Mind the gap: the need for a generic bridge between psychoanalytic and systemic approaches

The context for this paper is the ongoing systemic/psychoanalytic debate. It offers an alternative perspective to the recent contribution by Brodie and Wright (2002), in which they are concerned to underscore difference between the two therapeutic approaches. Here it is argued that the relationship is a great deal more complex than Brodie and Wright's analysis might suggest. Attention is focused on significant areas of commonality, in particular the impact of social constructionist thinking across the two therapies as well as current developments in technique. A case is made for the consolidation of generic space where there is opportunity for cross-fertilization and for integrative and combined systemic/psychoanalytic approaches to be nurtured and developed where appropriate. Case vignettes are used to highlight different aspects of the generic component in child and family therapy and to underline the need for bridge-building between these key therapeutic approaches in the field.     

Depth interval estimates from motion parallax and binocular disparity beyond interaction space

Static and dynamic observers provided binocular and monocular estimates of the depths between real objects lying well beyond interaction space. On each trial, pairs of LEDs were presented inside a dark railway tunnel. The nearest LED was always 40 m from the observer, with the depth separation between LED pairs ranging from 0 up to 248 m. Dynamic binocular viewing was found to produce the greatest (ie most veridical) estimates of depth magnitude, followed next by static binocular viewing, and then by dynamic monocular viewing. (No significant depth was seen with static monocular viewing.) We found evidence that both binocular and monocular dynamic estimates of depth were scaled for the observation distance when the ground plane and walls of the tunnel were visible up to the nearest LED. We conclude that both motion parallax and stereopsis provide useful long-distance depth information and that motion-parallax information can enhance the degree of stereoscopic depth seen.     

Expecting the initial glimpse: prior target knowledge activation or repeated search does not eliminate scene preview search benefits

A brief glimpse of a scene can guide eye movements but it remains unclear how prior target knowledge influences early scene processing. Using the ‘flash-preview moving window’ (FPMW) paradigm to restrict peripheral vision during search, we manipulated whether target identity was presented before or after previews. Windowed search was more efficient following 250?ms scene previews, and knowing target identity beforehand further improved how search was initiated and executed. However, in Experiment 2 when targets were removed from scene previews, only the initiation of search continued to be modulated by prior activation of target knowledge. Experiment 3 showed that search benefits from scene previews are maintained even when repeatedly searching through the same type of scene for the same type of target. Experiment 4 replicated Experiment 3 whilst also controlling for differences in integration times. We discuss the flexibility of the FPMW paradigm to measure how the first glimpse affects search.     

Sleep-Related Problems in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Intensive Exposure Therapy

Limited research has examined sleep-related problems (SRPs) among children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The present study addresses this gap by investigating preliminary associations between SRPs, demographic factors (gender and age), family variables (family accommodation and parental stress), and clinical factors (medication status, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, OCD severity, OCD-related impairment), and treatment outcomes in a sample of 103 youth (aged 7 to 17 years; 53% female) with a primary diagnosis of OCD. Clinician, parent, and child measures were used to assess demographic, family, and clinical predictors. SRPs were assessed using an 8-item measure comprising items of the Child Behaviour Checklist, Child Depression Inventory, and Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children as used in previous studies. Results showed that SRPs were highly prevalent among this sample and that more SRPs were associated with younger age, internalizing problems, and functional impairment. However, SRPs were not an independent predictor of OCD severity, impairment, or treatment response. Preliminary findings suggest that SRPs among youth with OCD may be more strongly associated with broader internalizing symptoms than with OCD itself. Future longitudinal research is warranted to further explore the complexity of SRPs when co-occurring with pediatric OCD.     

Hemispheric performance in object-based attention

The goal of the present study was to investigate whether object-based attention effects differ across the cerebral hemispheres. Previous research has suggested that object-based attention is preferentially lateralized to the left hemisphere (Egly, Driver, & Rafal, 1994; Egly, Rafal, Driver, & Starrveveld, 1994). However, work by Vecera (1994) has suggested that these previous studies may have failed to obtain a pure measure of object-based attention. The present study applied modified versions of Duncan's (1984) seminal object-based attention paradigm. Subjects were typically presented with one target object to a single visual field (one-object display), two target objects to the same visual field (two-object unilateral display), or two target objects to different visual fields (two-object bilateral display). In all three experiments, response accuracy was higher for the one-object displays than for the two-object displays. Most important, this object-based cost was especially severe when selection of two target elements was isolated to the right visual field (left hemisphere). We confirmed that this effect was specific to object-based attention in three different ways: Experiment 1 manipulated stimulus distance, as recommended by Vecera; Experiment 2 ensured that target selection was based on nonspatial attributes; and Experiment 3 used overlapping displays, as in Duncan (1984). Collectively, the data are in accord with previous conclusions that object-based attention is a specialized form of orienting subserved by lateralized cortical brain mechanisms. However, contrary to previous research, it appears that it is the right hemisphere, and not the left hemisphere, that is preferentially biased for committing object-based attention to elements in the visual environment.     

Converted patients and clinic patients as control cases: a comparison with implications for psychoanalytic training

All twenty-eight respondents to a recent poll of the thirty institutes affiliated with the American Psychoanalytic Association reported that they now accept cases converted from psychotherapy to psychoanalysis as control cases. This study was designed to compare converted cases to clinic cases systematically with respect to patient characteristics, treatment, and the educational experience of the treating candidate. The study followed twenty-four candidates entering analytic training between 1992 and 1995, who treated thirty-four clinic cases and forty-three converted cases between February 1993 and July 2000. Clinic and converted patients were comparable with regard to demographics, prior treatment histories, structural diagnoses, and Axis I diagnoses. In addition, the two groups of cases were indistinguishable with respect to the rate at which candidates received credit toward graduation requirements. Candidates treating converted cases earned approximately dollars 7,600 per patient per year, compared to candidates treating clinic cases, who earned nothing. Eighty-four percent of converted patients diagnosed with a mood disorder by the treating candidate were on medication, in contrast to only 20% of clinic patients with the same diagnosis. Similar differences were seen in the case of anxiety disorders. Given the prevalence of affective and anxiety disorders in control cases and the availability of a variety of medications and psychotherapies with documented efficacy in treating these disorders, candidates should be trained to discuss treatment options with patients who present with Axis I disorders.     

Desire for control and communication-related personality variables

In a sample of 95 university students, scores on a measure of desire for control correlated .37 with willingness to communicate, supporting the notion of control as a motive for communication and also correlated .43 with self-perceived communication competence but not with communication apprehension.