The use of structured experiences in family therapy

Structured experiences such as sculpting, psychodrama, rôle-play and growth games are frequently used in family therapy. This article puts forward a framework for the use of structured experiences which can be used in the context of a family session to ensure that the family will gain the maximum learning and change. Use of the framework is illustrated with examples from practice.     

The role of prior quitting experience in the prediction of smoking cessation

Aims: In the Transtheoretical Model (TTM), the preparation stage (as applied to smoking cessation) is defined as planning to quit in the next 30 days plus having quit for at least 24 h in the last year. This study examined the value of prior quitting experience as a stage classification criterion by investigating whether prediction of making a quit attempt differed as a function of prior quitting experience. Participants: One thousand and forty-six participants, all planning to quit in the next 30 days, in a randomised trial of the effectiveness of a telephone counselling and computer-generated tailored advice intervention were followed up at 3 months. Findings: A multivariate predictive model had markedly greater capacity to predict making a quit attempt among participants with prior quitting experience (as defined in several different ways), compared to analyses of the overall sample. A previous attempt of 24 h in the previous month was associated with the greatest difference in prediction. A quit attempt in the previous year (the TTM definition) did not discriminate. Conclusions: Recent prior quitting experience moderated the predictive capacity of some variables that influence smoking cessation. The findings provide some support for a stage model of smoking cessation but not its operationalisation by the TTM.     

Growth in emotional intelligence. Psychotherapy with a learning disabled girl

This paper describes the once-weekly psychoanalytic psychotherapy of a girl, called Ellie, aged eight at the start of her treatment. Ellie had a learning disability and displayed difficult behaviour at school and at home. In her therapy, Ellie grew in emotional intelligence, more in touch with and able to express her feelings. Her behaviour improved and so did her capacity to learn. In the therapy there were certain limitations to progress and this is discussed in terms of how Ellie's disability affected the basic achievements of emotional development, including a mind with a solid ‘reality ego’, able to contain anxiety, and able to maintain depressive functioning. The importance of parallel parent work, to share observations and understanding of the child's functioning is discussed. Difficulties for both child and parents in dealing with the pain of difference and how this limits emotional intelligence are discussed. The author hopes that this paper will encourage the offering of psychoanalytic psychotherapy to children and young people with learning disabilities, who are significantly more likely to suffer from mental health problems than their peers.     

The effect of an integration program on teacher and student attitudes to mentally-handicapped children

This study examines the effect of contact with autistic children on teacher and peer attitudes to mentally-handicapped children in general. Children were interviewed and teachers completed questionnaires about their attitudes toward mentally-handicapped children in five schools attended by autistic boys and five schools not attended by any mentally-handicapped children. Children who had contact with autistic boys had more positive and realistic attitudes. Teachers' attitudes were generally positive and did not vary across settings, but those with experience in teaching mentally-handicapped children were found to have more positive attitudes than those with no experience. The implications for the integration of mentally-handicapped children are briefly discussed.     

The usefulness of coroners' data on suicides for providing information relevant to prevention

Coroners' records are an accessible source of information on suicides. To assess their usefulness in relation to the investigation of specific methods of suicide, we examined coroners' records for 492 suicides across 24 jurisdictions in England. Generally data on demographic variables were well recorded. Information on contact with general practitioner and psychiatric services was less commonly available. Where those who had self-poisoned died in hospital, information on treatment and blood levels of drugs taken were not routinely available. For suicides by hanging, information on the source of ligature was frequently missing. Where firearms were used, information about licensing and storage were not routinely recorded. Generally there was wide variation across coroners in information relevant to specific methods. The use of standardized forms by coroners would assist studies of factors associated with suicide and potentially provide a representative source of information relevant to suicide prevention.     

Amygdala responses to emotionally valenced stimuli in older and younger adults

Abstract— As they age, adults experience less negative emotion, come to pay less attention to negative than to positive emotional stimuli, and become less likely to remember negative than positive emotional materials. This profile of findings suggests that, with age, the amygdala may show decreased reactivity to negative information while maintaining or increasing its reactivity to positive information. We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess whether amygdala activation in response to positive and negative emotional pictures changes with age. Both older and younger adults showed greater activation in the amygdala for emotional than for neutral pictures; however, for older adults, seeing positive pictures led to greater amygdala activation than seeing negative pictures, whereas this was not the case for younger adults.     

Culture-specific patterns in the prediction of life satisfaction: roles of emotion, relationship quality, and self-esteem

This study was conducted to explore the culture-specific roles of emotion, relationship quality, and self-esteem in determining life satisfaction. It was hypothesized that maintaining good interpersonal relationships would make individuals in collectivistic cultures not only feel good about their lives but also feel better about themselves. Furthermore, two emotion variables--emotional expression and emotion differentiation--were proposed as possible determinants of relationship quality. It was hypothesized that emotional expressiveness would be more important for maintaining good interpersonal relationships in individualistic societies but emotion differentiation would be more important in collectivistic cultures. These hypotheses were tested with Euro-American, Asian American, Korean, and Chinese groups using multigroup analyses in a structural equation model. Results supported all proposed hypotheses and indicated that emotion differentiation contributes to maintaining good interpersonal relationships in collectivistic cultures, which contributes to self-esteem and satisfaction with life.     

Career Movement of Female Employees Holding Lower-Level Positions: An Analysis of the Impact of the Type A Behavior Pattern

This paper examines the role of the Type A behavior pattern (TABP) in predicting several types of career movement of women. In general, TABP and in particular the job involvement facet of TABP, had a strong impact on several types of promotion. Relevant results and implications for future research are discussed.