An evaluation of a hospital-based trainee counselling psychology practitioner's service

Counselling psychology is in its infancy in the National Health Service. There is a professional need to evaluate what its practitioners do and with what outcomes. This study is of the work of a trainee counselling psychologist, in a clinical psychology department, and covers his work over 30 months from first appointment. Numerical data were accessed from historical records relating to the author's three working areas: a psychiatric hospital's outpatient department; a university's student health service; and a short-contact primary care counselling clinic. A sample of closed-case clients from the hospital outpatients and the student health service was contacted, and sent questionnaires to elicit their views on the service received. Primary care clients were excluded from this part of the study because of service dissimilarity to the other working domains and access problems. Case loads, case types, frequencies and distributions of client attendances and non-attendances were examined, compared and contrasted using tables, graphs and statistical methods. Clients’ questionnaire responses were tabulated and commented on. It was apparent that although the same general pattern of anxiety-clustered cases predominated in each working area, in other respects the service demands were different. The data have relevance for service design, staffing and management.     

Two‐month‐old infants match phonetic information in lips and voice

Infants aged 4.5 months are able to match phonetic information in the face and voice ( Kuhl & Meltzoff, 1982 ; Patterson & Werker, 1999 ); however, the ontogeny of this remarkable ability is not understood. In the present study, we address this question by testing substantially younger infants at 2 months of age. Like the 4.5‐month‐olds in past studies, the 2‐month‐old infants tested in the current study showed evidence of matching vowel information in face and voice. The effect was observed in overall looking time, number of infants who looked longer at the match, and longest look to the match versus mismatch. Furthermore, there were no differences based on male or female stimuli and no preferences for the match when it was on the right or left side. These results show that there is robust evidence for phonetic matching at a much younger age than previously known and support arguments for either some kind of privileged processing or particularly rapid learning of phonetic information.     

Disrupted Face Processing in Frontotemporal Dementia: A Review of the Clinical and Neuroanatomical Evidence

Faces play an integral role in day-to-day functioning, particularly for social interactions where dynamic and rapid processing of information is vital. Analysis of faces allows an individual to ascertain a wide range of information including deciphering mood and identity, with these assessments directing an individual’s subsequent response and behaviours. The prominent social and emotional deficits observed in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a younger-onset dementia syndrome, may in part reflect a breakdown of the face processing network. Different subtypes of FTD present with divergent patterns of atrophy, although damage is predominantly confined to the frontal and temporal lobes. Specific predictions regarding the role of frontal and temporal regions in face processing have been proposed in the model outlined by Haxby et al. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(6), 223–233 (2000). This model presents a parsimonious method by which to understand face processing in FTD while concurrently allowing assessment of the predictive value and applicability of such a model. By applying the Haxby model to the existing FTD literature, this review presents both direct and indirect evidence of a breakdown in key elements of the face processing network. The type and degree of breakdown appears to differ as a function of FTD subtype and associated brain atrophy. The evidence presented in this review and its relationship with predictions of the Haxby model provides impetus and direction for future research investigating face processing in FTD.     

Changes in Sleep as a Function of Adolescent Development

Adolescence is marked by dramatic changes in sleep. Older adolescents go to bed later, have an increased preference for evening activities, and sleep less than younger adolescents. This behavior change is driven by external factors, notably increased pressures from academic, social, and extracurricular activities and by biological circadian factors. There are also substantial changes in sleep architecture across adolescence, with dramatic declines in slow wave sleep, and slow wave activity (delta, ~ 0.5–4.5 Hz). These changes are associated with underlying changes in brain structure and organization, with a decrease in synaptic density likely underlying the reduction in high amplitude slow waveforms. While changes in sleep across adolescence are a normal part of development, many adolescents are getting insufficient sleep and are consequently, less likely to perform well at school, more likely to develop mood-related disturbances, be obese, and are at greater risk for traffic accidents, alcohol and drug abuse.     

‘It all boils down to respect doesn't it?’: Enacting a sense of community in a deprived inner‐city area

Audio recordings of meetings of two community groups in a deprived inner‐city area were analysed, using discursive psychological and conversation analytic techniques to explore situated enactments of ‘community’. Participants situated themselves as members of a geographical community, of an ‘imagined’ community and of other constitutive communities. A sense of community was enacted through five interactional strategies: Affirming moral codes, ‘defending’ other members, distinguishing insiders from outsiders, enacting empowerment and challenging institutions. Participants regularly employed emotional displays and affirmed moral positions, both to constitute ‘community’ and to take action in it. In so doing they worked up social capital and positioned community concerns in ways more reflective of their own situated values than of criminal law or government policy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Health-Related Quality of Life and Adaptive Behaviors of Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease: Stress Processing Moderators

The objective of this study was to examine resilience among adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD), focusing on the interaction of health-related quality of life with stress processing to explain adaptive behavior. Forty-four adolescents with SCD completed paper-and-pencil measures of health-related quality of life, appraisals (hope), pain coping strategies (e.g. adherence), and adaptive behavior. Self-reported health-related quality of life was significantly associated with adaptive behavior, as was adherence. Findings for moderation were mixed. Pain coping strategies moderated the association of health-related quality of life with adaptive behavior such that at lower levels of Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) Adherence, better quality of life was associated with higher adaptive behavior. Similarly, at higher levels of hope, better quality of life was associated with higher adaptive behavior, and poorer quality of life was associated with lower adaptive behavior. Adolescents with SCD showed resilience, particularly in terms of personal adjustment, that may be explained by their appraisals and stress processing strategies. Interventions to support an optimistic or hopeful outlook and improve adherence to recommendations for medical management of sickle cell pain may result in improved resilience/adaptive behavior.     

Two streams make a river: the rabbit in Richard F. Thompson's laboratory

The rabbit nictitating membrane (NM) preparation was developed in 1962 by Gormezano as a model system for classical conditioning. It had many features that made it ideal for use in exploring the laws of this conditioning paradigm, including easily obtainable subjects, good control of stimulus delivery and precise response specifications. Most importantly, the preparation evidenced very low spontaneous response rates and showed no evidence of nonassociative effects of sensitization and pseudoconditioning and had highly predictable learning functions. In contrast, previous human and animal models that had been utilized to explore the features of classical conditioning, such as the dog salivary model were far less easy to use, showed high spontaneous response rates, and had high nonassociative components. Over the ensuing years, Gormezano and his students characterized most of the parametric characteristics of classical conditioning with the use of the preparation. In 1970, Richard Thompson began exploring the use of the rabbit NM preparation in his laboratory as a model system with which to explore the brain substrates of classical conditioning. At the time, his work was centered around exploring the neural substrates of sensitization and habituation in spinal reflexes. Soon, however, he turned his attention to the brain substrates of classical conditioning almost exclusively, and produced an impressive amount of data detailing the neural underpinnings of classical conditioning. His work has generated perhaps the most detailed and complete picture of the neural mechanisms of learning currently available, and has led to countless other research efforts in the area of brain and behavior. Current understandings of neural mechanisms of associative learning owe much to Thompson and his various colleagues.