Troubled Interventions: Public Policy, Vectors of Disease, and the Rhetoric of Diabetes Management

This essay examines the debate surrounding New York City’s controversial diabetes registry program. Exploring the tensions between public health officials and privacy advocates, the article explores how diabetes is imagined in the public sphere. Although rhetorics underscoring privacy may seem the more progressive discourse, I argue New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has the more forward-looking plan, attempting to reconstitute diabetes not as a chronic condition necessitating individual management but as a disease that requires systemic intervention.     

Engagement With Self‐Practice/Self‐Reflection as a Professional Development Activity: The Role of Therapist Beliefs

A number of research studies support self‐practice/self‐reflection (SP/SR) as an experiential learning process that facilitates the acquisition of therapeutic skill in a number of cognitive‐behavioural therapy (CBT) competencies and as showing potential as a valuable professional development activity. Engaging therapists to participate in SP/SR programmes is sometimes difficult, and when they are offered the option to participate in SP/SR programmes as part of professional development, relatively few volunteer. This study investigates the role of therapist beliefs about SP/SR as a potential obstacle to engagement. An online survey was developed to assess the strength of 14 commonly held therapist beliefs concerning the consequences of participating voluntarily in a SP/SR programme. Participants were a combined sample of 44 Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and high‐intensity CBT therapists employed by an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies service in the United Kingdom. Few negative beliefs about SP/SR emerged. The majority of respondents believed SP/SR programmes were relevant to their work situation, but perceived “lack of time” as a significant barrier to participation. Three factors are considered in relation to introducing SP/SR as a workforce professional development activity: (a) The importance of managing therapist perceptions regarding time; (b) SP/SR as a mechanism to increase self‐care and reduce burnout; and (c) The need to focus mental health services' attention on the potential of SP/SR programmes to increase staff morale and improve service delivery.     

Spontaneous Self‐Practice of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) by Aboriginal Counsellors During and Following CBT Training: A Retrospective Analysis of Facilitating Conditions and Impact

Previous cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) training studies have suggested that therapists who practice CBT strategies on themselves during training may experience professional and personal benefits. However, it has also been reported that some CBT trainees are reluctant to engage in self‐practice. The present study reports an incidental finding from a CBT training study with Aboriginal counsellors: all five counsellors reported that they practiced CBT techniques on themselves without specific encouragement by the trainers to do so. This paper therefore posed three questions: (a) Why—in contrast to some other trainees—did this group choose to apply CBT to themselves? (b) How did they apply it—with what purpose, in what contexts, and which skills? (c) What was the impact of CBT self‐practice? Data from the group's reflections were qualitatively analysed by two of the researchers, and “member checked” by the remainder. Results indicated that the counsellors were motivated to practice CBT on themselves for two principal reasons: the value they placed on CBT, and their personal need resulting from the high number of crises experienced while living and working in their communities. The counsellors reported practicing CBT in a wide variety of contexts as part of their learning. As in previous studies, the impact of CBT self‐practice was that it increased their confidence and competence as therapists. It also appeared to be a valuable burnout prevention strategy. If the results are generalisable, they suggest that self‐experiential training in CBT may be a culturally responsive and adaptive way for Aboriginal counsellors to enhance their learning of CBT skills.     

Cultural Adaptation of CBT for Aboriginal Australians

This paper provides a commentary and provides international context to the research conducted by J. Bennett‐Levy et al. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a highly structured psychological treatment that has unprecedented empirical validation relative to other approaches to therapy. Despite the wealth of evidence supporting its use, the case for CBT is far less compelling for ethnic minority groups. There is however a growing body of international literature supporting the notion of adaptation of CBT for these groups. The research by J. Bennett‐Levy et al. represents a positive step toward validating CBT for use with Australia's indigenous people that is likely to shape the future direction of research in this field. Suggestions are made regarding the next logical empirical steps in this important area of investigation.     

Secret Agent Society: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Transdiagnostic Youth Social Skills Group Treatment

Group programs are key for targeting social skills (SS) for children with developmental disorders and/or mental illness. Despite promising evidence regarding efficacy of group treatments, there are several limitations to current research regarding generalizability and effectiveness across diagnoses. This randomized control trial assessed whether the Secret Agent Society (SAS) group program was superior to treatment as usual (TAU) in improving social-emotional functioning for children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and/or anxiety. Eighty-nine youth (8–12) with ADHD, ASD, and/or an anxiety disorder receiving treatment at hospital-based outpatient clinics were randomized to receive SAS (n?=?47) or TAU (n?=?42) over a three-month period, at which point TAU participants were offered the SAS intervention. Parent report showed significant improvement in Emotion Regulation (ER) and Social Skills (SS) for youth in SAS vs. TAU (Fs?≥?6.79, ps?≤?01). Gains for the SAS condition were maintained at 6-months. Intent-to-treat analysis of teacher report indicated youth in SAS had positive gains in SS (F?=?0.41, p?=?0.475) and ER (F?=?0.99, p?=?0.322), though not significantly better than youth in TAU. Clinically reliable improvement rates were significantly higher for SAS participants than TAU for parent and teacher reported SS and ER. Improvements were significant for youth with single and comorbid diagnoses. Results suggest that SAS was superior to TAU in improving SS and ER for youth aged 8–12 with ADHD, ASD, and/or anxiety. Gains maintained in the medium-term. Trial registration number NCT02574273, registered 10/12/2015.

     

Imageability and body–object interaction ratings for 599 multisyllabic nouns

We collected imageability and body–object interaction (BOI) ratings for 599 multisyllabic nouns. We then examined the effects of these variables on a subset of these items in picture-naming, word-naming, lexical decision, and semantic categorization. Picture-naming latencies were taken from the International Picture-Naming Project database (Szekely, Jacobsen, D’Amico, Devescovi, Andonova, Herron, et al. Journal of Memory and Language, 51, 247–250, 2004), word-naming and lexical decision latencies were taken from the English Lexicon Project database (Balota, Yap, Cortese, Hutchison, Kessler, Loftis, et al. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 445–459, 2007), and we collected semantic categorization latencies. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that imageability and BOI separately accounted for unique latency variability in each task, even with several other predictor variables (e.g., print frequency, number of syllables and morphemes, age of acquisition) entered first in the analyses. These ratings should be useful to researchers interested in manipulating or controlling for the effects of imageability and BOI for multisyllabic stimuli in lexical and semantic tasks.     

The dynamical structure of handball penalty shots as a function of target location

We used principal components analysis (PCA) to investigate variations in the dynamical structure of handball penalty shots as a factor of target location and phase of shot. Participants completed a total of 10 successful shots to each of four target locations in the handball goal. Three dimensional movement time series data were analyzed. Also, data were analyzed across three temporally distinct time windows in line with the evolving kinematic chain. Statistical analyses were undertaken to determine differences across target locations. There were no significant differences between dynamical structures as a factor of target or phase. Covariance between time evolutions as a factor of target reduced in line with the ranking of the component. When shots were analyzed as three distinct time windows, only the low time evolution covariances suggested differences between targets in any time window. Our findings show that the dynamical structure underpinning the handball penalty shot does not differ greatly across locations. However, the time evolution of principal components suggests there are some variations in dynamics which may differentiate shot direction.     

Construction area (no hard hat required)

A variety of relations widely invoked by philosophers—composition, constitution, realization, micro-basing, emergence, and many others—are species of what I call ‘building relations’. I argue that they are conceptually intertwined, articulate what it takes for a relation to count as a building relation, and argue that—contra appearances—it is an open possibility that these relations are all determinates of a common determinable, or even that there is really only one building relation.