Philosophy of Education in a Poor Historical Moment: A Personal Account

Under the post-metaphysical sky “old” humanistic-oriented education is possible solely at the cost of its transformation into its negative, into a power that is determined to diminish human potentials for self-exaltation. Nothing less than total metamorphosis is needed to rescue the core of humanistic genesis: the quest for edifying Life and resistance to the call for “home-returning” into the total harmony that is promised to us within nothingness.     

Alliance-Outcome Associations in a Community-Based Social Skills Intervention for Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Although the alliance is a consistent predictor of treatment outcomes in psychosocial interventions, few studies have examined this association among youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In particular, youth-therapist alliance has never been examined in social skills interventions (SSIs), a common modality for this population. In this study, thirty-four youth with ASD (M_age = 12.41; 79% male) participated in a community-delivered, group-based SSI in a summer camp format led by eight Head Therapists (M_age = 32.12; 50% male). Early alliance and change in alliance over the course of the treatment were assessed via self- and observer-reported measures. Both self- and observer-rated alliance were associated with positive treatment outcomes as reported by parents (decreased problem behaviors) and other peers in the group (reciprocated friendship and social preference). These results provide the first evidence of the role of the alliance in an SSI for youth with ASD and add to the growing body of literature that demonstrates the importance of assessing and addressing the alliance in treatment for this population.     

Application of Yoga as a Spiritual Practice to Enhance Counselor Wellness and Effectiveness

In this article, we explore potential benefits of yoga, an ancient Indian tradition for spiritual growth and development, for counselors. Counselors use themselves as instruments to support clients and are constantly exposed to the traumatic experiences of clients, which may leave them susceptible to secondary traumatic stress or compassion fatigue (Shallcross, 2011). Yoga can help counselors not only in achieving holistic wellness but also in developing a way of being consistent with the characteristics of an effective counselor. Furthermore, yoga, as a spiritual practice, can empower counselors to embark on a spiritual journey driven by their own personal experiences.     

和平心理学的经典传统与现代研究趋向

本文讨论了不同历史时期的心理学家对和平心理的看法,以“和平”为主线,追溯和平心理学思潮兴起的历史逻辑。毕达哥拉斯、恩培多克勒、柏拉图、奥古斯丁、夸美纽斯、康德等从本体论视角,确立了实现永久和平的理想追求。冯特的民族心理学重视研究原始人、战争英雄等的和平心理品质,早期的意动心理学重视人类和平意识研究,机能心理学强调通过建设学校“微型共同体”,提高儿童的和平意识。精神分析心理学则为战争与和平心理提供了新视角。人本主义心理学主张研究人的和平潜能、致力于世界和平冲突化解,推动了和平心理学的兴起。20世纪末的和平心理学主张用和平的方式实现和平,发生了“政治道歉”、和平冲突化解、“人类命运共同体”等研究趋向。     

Action representation deficits in adolescents with developmental dyslexia

Developmental dyslexia (DD), a severe and frequent disorder of reading acquisition, is characterized by a diversity of cognitive and motor deficits whose interactions still remain under debate. Although deficits in the automatization of sensorimotor control have been highlighted, internal action representation allowing prediction has never before been investigated. In this study, we considered action representation of 18 adolescents with pure DD and 18 age-matched typical readers. Participants actually and mentally performed a visually guided pointing task involving strong spatiotemporal constraints (speed/accuracy trade-off paradigm). While actual and mental movement times of typical readers were isochronous and both conformed to Fitts’ law, the movement times of dyslexics differed between conditions, and only the actual movement times conformed to Fitts’ law. Furthermore, the quality of motor imagery correlated with word reading abilities. This suggests that the process of action representation is impaired in pure DD and supports the sensorimotor perspective of DD. Theoretical implications are discussed.