Self-perceived clinical competence,gender and workplace setting predict burnout among psychotherapists

Work-related stress, or burnout, is elevated among healthcare staff but the specific risk factors for psychotherapists are not clear, which makes it difficult to design interventions to target this population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate a set of background variables and work-related risk factors for burnout among psychotherapists. Potential protective factors such as level of education, number of years in the profession and access to clinical supervision were investigated. Symptoms of burnout were measured with the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, and data were collected from 327 psychotherapists. In this group, 62% reported moderate or high levels of burnout symptoms, with significantly higher levels of personal- and work-related burnout than client-related burnout. Being female, having low self-perceived competence and working in the public sector were associated with higher levels of burnout. Other factors, such as age, work experience, level of education or having clinical supervision, were not associated with burnout after controlling for gender, perceived competence and workplace setting. These results confirm previous research that underlines the importance of perceived competence and control over one's work environment, and that women are at higher risk of burnout, possibly because of factors outside of work. The importance of perceived competence as a protective factor suggests that methods that increase therapeutic competence may play an important role in countering work-related stress. In conclusion, there may be a need to continue to develop and integrate specific burnout prevention interventions for psychotherapists.     

The logic of historical necessity as founded on two-dimensional modal tense logic

We consider a version of so called T × W logic for historical necessity in the sense of R.H. Thomason (1984), which is somewhat special in three respects: (i) it is explicitly based on two-dimensional modal logic in the sense of Segerberg (1973); (ii) for reasons of applicability to interesting fields of philosophical logic, it conceives of time as being discrete and finite in the sense of having a beginning and an end; and (iii) it utilizes the technique of systematic frame constants in order to handle the problem of irreflexivity in tense logics, well known since Gabbay (1981). Axiomatizations are given for two infinite hierarchies of two-dimensional modal tense logics, one without and one with the characteristic operators for historical necessity and possibility. Strong and weak completeness results are obtained for both hierarchies as well as a result to the effect that two approaches to their semantics are equivalent, much in the spirit of Di Maio and Zanardo (1996) and von Kutschera (1997).     

Deductive Chauvinism

Any theory of explanation must account for the explanatory successes of statistical scientific theories. This should not be done by endorsing determinism. These considerations have been taken as sufficient ground for rejecting the demand on explanations to be deductive. The arguments for doing so, in Coffa (1974) and Salmon (1977, 1984, 1988), are, however, not persuasive. Deductivism is a viable position. Considering that doubts can be raised against the explanatory validity of probabilistic causal relations and the intuitive plausibility of deductivism, it is also a recommendable position, though elaboration is needed in accounting for some of the uses of statistical theories in explanations. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Hypothesis Of Ether And Reid's Interpretation Of Newton's First Rule Of Philosophizing

My object is to question a recurrent claim made to the point that Thomas Reid (1710–1796) was hostile to ether theories and that this hostility had its source in his distinctive interpretation of the first of Newton's regulæ philosophandi. Against this view I will argue that Reid did not have any quarrel at all with unobservable or theoretical entities as such, and that his objections against actual theories concerning ether were scientific rather than philosophical, even when based on Newton's first rule. I argue further that Reid's insistence on Newton's rule concerns, not direct observation, but rather the notion of explanation itself.     

Disorienting Dilemmas - the Significance of Resistance and Disturbance in an Intercultural Program within Kindergarten Teacher Education

As the Norwegian society, and thereby the kindergartens, have become more multicultural, the need for cultivating teachers capable of operating in an ever diversified and global world is highlighted as an important educational strategy within teacher education. The purpose of the specific intercultural program in kindergarten teacher education discussed in this article refers to competences needed as a professional teacher in a multicultural kindergarten. Teachers often have various assumptions and beliefs taken for granted. Therefore, reflexivity appears in intercultural education as a crucial asset. However, the article argues that the notion of self-contemplation and self-reflection that can give the subject freedom as a thinking being needs to be challenged. Questioning beliefs and assumptions includes an examination of one’s emotional experiences, values and perspectives. This examination can threaten one’s core beliefs and create powerful feelings such as anger, shame or resentment. Introducing the concept of disorienting dilemmas, the article problematizes the rationalist intellectual orientation in teacher education and discusses the need to focus on intercultural experiences as sensuous, intellectual and affective. The article illustrates some disorienting dilemmas with narratives from students who have attended the program. Finally, the article considers the conditions and pedagogical means that might support a more holistic approach to learning in intercultural experiences.     

Aesthetics Makes Nothing Happen? The Role of Aesthetic Properties in the Constitution of Non‐aesthetic Value

The relationship between aesthetic value and other moral and cognitive values has been a key theme within contemporary aesthetic discussion. In this article, I explore once again the implications of this relationship, but from what I think might be a different angle. With few exceptions, notably Dominic Lopes, most of the contributions to this issue have dealt with the impact that moral or cognitive values could possibly have on the overall aesthetic value of a work of art. In this article, I explore instead how aesthetic properties or merits could play a role in explaining moral and cognitive properties. To do so, I first offer some examples that I think may reasonably exemplify the phenomenon we are considering. Second, I argue that a proper account of interactionism should meet at least two constraints: the relevance constraint and the autonomy constraint. Finally, I try to clarify how it is possible that aesthetic properties substantially contribute to other values by appealing to the notions of expression and the affective character of aesthetic properties.     

How Do “Religion” and “Spirituality” Differ? Lay Definitions Among Older Adults

Research and public interest in religion and spirituality is on the rise. Consequently, there is an increasing need for rigorously obtained information on what individuals mean when they use these terms. This study examined how 64 older adults living in three retirement communities (including one Christian‐based community), a relatively understudied population, conceptualize religion and spirituality. Participants defined “religion” and “spirituality,” and their narrative definitions were coded and compared using a framework derived from Hill et al.'s (2000) conceptualization of religion and spirituality. Despite considerable overlap, participants' definitions differed on several dimensions. Participants were more likely to associate religion than spirituality with personal beliefs, community affiliation, and organized practices. Moreover, spirituality appeared to be a more abstract concept than religion, and included nontheistic notions of a higher power.     

“Eat your Hamburger!”—“No, I don’t Want to!” Argumentation and Argumentative Development in the Context of Dinner Conversation in Twenty Swedish Families

The aim of the present study was to analyse family dinners as context of argumentation and argumentative development by using a context-sensitive model of basic argumentative structures in every day conversations. The data consisted of 40 argumentative sequences in dinner conversations in twenty Swedish families with children aged 7 to 17 years. The families were divided in two groups depending on the children's ages (10–11 years with younger siblings and 10–12 years with older siblings). The model revealed characteristic structures of argumentation appearing as co-text and suggested differences between family groups depending on contextual factors such as age of the children. The groups of older children produced longer argumentative sequences, more exchanges per sequence and higher rate of turns. The older children also engaged in non-instrumental deliberations and disputations significantly more often and they performed more elaborated expansions (through a higher quantity of backing arguments). The groups of younger children on the other hand were more often involved in negotiations on topics relevant in the immediate context. Less expected was, however, the lack of more complex and varied arguments, even in the groups of older children.     

Sensation weighting in duration discrimination: A univariate,multivariate, and varied-design study of presentation-order effects

Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics - Stimulus discriminability is often assessed by comparisons of two successive stimuli: a fixed standard (St) and a varied comparison stimulus (Co)....