Supervision in rational emotive behavior therapy

This paper deals with the general process of supervision of therapists learning to understand and practice rational emotive behavior therapy. The endeavor of supervision is viewed as one of education, training, and practive with critical and constructive feedback. Major sections discuss and describe Educational Aspects of Supervision, Training Aspects of Supervision, Evaluation of Supervisees Performance, and Preferable Characteristics and Traits for REBT Practitioners.This paper is based on a chapter prepared for a forthcoming book,Handbook of Psychotherapy Supervision, edited by C. Edward Watkins, Jr.Paul J. Woods, Ph.D. is a Fellow of the Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy, and a former Co-Editor of thisJournal. He is in private practice in Roanoke, VA. Albert Ellis, Ph.D. is the founder of REBT and the President of the Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy in New York.     

Transfer of newly acquired stimulus valence between identities in dissociative identity disorder (DID)

Patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) frequently report episodes of interidentity amnesia, that is amnesia for events experienced by other identities. The goal of the present experiment was to test the implicit transfer of trauma-related information between identities in DID. We hypothesized that whereas declarative information may transfer from one identity to another, the emotional connotation of the memory may be dissociated, especially in the case of negative, trauma-related emotional valence. An evaluative conditioning procedure was combined with an affective priming procedure, both performed by different identities. In the evaluative conditioning procedure, previously neutral stimuli come to refer to a negative or positive connotation. The affective priming procedure was used to test the transfer of this acquired valence to an identity reporting interidentity amnesia. Results indicated activation of stimulus valence in the affective priming task, that is transfer of emotional material between identities.     

Trends in Telehealth versus On-site Clinical Genetics Appointments in Manitoba: A Comparative Study

Telehealth involves the use of information and communications technology to deliver health services to patients over distance. Canada is well suited to benefit from telehealth since many individuals live in remote, rural and isolated locations. Manitoba is the easternmost prairie province and MBTelehealth is an active Canadian program that currently has 105 sites in 73 communities. Although studies of patient satisfaction comparing telehealth to on-site clinical visits have been conducted, a comparative study of the types of genetics patients seen via these two modalities has not been performed previously. In this study we: (1) examined the uptake of telehealth in Genetics in Manitoba; (2) contrasted telehealth usage in Genetics with other clinical programs; and (3) performed a comparative study of the types of Genetics referrals seen in 2008 on-site versus via telehealth. Results indicate the uptake of telehealth is increasing and has made genetics outreach clinics unnecessary. The Program of Genetics and Metabolism is consistently one of the top ten utilizers of telehealth within the province. With respect to discipline, chi square analysis revealed the trends were not significantly different for on-site and telehealth encounters, with prenatal referrals being the most common and Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer referrals being the least common. Referrals within each discipline varied depending on the need for fetal assessment and physical examination. Telehealth was utilized regularly for test results sessions across all disciplines.     

Surface perception and the generic view principle

The hypothesis that perceptual experience can be understood in terms of rule-based processing has strongly influenced recent theories of visual surface perception. However, many of the rules that these theories propose apply only in relatively restricted situations. I suggest that more general and robust principles for reducing perceptual ambiguity are available, such as the generic view principle (GVP) described here. According to the GVP, vision assumes that qualitative (e.g. topological) image structure is stable with respect to small changes of viewpoint. Some consequences of the GVP for visual surfaces, including illusory surfaces, are described. I also demonstrate the decisive role of real and illusory background surfaces in specifying the 3-D shape and layout of visual objects and scenes.     

On the role of imagery in linear syllogistic reasoning

Summary The functional role of imagery in linear syllogistic reasoning has not yet been convincingly established. Shortcomings of previous theories and research are discussed. A conceptual analysis of the imagery position leads to the differentiation of modality-specific, analogical-representational, and process perspectives. To obtain evidence relevant to the first and third of these perspectives, a Stroop-type interference paradigm was used in combination with self-paced successive presentation of task components (premises and question of linear syllogisms). Effects of interference information and task components upon response time were consistent with the process reconceptualization of the imagery position.     

Parental Awareness and Monitoring of Adolescent Internet Use

This study focused on four aspects of parental monitoring of Internet use by their children: parental supervision, communication and tracking, and adolescent disclosure. Data were obtained from a SAFT (Safety Awareness for Teens Project) national survey of Singapore youths and parents regarding Internet safety at home. Study 1 examined 1,124 adolescents and 1,002 parents; Study 2 examined a subsample of 169 dyads of adolescents and their parents. Frequency of use and engagement in risky Internet behaviors such as visiting inappropriate websites were analysed. The results indicated that parents tend to underestimate adolescents’ engagement in risky Internet behaviors and overestimate the amount of parental monitoring regarding Internet safety that occurs at home. The study suggested that mothers have a better awareness of their adolescents’ Internet use than fathers. The findings were explained in the context of parental monitoring. The results suggest that parental monitoring needs to be reconceptualized and that parents need to improve the communication with their adolescents regarding Internet use.     

Active school travel is associated with fewer suicide attempts among adolescents from low-and middle-income countries

Background/Objective: This study explored the association between active school travel (AST) and suicide attempts among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Method: We used the data from the Global School-based Health Survey, including 127,097 adolescents aged 13-17 years from 34 LMICs. A self-reported survey was used to collect data on AST and suicide attempts as well as some variables. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the association between AST and suicide attempts. A meta-analysis with random effects was undertaken to identify the difference in the association between AST and suicide attempts. Results: Across all the adolescents, the prevalence of AST was 37% and the prevalence of suicide attempts was 11.60%. Adolescents who engaged in AST were less likely to have suicide attempts irrespective of gender. The country-wise analysis indicated a large inconsistency in the association between AST and suicide attempt across the countries. Conclusions: AST would appear to be a protective factor for reducing suicide attempts among adolescents. However, the association between AST and suicide attempts varied greatly across the countries. Future studies should confirm the association between AST and suicide attempts.     

Evaluation of the Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP) Seventh Grade Violence Prevention Curriculum

We evaluated the impact of RIPP-7, a seventh grade violence prevention curriculum designed to strengthen and extend the effects of the sixth grade RIPP-6 curriculum. Classes of seventh graders at two urban middle schools serving predominantly African-American youth where RIPP-6 had been implemented the preceding school year were randomized to intervention (N = 239) and control groups (N = 237). Compared to students in the control group, students who participated in RIPP-7 had fewer disciplinary code violations for violent offenses during the following school year. A limited number of main effects were found on self-report outcome measures and measures of attitudes. Although significant main effects were not found on self-report measures of physical aggression, drug use, or anxiety, analyses of interactions with pretest scores indicated that intervention effects were significantly moderated by pretest scores for several outcome measures. Students most likely to benefit from the intervention were those who reported higher pretest rates of problem behaviors including violent behavior, nonphysical aggression, and delinquent behavior.