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.     

Frequency and Psychosocial Correlates of Eating Disorder Symptomatology in Male Figure Skaters

Using a cross-sectional, mixed-method design, this study examined the frequency and psychosocial correlates of eating disorder (ED) symptomatology among male figure skaters (n = 29; M_age = 18.45 years) and explored their perspectives on skating-related weight pressures. One participant (3.7%) scored within range of a clinical ED. Body mass index, sport-related weight pressures, and sport-related body dissatisfaction explained 30% of variance in ED symptomatology; only weight pressures were significant. Although most endorsed the positive influences of skating, a perceived body–performance link was their most frequent weight pressure. Coping with sport-related weight pressures should be addressed in applied sport psychology and ED prevention.     

Thinking Developmentally in Child and Adult Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis in theory and clinical practice is a developmental domain. Psychoanalysts think about their patients from a developmental point of view. The analytic relationship promotes development in both analyst and patient. Two concepts central to this author’s developmental point of view are epigenetics—as used in biology and philosophy—and that of the analyst as “developmental object.” Optimally, the analyst as developmental object facilitates what Rita Tähkä terms the “developmental illusion,” which intersubjectively transforms psychic structures, enabling alternatives to the repetition compulsion. Two vignettes with adult patients illustrate how empathic intimacy in psychoanalysis with an emphasis on latency and toddler phases as reconstructed in adult analysis presaged psychic growth. Transference as a vehicle for a developmental history taking is also considered.     

Resilience of the Childhood Origins of Dutch Mothers’ Gender Role Attitudes

Based on qualitative analysis of 39 in depth interviews with Dutch mothers, this paper firstly explores if differences in primary socialization are relevant to an understanding of Dutch mothers’ current diverse (personal) gender role attitudes. Secondly, it addresses the interplay of a mother’s own gender role attitude and those of her partner and peers. The findings reveal that Dutch mothers’ current diverse gender role attitudes have origins in the transmission of different mental and verbal parental, especially maternal, symbols. Egalitarian mothers often recall a strong mother-figure, the verbal persuasion of economic independence and/or particular non-traditional upbringing matters that appealed to their logic of being financially independent. The memories of traditional/adaptive mothers rather stand out for the resignation of unpaid tasks by their own mothers, and the absence of parental encouragement to consider their professional life. The findings further indicate that in childhood originated aspects of mother’s personal gender role attitude continue to shape the character of mother’s behavior and new social relationships.     

The conflict of harmony: Intergroup contact,commonality and political solidarity between minority groups

Recent work on social change has complicated the picture regarding the influence of intergroup contact with majority groups on minority group members' perceptions of inequality and willingness to engage in social action. The present research investigated the ability of a commonality-focused message to inspire political solidarity between minority groups, as well as the potential moderating role of intergroup contact with a majority group on the efficacy of this message for political solidarity. Across two experiments, as hypothesized, political solidarity from one minority group to another was highest within a commonality condition, relative to group-boundaries salient and control conditions, which was explained by increases in commonality perceptions. As expected, however, these effects were moderated by majority group contact, such that those with high levels of contact with majority group were less likely to show the commonality-to-political solidarity relation. Implications for intergroup contact and more broadly social change are discussed.     

Training service providers working with traumatized children in South Africa: The navigations of a trainer

In South Africa, counselling training poses two related difficulties: working in a situation of ubiquitous, ongoing violence, and offering training to people who have minimal or no qualifications and are often overwhelmed by enormous workload. In this context, there is a temptation either to give up hope in the face of the enormity of the task, or defensively to package counselling as a set of techniques which can be taught without much self-reflection. In this article we discuss, by contrast, an intervention which used psychodynamic principles to develop learner-centred training drawing on trainees' own experiences. We consider the benefits of this approach even in a context of violence and meagre resources.     

PTSD, Depressive Symptoms, and Suicidal Ideation in African American Women: A Mediated Model

Although research has shown positive associations among post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation, the nature of these relations is unclear, especially in African American women. This study examined the associations among these comorbid psychological difficulties in a sample of 136 low-income, African American women. Specifically, the goal of this investigation was to ascertain if overall depressive symptoms, as well as both the cognitive-affective and somatic components of depression, mediated the PTSD-suicidal ideation link. Results from bootstrapping analyses revealed that overall depressive symptoms and the cognitive-affective components of depression, but not the somatic components, mediated the PTSD-suicidal ideation link.     

‘Real Italians and wogs’: The discursive construction of Italian identity among first generation Italian immigrants in Western Australia

We explore the discursive construction of Italian identity among a bilingual sample of Italian‐born Western Australians. Focus groups were held with two groups: Italians who had migrated to Australia as children and a group who had migrated as adults. We found intra‐ and inter‐individual differences in identity construction, with much discourse devoted to demonstrating Italian authenticity and negotiating ethnic category boundaries. Shared markers of authenticity included language, heritage and food. The groups varied in their selection of referent groups to make authenticity claims, with the child migrants drawing upon the shared Australian stereotype of ‘wogs’ to construct and authenticate their Italian‐ness. In contrast, adult migrants constructed Italian identity through comparisons with the dominant Australian ethnic group and in relation to a broader ‘migrant’ identity. The findings highlight the fluid and complex nature of ethnic identity and the need for further exploration of how it is constructed in talk. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Looking into the One‐way Mirror: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Reflecting Teams on Family Members

Reflecting Teams (RTs) are an internationally recognized clinical consultation methodology, first developed by Tom Andersen in 1985. Over the last three decades, family therapists around the world have used RTs to enhance treatment. However, this innovation to family therapy practice is not well‐standardized nor evaluated. The pilot study described in this article is an attempt to expand on the previous studies on RTs, and quantitatively examines RTs conducted with family therapy participants at a university medical center psychiatric institute. Preliminary analyses indicate that after participating in a single RT, family members may feel more hopeful, believe they can better support each other in times of stress, have more confidence in working together, and resolve conflicts. Additionally, the analyses suggest that family members may feel better understood and have more ideas about how to have a conversation with their family members, even though, after the RT, they may not view their family differently. These preliminary results suggest that further studies should explore the influence of RTs on family functioning.