Function(s) of Religion in the Contemporary World: Psychoanalytic Perspectives

With respect to our psychoanalytic frame of reference allowing us to study the extent of the hypotheses concerning the religious phenomenon as formulated by Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, in the context of a cross approach between the accuracy of the concept of conversion and of psychic mechanisms or phenomena at stake within conversions, and based on the testimonials of subjects acknowledging themselves in the experiment of conversion, we try to understand if and how religion is anchored in our cultural era through subversive effects it may have on the subject.     

Monitoring the effects of adult psychotherapy in routine practice in Switzerland: A feasibility trial

Background: Several studies have been published on the effects of psychotherapy in routine practice. Complementing traditional views summarised as ‘dose‐effect models’, Stiles et al. put forward data consistent with the responsive regulation model underlining the importance of the client's active participant role in defining length of treatment. One may ask what level of change reached by a patient is considered to be the ‘good enough level’ (GEL) and if it is related to the duration of psychotherapy. Aims: The main objective of the present feasibility trial was to monitor the patient's session‐by‐session evolution using a self‐report questionnaire in order to define the GEL, i.e. the number of sessions necessary for the patient to reach significant change. Method: A total of N=13 patients undergoing psychotherapy in routine practice participated in the study, completing the Outcome Questionnaire – 45.2 (OQ‐45), which assesses the symptom level, interpersonal relationships and social role after every psychotherapy session. The data was analysed using multi‐level analyses (HLMs). Results: High feasibility of fine‐grained assessment of effects of psychotherapy in routine practice in Switzerland was shown; response rates being acceptable; however, detailed analysis of the GEL was not feasible within the short study time‐frame. Conclusions: Reflections on the political context of monitoring in the specific case of routine psychiatric practice in Switzerland are discussed.     

Inviting perspective transformation: Sexual history awareness for professional formation

How do we deal with our own sexuality as teachers and as learners in the classroom? As a seminary professor in a mainline Christian context, I find that discussing sexuality increases student discomfort levels by threatening to raise questions about the connections between morality, behavior, and bodies of those in the room – questions we have been culturally trained to avoid. In order to decrease discomfort, many instructors approach sexuality only as content‐based subject matter. Particularly for ministry students, this approach can be a disservice to their discernment process and preparation for future ministry contexts, especially for those in turmoil regarding sexuality‐related issues. By explicitly engaging how personal experience and cultural contexts shape our sexuality, pedagogical models can promote critical self‐reflection and seek perspective transformation, not values change, as a resource for professional sexual ethics training in ministry.     

Perceptions of the Nature of Happiness: Cultural,but Related to the Dynamics of the Human Mind and the Gratification of General Needs

In her book ‘Happiness’ Laura Hyman identifies some discourses, as defined by Foucault, about happiness among 19 middle-class respondents in the UK. A discourse is a way of thinking and communicating about some issue, and comparable to a ‘perception’ or a’ view’. The dominant ‘Therapeutic Discourse’, is based on the view that happiness is an individual and normative challenge; it is to be worked on by selfcare and self-knowledge. A somewhat contradictory discourse puts more priority on social relations, as a condition for happiness. Hyman explains the co-existence of these discourses as a consequence of individualization. Individualization puts more priority on individual responsibility, but can easily lead to a neglect of social relations. It is difficult to assess the universality of these discourses, because the sample of respondents is very homogeneous. If individualization is an important factor we might expect different discourses in more collectivistic cultures. There are, however, theoretical reasons to believe that these discourses are rather universal. We may expect that the gratification of general needs is important. If certain needs are not gratified they will get more attention, and more priority, in a discourse about happiness. The ‘Therapeutic Discourse’, more in particular, is apparently a logical consequence of the dynamics of the human mind. The characteristics of the human consciousness clearly support this discourse. We need more empirical research, about discourses in different cultures, to find out for sure!     

Good Governance and Happiness in Nations: Technical Quality Precedes Democracy and Quality Beats Size

Average happiness differs markedly across nations and there appears to be a system in these differences. This paper considers the role of quality of governance, and in particular the role of technical quality as opposed to democratic quality. A comparison of 127 nations in 2006 shows strong correlations between the quality of governance and average happiness of citizens. The correlation between technical quality and happiness is +0.75 and the correlation between democratic quality and happiness is +0.60. Technical quality correlates with happiness in rich and poor nations, while democratic quality only correlates with happiness in rich nations. The quality of governance appears to be more important for happiness than the size of governments: the relation between quality and happiness is independent of size, while the relation between size and happiness fully depends on quality. The correlation between technical quality and happiness appears to be independent of culture; it exists not only in western nations, but also in Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. This indicates that technically good governance is a universal condition for happiness, and not just a western ideology. Democratic quality adds substantially to the positive effects of technical quality once technical quality has reached some minimal level.     

What Makes Hypocrisy? Folk Definitions,Attitude/Behavior Combinations,Attitude Strength,and Private/Public Distinctions

Past research has rarely examined what makes behaviors appear more or less hypocritical. This work expands our understanding, identifying and exploring factors contributing to perception of hypocrisy. An initial study surveyed participants’ definitions of the concept. Experiments 2a/2b then demonstrate that attitude–behavior inconsistency is viewed as most hypocritical, followed by attitude-attitude and behavior-behavior inconsistency. Experiments 3 and 4 examined how perception of hypocrisy depends on attitude strength, communication method, and whether attitudes/behaviors are privately or publicly held/enacted. We conclude that hypocrisy is perceived as strongest when attitudes are publicly imposed on others in an attempt to appear morally superior.     

VA telemental health: suicide assessment

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) encompasses one of the largest telemental health networks in the world, with over 45,000 videoconferencing and over 5,000 home telemental health encounters annually. Recently, the VA designated suicide prevention as a major priority, with telehealth modalities providing opportunities for remote interventions. Suicide risk assessments, using videoconferencing, are now documented in the literature, as are current studies that find telemental health to be equivalent to face-to-face treatment. Remote assessment of suicidality, however, involves complex legal issues: licensing requirements for remote delivery of care, legal procedures for involuntary detainment and commitment of potentially harmful patients, and liability questions related to the remote nature of the mental health service. VA best practices for remote suicide risk assessment include paradigms for establishing procedures in the context of legal challenges (licensing and involuntary detainment/commitment), for utilizing clinical assessment and triage decision protocols, and for contingency planning to optimize patient care and reduce liability.     

Auditory change detection: simple sounds are not memorized better than complex sounds

Previous research has shown that the detectability of a local change in a visual image is essentially independent of the complexity of the image when the interstimulus interval (ISI) is very short, but is limited by a low-capacity memory system when the ISI exceeds 100 ms. In the study reported here, listeners made same/different judgments on pairs of successive "chords" (sums of pure tones with random frequencies). The change to be detected was always a frequency shift in one of the tones, and which tone would change was unpredictable. Performance worsened as the number of tones increased, but this effect was not larger for 2-s ISIs than for 0-ms ISIs. Similar results were obtained when a chord was followed by a single tone that had to be judged as higher or lower than the closest component of the chord. Overall, our data suggest that change detection is based on different mechanisms in audition and vision.