Creating an Intersubjective Reality: Commentary on Paper by Arnold Rothstein

The author discusses Arnold Rothstein's paper “Compromise Formation Theory: An Intersubjective Dimension” and challenges his definition of intersubjectivity. She offers a perspective in which the import of intersubjectivity theory is less to dissolve the notion of objectivity than to grasp processes of mutual engagement, regulation, and recognition. While it is true that the recognition that the analyst is also a subject and therefore does not have exclusive knowledge is an important shift in the psychoanalytic paradigm, the author suggests that the intersubjective is far more encompassing than this. Intersubjective theory emphasizes the active creation of consensus or conflict about reality rather than merely the recognition that the analyst's perspective on reality is subjective. This cocreation produces a different emotional experience of connection, not merely a change in the quality of insight. Finally, Rothstein's case illustrates how he responds to the need for recognition and regulation. He shows us how focusing on the procedural allowed him to make an intersubjective shift, not simply an intrapsychic interpretation of compromise formation.     

A focused attention intervention for coping with ostracism

Ostracism—being excluded and ignored—thwarts satisfaction of four fundamental needs: belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence. The current study investigated whether training participants to focus their attention on the here-and-now (i.e., focused attention) reduces distress from an ostracism experience. Participants were first trained in either focused or unfocused attention, and then played Cyberball, an online ball-tossing game for which half the participants were included or ostracized. Participants reported their levels of need satisfaction during the game, and after a short delay. Whereas both training groups experienced the same degree of need-threat in the immediate measure, participants who were trained in focused attention showed more recovery for the delayed measure. We reason that focused attention would not reduce the distress during the ostracism experience, but it aided in recovery by preventing participants from reliving the ostracism experience after it concludes.     

Unnoticed intrusions: Dissociations of meta-consciousness in thought suppression

The current research investigates the interaction between thought suppression and individuals’ explicit awareness of their thoughts. Participants in three experiments attempted to suppress thoughts of a prior romantic relationship and their success at doing so was measured using a combination of self-catching and experience-sampling. In addition to thoughts that individuals spontaneously noticed, individuals were frequently caught engaging in thoughts of their previous partner at experience-sampling probes. Furthermore, probe-caught thoughts were: (i) associated with stronger decoupling of attention from the environment, (ii) more likely to occur under cognitive load, (iii) more frequent for individuals with a desire to reconcile, and (iv) associated with individual differences in the tendency to suppress thoughts. Together, these data suggest that individuals can lack meta-awareness that they have begun to think about a topic they are attempting to suppress, providing novel insight into the cognitive processes that are involved in attempting to control undesired mental states.     

Acceptability of Psychotherapy, Pharmacotherapy, and Self-Directed Therapies in Australians Living with Chronic Hepatitis C

Despite the prevalence of psychiatric co-morbidity in chronic hepatitis C (CHC), treatment is under-researched. Patient preferences are likely to affect treatment uptake, adherence, and success. Thus, the acceptability of psychological supports was explored. A postal survey of Australian CHC outpatients of the Royal Adelaide Hospital and online survey of Australians living with CHC was conducted, assessing demographic and disease-related variables, psychosocial characteristics, past experience with psychological support, and psychological support acceptability. The final sample of 156 patients (58 % male) had significantly worse depression, anxiety, stress, and social support than norms. The most acceptable support type was individual psychotherapy (83 %), followed by bibliotherapy (61 %), pharmacotherapy (56 %), online therapy (45 %), and group psychotherapy (37 %). The most prominent predictor of support acceptability was satisfaction with past use. While individual psychotherapy acceptability was encouragingly high, potentially less costly modalities including group psychotherapy or online therapy may be hampered by low acceptability, the reasons for which need to be further explored.     

Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Anxious Youth: Feasibility and Initial Outcomes

We developed and evaluated a brief (8-session) version of cognitive-behavioral therapy (BCBT) for anxiety disorders in youth ages 6 to 13. This report describes the design and development of the BCBT program and intervention materials (therapist treatment manual and child treatment workbook) and an initial evaluation of child treatment outcomes. Twenty-six children who met diagnostic criteria for a principal anxiety diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and/or social phobia were enrolled. Results suggest that BCBT is a feasible, acceptable, and beneficial treatment for anxious youth. Future research is needed to examine the relative efficacy of BCBT and CBT for child anxiety in a randomized controlled trial.     

Investigating Leader Role Congruity and Counterproductive Work Behavior

The present study sought to examine the role of fulfilled vs. unfulfilled expectations in work-related and non-work domains. Specifically, we examined how congruence and incongruence between implicit leadership theories across multiple categories of leaders (typical, ideal, and effective leaders) and characteristics recognized on one’s supervisor affect leader-member exchange (LMX), work-family conflict, and subsequent counter-productive work behavior. We tested our hypotheses using polynomial regression and response surface modeling. The results of this study showed that congruence between implicit leadership theories (ILT’s) of typical, ideal, and effective leaders and supervisor recognition, as well as incongruity between ILT’s of ideal leaders and characteristics recognized in one’s supervisor, significantly impacts perceived LMX quality with supervisors. Incongruity between ILT’s of typical and ideal leaders and supervisor recognition was also associated with higher ratings of work-family conflict (WFC). Finally, the results showed support for a significant indirect effect of congruence between ILTs of typical and ideal leaders and characteristics recognized in one’s supervisor on CWB through WFC. These results add meaningful depth to literature on congruent implicit theories in two ways: (a) we add to existing knowledge of outcomes associated with congruence on ILT’s, and, (b) we examine these associations using ILT’s across multiple categories of leaders. Implications are also discussed.