Dreaming and bereavement

Bereavement dreams provide an important, though seldom mentioned or recognized, component of the grief process. As the unconscious presses for recognition of the pain and extent of the loss, dream material is presented to help the bereft move to a new and integrative life position. Religious symbols present themselves to give the grieving a new sense of themselves as individuals and an expanding view of the world. Grief therapists have generally ignored this important component of the grief process, and as a result, little significant clinical research has been done. A comprehensive picture of bereavement will not be developed until increased attention is given to this important area.     

Working with incest survivors

The purpose of this paper is to convey more widely the existence of this kind of specialist group in the NHS. We also wish to show some of the advantages and disadvantages in setting up such a group to other professionals who may be considering the possibility of starting an incest-survivors group. The paper describes the group which ran at the Psychiatric Day Hospital at the Whittington Hospital for forty weeks: how we adopted the group structure; some of the problems we faced; and some of the emotional issues generated in therapists and patients. Conclusions are drawn about the usefulness of such a group.     

Rediscovering trust: Towards an alternative psychotherapy

The collapse of significant human relationships is a primary cause of psychosis. When basic trust is extinguished, a person can feel that his or her actual existence is threatened by genuine relationships. Yet, every human being has a powerful innate need for relationships. Such is the tragic paradox of psychosis: the person is, at the same time, in terror over the possibility of a relationship and in despair over the impossibility of a relationship. An alternative psychotherapy must emerge that allows the psychotherapist and the disturbed person to build a bond of mutual care. Each person unconditionally accepts and confirms the other for what he is, and for what he may become. The psychotherapist must enter the bizarre psychotic world as a partner in a journey to recover the lost wholeness of the psychotic person. This relationship can serve as a bridge which allows the psychotic person to creatively discover a way to rejoin the normal world.     

What Does it Mean to call God Good?

Contemporary expositions of God's goodness commonly err either (1) by subjecting God to moral laws, which is to question His sovereignty, or (2) by failing to establish that God will always act in accordance with moral principles, which removes the theist's ability to appeal to God's goodness in response to problems of evil. Current attempts at intermediate positions which avoid these two problems fall short. In this paper, I aim to construct a better intermediate position and account of God's goodness. I do this by claiming that God's ability to create is best explained in terms of God's self-love. Since God, as the greatest possible being, must be able to create, He must love Himself. I argue that this in turn entails that God loves all things, since by loving Himself, God loves the pre-existent ideas of everything that will come to exist, and by extension the things themselves. This, I argue, allows us to have confidence that God will act in accordance with moral principles, but without subjecting Him to moral laws.     

Treatment contracts in long-term groups with alcoholic outpatients: A group case study

This paper describes the process of treatment contracting in a long-term group with alcoholic outpatients — relating the contracting process to the dynamics of the group and to the total treatment context. The material presented highlights the ways in which the contracting process (in particular, grappling with the issue of who should set the terms of the contract) may serve as a model for helping group members better understand and cope with problems in assertiueness and limit setting.     

Online mental health resources for adolescents: Overview of research and theory

Adolescents use the Internet at higher rates than any other age group. The Internet therefore offers an obvious opportunity for the provision of mental health information for them. Little is known, however, about adolescent behaviour online, especially access of age‐appropriate mental health resources. This review of the published literature examines theoretical and research studies to develop an understanding of adolescent mental health‐seeking behaviour on the Internet. It is clear that adolescents do seek health information online, but little is known about its content, nature or mode of delivery. There appears to be no research specific to mental health resources for adolescents online.     

General practitioners' perceptions of psychologists: A response to the Medicare changes in Australia

General practitioners (GPs) have historically been at the centre of primary health‐care delivery in Australia, including delivery of mental health‐care services. Recent changes, however, by the Australian Federal government have led to the creation of a number of mental health‐care items provided by psychologists that are now available on the Medicare Benefits Schedule. The aim of the present study was to examine GPs' perceptions of psychologists and the ways in which GPs have responded to these policy changes in making referrals for mental health patients. Nine GPs were interviewed regarding the provision of mental health‐care services. Analysis of the interviews indicated a number of themes including the benefits of the new Medicare policy in increasing accessibility of psychologists, GPs' frustrations with the bureaucracy surrounding the use of this policy, GPs' knowledge about the specific skills and training of psychologists, and the importance of GPs' matching patients and clinicians. Recommendations are made to facilitate the professional and clinical relationship between GPs and psychologists.     

Gender Differences in Forgiveness and its Affective Correlates

Journal of Religion and Health - Although women are believed to be more forgiving than men, the results of many studies comparing women with men vary. Moreover, little is known about unique...