A comparison of perceptions of counselling in Ireland and the United States

The present study compared 50 Irish and 50 US graduate and undergraduate psychology and counselling students on the ways they rated counsellors, counselling, and group counselling on a semantic differential. Males were also contrasted to females on these concepts. A 2 2 2 2 2 MANOVA was used for the data analysis where the independent variables were country, class, and gender, and the dependent variables were the evaluative and potency scales of the semantic differential for counsellors, counselling, and group counselling. The Irish sample rated the potency of counselling significantly higher as did women. Counselling graduates evaluated group counselling and counsellors significantly higher than psychology undergraduates.     

Adolescents' evaluative beliefs of failure: explorations in a Chinese Singaporean sample

Our study explored evaluative beliefs of failure to see whether positive and negative beliefs of failure are bivariate in nature within three domains of an adolescent's life (academic, social, and athletic) and how such beliefs are differentially linked to the importance of a domain, the frequency of failure in a domain, and the extremity of negative emotions experienced when encountering failure in a domain. A total of 163 Chinese Singaporean students in Secondary 3 and 4 (Grades 9 and 10) from two Singapore schools participated in the study by completing a questionnaire. Results from various analyses converged to demonstrate that evaluative beliefs could be distinguished by both valence (positive and negative) and domain (academic, social, and athletic). The six evaluative beliefs were also distinguished from failure attributions. While there was consensus in what constituted negative beliefs of failure across domains, positive beliefs of failure showed some domain specificity, with unique aspects in particular domains (e.g., the inevitability of failure only in the academic domain). Positive and negative beliefs in the different domains were correlated among themselves, but positive and negative beliefs were uncorrelated within (except for academic) and across domains. Positive and negative beliefs were also differentially linked to domain importance, failure frequency, and extremity of negative emotion. Unexpectedly, domain importance was not linked to negative beliefs but was linked to positive beliefs, while positive and negative beliefs showed domain-specific links with failure frequency. As expected, however, negative beliefs were (positively) linked to extremity of negative emotions while positive beliefs were not linked to such extremity. The conceptual, substantive, and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

A metasynthesis of published case studies through Lacan's L‐schema: Transference in perversion

Transference in perversion is characterized by specific problems such as a defiant and polemic attitude, erotic transference, projections, and aggression. Such transference poses particular problems in the treatment of perversion and might render analytical work with these patients impossible. The authors propose that Lacan's L‐schema can contribute to separating productive from counterproductive aspects of transference as it distinguishes between an Imaginary and a Symbolic dimension in transference. In this meta‐synthesis of 11 published case studies on sexual perversion, patterns of transference are analysed. On the Imaginary dimension, the authors found that patients with perversion tend to (un)consciously engage the analyst in a relationship characterized by identification, fusion and rivalry. On the Symbolic dimension, they found that perverse patients are able to question their motives, lapses, symptoms, and subjective identity. The thematic analysis revealed the importance of the position of the analyst in this work, which is described within the L‐schema as being the representative of the otherness in the Other. Implications for clinical practice and recommendations for further research are outlined.     

And the Winner is… Awards for the Integration of Science and Practice in Psychology

Psychotherapists from all fields perform difficult and challenging work, trying to help their clients gain insight into their problems and make lasting changes in their thoughts and behaviors. Unfortunately, too often the work of a psychotherapist is minimized, neglected, or disregarded. Where departmental or conference awards may be presented regularly, public recognition for evidence-based and clinically-relevant published work is lacking. The present paper aims to acknowledge the most valuable recent accomplishments in the field of mental health assessment and treatment. Nominations were accepted for works published during 2017, papers of enduring value, and most valuable psychologist, and votes were cast by a panel of judges. These valuable contributions are recommended for all psychotherapists who hope to improve their work with clients.     

Differential constraints on the working memory and reading abilities of individuals with learning difficulties and typically developing children

This study examined the factors that constrain the working memory span performance and reading ability of individuals with generalized learning difficulties. In the study, 50 individuals with learning difficulties (LD) and 50 typically developing children (TD) matched for reading age completed two working memory span tasks. Participants also completed independent measures of the processing and storage operations involved in each working memory span task and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices. The results showed that despite an equivalent level of working memory span, the relative importance of the constraints on working memory differed between the groups. In addition, working memory span was not closely related to word recognition or sentence comprehension performance in the LD group. These results suggest that the working memory span performance of LD and TD individuals may reflect different working memory limitations and that individuals with generalized learning difficulties may approach cognitive tasks in a qualitatively different way from that of typically developing individuals.     

Learning to control brain activity: a review of the production and control of EEG components for driving brain-computer interface (BCI) systems

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology relies on the ability of individuals to voluntarily and reliably produce changes in their electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. The present paper reviews research on cognitive tasks and other methods of generating and controlling specific changes in EEG activity that can be used to drive BCI systems. To date, motor imagery has been the most commonly used task. This paper explores the possibility that other cognitive tasks, including those used in imaging studies, may prove to be more effective. Other factors which influence performance are also considered in relation to selection of tasks, as well as training of subjects.