Present Moment Contact and Nonjudgment: Pilot Data on Dismantling Mindful Awareness in Trauma-Related Symptomatology

Conventional views purport that mindfulness includes two components: present moment contact (PMC) and nonjudgment. While mindfulness-based interventions that target a broad spectrum of psychopathology, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emphasize “being present” as a key mechanism toward wellness, researchers have struggled to measure PMC and assess its clinical utility. Is there any inherent value in PMC or is its clinical utility contingent upon simultaneously engaging in nonjudgment? This pilot study introduces an experimental paradigm designed to dismantle mindfulness and examine the utility of these two components. Forty women with interpersonal victimization histories were assigned to either a nonjudgment condition or a control condition. Next, participants recalled their trauma and then wrote down whatever information was present in their awareness. PMC was measured in both conditions by assessing the frequency of present tense verbs used within these written protocols. As predicted, in the absence of nonjudgment, PMC was related to high negative affect and low positive affect, though unrelated to trauma intrusion frequency. In the nonjudgment condition, PMC was no longer related to state affect and inversely related to trauma intrusion frequency. These pilot data suggest that isolating PMC from nonjudgment may be unhelpful and perhaps iatrogenic.     

Divergent Interpersonal Paths to Well‐Being for Insecurely Attached Emerging Adults

This study explored attachment, social support, and well‐being among 237 emerging adults. The model predicted that social support would (a) mediate the relationship between attachment anxiety and well‐being and (b) moderate the relationship between attachment avoidance and well‐being. All hypotheses were supported. Implications for counselors are discussed.     

Cognitive phenomenology and conscious thought

How does mental content feature in conscious thought? I first argue that for a thought to be conscious the content of that thought must conscious, and that one has to appeal to cognitive phenomenology to give an adequate account of what it is for the content of a thought to be conscious. Sensory phenomenology cannot do the job. If one claims that the content of a conscious thought is unconscious, one is really claiming that there is no such thing as conscious thought. So one must either accept that there is such a thing as cognitive phenomenology, or deny the existence of conscious thought. Once it is clear that conscious thought requires cognitive phenomenology, there is a pressing question about the exact relationship between a thought’s cognitive phenomenological properties and its content. I conclude with a discussion of the nature of this relationship.     

Skills training in the long-term management of stress and occupational burnout

The current managed healthcare environment stresses brief and effective short-term therapy. However, often this short-term treatment does not lead to long-term behavioral changes and clients return to therapy many times for help with the same dysfunctional behavioral patterns. The main problem with these traditional forms of treatment is the assumption that clients have the basic skills to change their ineffective behaviors. Yet, many people lack the basic skills to manage our highly stressful society, and may take years to master new behavioral management skills. Examining the relationship between stress and coping, this study explored both short-and long-term approaches to behavioral change relative to occupational burnout, and focused upon the teaching of skills to manage stress. Subjects who participated in a 6-week stressmanagement program reported only temporary decreases in burnout, while those subjects who received 1-hour coping “refresher” sessions at 5 months, 11 months, and 17 months showed consistent decreases in burnout throughout a 2 1/2 year period. These results suggest that psychologists can be much more effective behavioral change agents through long-term approaches that emphasize teaching new skills to manage chronic behavioral problems. Given the changes in the health insurance industry and the way therapeutic services are provided, the field may need to rethink approaches that are grounded in personality theory and abnormal psychology to approaches that emphasize principles of learning theory.     

Characteristics of Buddhism in Australia

Research on Buddhism in Australia has tended to focus on demographics, ethnic identity and the migrant experience, and history. This paper uses the literature and material from Internet sites on Australian Buddhist groups to identify characteristics of Buddhism in Australia; it aims to both contribute to the understanding of the growth of Buddhism in Australia and to facilitate comparison with similar studies of American and European forms of Buddhism. New information is presented on the number of Buddhist groups in Australia, their geographical location, and the traditions and lineages represented. It is made apparent that more detailed information is needed, and suggestions are made for further research in a variety of areas.     

The Role of the Father in Anorexia

The literature on anorexia often overlooks the important role of the father in the complex etiology of the illness. This paper examines the father's role and how it impacts on the psychological development of his anorectic daughter. Premorbid and comorbid personality components such as dependency, perfectionism, and high achievement, are shown to be influenced by the father. His role is again significant at the onset of adolescence, when his daughter needs his affirmation as she struggles to make the transition from childhood to womanhood. Socialization of the sexes is implicated in hindering the father/daughter relationship, as is the father's fear of sexual attraction to his developing daughter. The effect of a patriarchal society on the development of anorexia in girls is also explored. The nature of the society we live in is thought to further complicate the anorectic girl's relationship with her father.     

Sudden Death of the Therapist: The Effects on the Patient

While the termination phase of psychoanalytic psychotherapy has been discussed in the literature, the effects on the patient of a forced termination following the therapist's death have seldom been investigated. In this paper, two groups of patients (N = 35) were compared: those who experienced a planned termination and those who experienced a sudden termination as a result of their therapist's death. Data were gathered by means of detailed questionnaire and formal psychological assessment (i.e., the Grief Experience Inventory). Responses were also solicited from therapists who treated patients subsequent to the original therapist's death. Results indicate that patients forced to terminate due to the therapist's unexpected demise experienced significantly more intense grief reactions with regard to feelings of anger, despair, depersonalization, and somatization. The nature of the transference relationship with the original therapist at the time of the latter's death appeared to influence the subsequent therapeutic relationship as well. The authors present recommendations and practical guidelines concerning therapists' responsibility to their analytic patients to make reasonable accommodations in the event of their unexpected death.