Supervision groups for health advisers working with patients with HIV disease

This paper describes a case supervision group with health advisors working in a clinic specializing in the treatment of patients with HIV Infection. Themes discussed in the group are presented with an evaluation of the group intervention, some consideration of group process and the health advisers views on their work. This is discussed in relation to present research into occupational stress in this field.     

The Incidence of Incest Histories Among Clients Receiving Substance Abuse Treatment

Volunteer participants (N = 77) enrolled in eight substance abuse treatment facilities were surveyed in order to examine the prevalence and nature of incest contacts among the group. Results indicated that approximately 49% of the participants had reported histories of incest. Data are presented regarding the age during incest contact; frequency of contacts; and involvement of force, alcohol, and drugs. In addition, comparisons by gender are presented. Implications for substance abuse training and treatment are presented.     

“The End of Faith?” Science and Theology as Process

Abstract : A spate of recent books would claim that science's only role vis a vis theology is to discredit it. Sam Harris, in The End of Faith, credits religious faith as the source of much of the violence in today's world. Richard Dawkins, in The God Delusion, views religion as, at best, a profound misunderstanding, and at worst a form of madness. Both find an antidote to such irrationality in science. To Harris and Dawkins religion is a body of accumulated knowledge. However, religion can also be thought of as a process, one based on experience, questions, and results. One group that has systematized such a process is the Society of Friends, or Quakers. The Quaker tradition shows that it is quite possible for religion to rest on experience and questioning, and for these to form the basis for an active and involved faith, one that need never reject science and its findings, but will temper their use with the best wisdom that can be gained from personal and communal experience.     

The potentiation of two components of the reach-to-grasp action during object categorisation in visual memory

Stimulus-Response Compatibility Effects have been reported for several components of the reach-to-grasp action during visual object recognition [Tucker, M., & Ellis, R. (1998). On the relations between seen objects and components of potential actions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 24, 830-846; Ellis, R., & Tucker, M. (2000). Micro-affordance: The potentiation of actions by seen objects. British Journal of Psychology, 91, 451-471; Tucker, M., & Ellis, R. (2001). The potentiation of grasp types during visual object categorization. Visual Cognition, 8, 769-800; Creem, S. H., & Proffitt, D. R. (2001). Grasping objects by their handles: A necessary interaction between cognition and action. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27, 218-228; Craighero, L. Bello, A. Fadiga, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (2002). Hand action preparation influences the responses to hand pictures. Neuropsychologia, 40, 492-502]. The present study investigates compatibility effects for two elements of reach-to-grasp action during the visual mental imagery of objects-the compatibility of an object for grasping with a power and precision grasp, and the orientation of an object (left/right) for grasping by a particular hand (left/right). Experiment 1 provides further evidence for compatibility effects of a 'seen' object for grasping with a power and precision grasp. The experiment shows that compatibility effects are obtainable when an object is presented in an array of four objects and not just on its own. Experiment 2 provides evidence that compatibility effects of an object for grasping with a power and precision grasp can also be observed when participants make an action response to an object 700 ms after it has been removed from view. Experiment 3 investigates compatibility effects for the orientation of an object for grasping by a particular hand during visual mental imagery, but finds no evidence for such effects. The findings are discussed in relation to two arguments put forward to reconcile ecological and representational theories of visual object recognition.     

Group-based problem-solving therapy in self-poisoning females: A pilot study

Aims: The treatment of suicidal behaviour remains limited in efficacy. This pilot study assessed the effectiveness of a time-limited, group-based problem-solving therapy intervention compared with a treatment as usual control group, in females who self-poison. Method: A total of 18 clients were equally randomised to treatment or control groups. All clients were assessed using standardised questionnaires for depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation and social problem-solving skills, at pre-treatment, post-treatment and two months follow-up. Results: The treatment group experienced significant reductions in levels of depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation and improvements in self-assessed social problem-solving skills. Improvements in mental health and aspects of self-assessed problem-solving skills for the treatment group continued to be evident at two months follow-up. The control group did not change significantly over time on mental health measures or social problem solving abilities. Conclusion: Although limited by small sample size, the results suggest that group-based problem-solving therapy is effective in the management of deliberate self-poisoning. This paper is a unique contribution in that it examines the implementation of problem solving therapy with a homogenous population and in a group format. Methodological concerns and directions for future research are discussed.     

To think or not to think,that is the question: Individual differences in suppression and rebound effects in autobiographical memory

Two studies explored the effects of forget instructions on autobiographical memory at immediate test and following delays of either 12–13 months, or 3–4 months. Using the Autobiographical Think/No-Think procedure (cf., Noreen & MacLeod, 2013), 24 never-depressed participants (Study 1) first generated 12 positive and 12 negative autobiographical memories and associated cues. Participants were then asked to recall the memory associated with some of the cues (i.e., ‘think’ condition), or to avoid saying or thinking about the memory associated with other cues (i.e., ‘no-think’ condition). Participants were then asked to recall the memories associated with all the cues at immediate test and following a delay of 12–13 months. Participants were found to be successful at forgetting both positive and negative autobiographical memories following ‘no-think’ instructions at immediate test but this forgetting effect did not persist following a 12–13 month delay. This pattern of remembering and forgetting was replicated in a second study (using 27 never-depressed participants) following a 3–4 month delay. Participants who had been less successful at forgetting ‘no-think’ memories at immediate test, were more likely to show rebound effects for those memories following a delay compared to memories which received neither ‘think’ nor ‘no-think’ instructions. Individual differences in inhibitory control and the efficacy of potential therapeutic interventions of ‘no-think’ instructions are considered.     

Bullying: a source of chronic post traumatic stress?

This study surveyed 165 care professionals on their experience of workplace bullying. The results showed that in a 2-year period 40% had been bullied and 68% had observed bullying taking place. Of the 67 care professionals that had been bullied 44% were experiencing high levels of PTSD symptoms based on the general factor of the IES-E. However, when these results were examined further it was found that the symptoms clustered rather differently to those of victims of other forms of trauma. In victims of bullying, the symptoms of arousal and re-experience formed a single cluster of symptoms with avoidance remaining as a separate cluster. These results are challenging in both the classification of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and for the treatment of victims of bullying.     

Empathetic Computers: The Problem of Confusing Persons and Things

As computers become both more intelligent and ubiquitous we increasingly rely on them for forms of companionship. We are relational beings, instinctively drawn to those who relate back to us, an instinct that is rooted in our creation in the image of a triune, and thus relational, God. Relationships with computers, which necessarily displace relationships with other humans, have so far been shown to be dissatisfying. This dissatisfaction arises because a computer cannot be truly empathetic. It cannot feel emotion due to its lack of a body; it can only simulate emotion. This makes relationship with a computer similar to relationship with a sociopath and can isolate us from both others and our true selves.