Die Zukunft gestalten im Angesicht der Vergangenheit

We report on the 4th Nazareth Conference with Jewish and German participants, most of whom are psychoanalysts. As Herman Beland has observed, these Conferences are intended to be “something like a self-experiment by Germans and Israelis to become, in the presence of the other group, aware of the unconscious identity of both people after the Holocaust.” There is still a widespread inability to mourn for the consequences of the terrible events in the years between 1933 and 1945 and deal satisfactorily with their effects. None of the groups, neither the German, nor the Israeli / Jewish, can do their own inner work without the other. For this reason, the method chosen as appropriate was the Tavistock-style “group relations conference”. This approach was developed by the Institute of Human Relations in London and does not focus on the individual’s behaviour but uses large and small groups to investigate group processes in the here and now. -The present work describes, among other things, the unexpectedly strong resistance towards changes of the conscious and unconscious inner images both of one’s own group and of the other. This process led to a feeling of hopelessness and paralysis within the German group that, due to the presence of the Jewish group, we could not avoid. For the Germans, it was hard to bear and observe the mutually shared history. Jewish participants were not able to accept their own German–Austrian childhood memories as a part of their own identity and connect them to the Germans. Each participant across the groups experienced the fantasy of destruction and the unfruitful effects of division. We had to feel how much the fate of the Germans and the Jews were interlocked to understand the participants’ tensions and efforts for opening new pathways.     

2. Freud's 'id' and Jung's 'self' as aids in self-analysis

The id and the self are described as constructs of our unconscious which can be deployed in describing the analytic process. They can be used like the x in mathematics or the joker in a pack of cards as fitting in almost anywhere. But we can call on them as important aids to concentration, when additional room is made for meditating on the past which then comes to life again. They are useful for analysing ourselves and others. In this way the id as well as the self become aide-mémoires. The analysis of the repressed by means of the transference is not the only road to hitherto unconscious memories. This kind of meditation has helped me despite all reservations to undertake self-analysis and to write an autobiography. I maintain that one can have a transference to oneself. It is, of course, narcissistic. But then, no one can write an autobiography without a healthy dose of narcissism.     

Exploration of the association between apology and forgiveness amongst victims of human rights violations

Forgiving may lead to an improvement of mental health, and from a therapeutic jurisprudence perspective it is important to establish what aspects of judicial procedures can be changed to promote forgiving. The literature suggests that receiving an apology may encourage forgiving. However, there is a dearth of empirical research regarding the association between forgiving and apology in judicial settings. This paper reports the findings of a study that examined the association between forgiving and four restorative situations (i.e. excuse, admission of guilt, apology, and true sorriness) in a group of 134 victims of gross human rights violations who were actual or potential participants in the proceedings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The best predictors of forgiveness in this sample were gender and whether victims perceived wrongdoers to be truly sorry.     

Typicality Index of the Strong Interest Inventory: a binomial analysis

The Typicality Index of the 2004 Strong Interest Inventory was developed by Donnay, Morris, Schaubhut, and Thompson to identify inconsistent or other atypical responding. Analysis by the binomial distribution shows that the index, with the recommended cut score, correctly classifies 95.1% of randomly completed inventories.     

Emotional experience and facial expression in Alzheimer's disease

Emotional experiences and facial muscle activity of individuals with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) (n = 13) and healthy elderly control subjects (n = 21) were measured while viewing emotion-eliciting images. Alzheimer's disease and control groups rated their emotional experiences similarly and in the expected directions on dimensions of valence and arousal. Change in corrugator activity while viewing images, compared to baseline, was comparable across groups and was greatest while viewing negative images. Change in zygomatic activity, however, was significantly different between AD and control groups, with AD subjects demonstrating an inverted pattern of activity compared to controls. These findings are discussed as possible consequences of frontal cortical system involvement accompanying the disease process.     

Five-factor model (Big Five) personality traits and universal-diverse orientation in counselor trainees

In this study the authors explored the relationship between five-factor model (FFM: Big Five) personality traits (J. M. Digman, 1990; R. R. McCrae & O. P. John, 1992; J. S. Wiggins & P. D. Trappnell, 1997) and universal-diverse orientation (UDO; M. L. Miville et al., 1999) in counselor trainees. FFM traits were measured using the NEO-Personality Inventory-Revised (P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992). Statistically significant relationships were found between UDO and one of the Big Five personality traits (Openness to Experience) in counselor trainees. Further regression analysis suggested a relationship between UDO and a particular facet of Openness to Experience, Openness to Aesthetics. This finding suggests that counselor trainees who are open to the creative expressions of others may be comfortable working with a wide variety of clients. These results suggest that counselor training that encourages experiences of aesthetic diversity in addition to an exploration of values may promote trainees' ability to work with diverse clients.     

Self-control in distressed couples: a pilot study

A protocol for the short treatment of fighting couples is described. The treatment consists of three training sessions in which homework assignments are given, aimed at enhancing self-control. The participants received exact instructions on how to monitor their anger, to take time out and to write to the partner in a structured manner, instead of expressing their anger in the usual way. A pre-/post-pilot study with nineteen couples shows that the couples improve significantly more during the training than in the pre-treatment baseline period. During the follow-up phase, the improvements are maintained.     

Effectiveness of family therapy: a meta-analysis

The effectiveness of family therapy is assessed in a meta-analysis of 19 studies. At post-treatment, the average patient with family therapy is better off than 76% of the patients with an alternative treatment, a minimal treatment or no treatment. This effect is comparable to that assessed of other psycho-therapies at post-treatment. Our data suggest, that the effect of family therapy increases during the first year after treatment, but that the effect may diminish sharply 18 months after the end of therapy. However, more studies with extended follow-ups will be needed before firm conclusions about the long-term effectiveness of family therapy can be advanced.