than his refusal to be pinned down to core concepts.     

Models of the Creative Process: Past,Present and Future

The creative process, one of the key topics discussed in Guilford's (1950) address to the American Psychological Association and his subsequent work, refers to the sequence of thoughts and actions that leads to novel, adaptive productions. This article examines conceptions of the creative process that have been advocated during the past century. In particular, stage-based models of the creative process are discussed and the evolution of these models is traced. Empirical research suggests that the basic 4-stage model of the creative process may need to be revised or replaced. Several key questions about the creative process are raised, such as how the creative process differs from the noncreative process and how process-related differences may lead to different levels of creative performance. New directions for future research are identified.     

The Dynamics of General Developmental Mechanisms: From Piaget and Vygotsky to Dynamic Systems Models

Dynamic systems theory conceives of development as a self-organizational process. Both complexity and order emerge as a product of elementary principles of interaction between components involved in the developmental process. This article presents a dynamic systems model based on a general dual developmental mechanism, adapted from Piaget and Vygotsky. The mechanism consists of a conservative force, further strengthening the already-consolidated level, and a progressive force, consolidating internal contents and procedures at more advanced levels. It is argued that this dual mechanism constitutes one of the few basic laws of learning and change, and is comparable to the laws of effect and of contiguity. Simulation studies suggest that this dual mechanism explains self-organization in developmental paths, including the emergence of discrete jumps from one equilibrium level to another, S-shaped growth, and the occurrence of co-existing levels.     

Counseling in the Philippines: Past,Present, and Future

The history of colonization and persistent attempts at self‐governance in the Philippines parallel the beginnings of counseling in the country, which were largely influenced by the United States. Because of the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004 and the Psychology Act of 2009, counseling is on its way to professionalization and regulation. Counseling is growing in depth and credibility, as evidenced by applications in practice that are not only indigenous but powerfully relevant.     

Conceptualizing Excellence: Past,Present, and Future

While an historical glance through the sport psychology literature reveals an interest in performance excellence since its beginning, a focus of personal excellence has been a more recent trend. This review will address the relationships between performance and personal excellence. More specifically, we question whether performance excellence in high-level sport, by virtue of the exceptional demands on the elite athlete, occurs at the expense of development in personal excellence or whether performance excellence is possible only through personal excellence. Furthermore, we propose that the field may reconcile these ideals in the future through an athlete-centered sport model. This model is defined by the philosophy that developmentally appropriate sport can be used as a vehicle for enhancing overall well-being and the acquisition of lifelong skills. Performance excellence, therefore, co-exists in the same environment as personal excellence. The implications of implementing an athlete-centered sport system for athletes and coaches and for the research and practice of those in sport psychology will be addressed.     

Counseling the Gifted: Past,Present, and Future Directions

In the 29 years since the last special issue in the Journal of Counseling & Development focusing on gifted individuals, there has been considerable research regarding giftedness. However, meeting the counseling needs of gifted individuals has not been on the national agenda in counselor preparation. This article outlines the status of counseling the gifted from the standpoint of both the counseling and the gifted education professions and includes recommendations for future directions for both fields.     

The Careers Service: Past, Present and Future

The history of the Careers Service is divided into a number of phases: pre-1919, the inter-war years, the early post-war phase, and 1973 onwards. The latter period is analysed in particular detail. External influences upon the service-including developments in the education sphere, theories of vocational guidance, and legislative changes are reviewed. Changes in economic orthodoxy which have influenced developments in economic policy and thereby the operation of the labour market are emphasised. The potential future role of the Careers Service is considered.