Health Focused Psychotherapy In Treating a Dual Diagnosed Patient

Health-focused psychotherapy offers a contemporary model used in assessment, treatment planning and evaluation in addressing patients with both medical and psychiatric diagnoses. Clinicians in the health and mental health disciplines must know and understand the importance of standards of care and models of intervention and evaluation in clinical practice for this type of patient. Examined is the use of a specific model providing a tailored orientation to patient education, along with the development and use of a clinical algorithm and care pathway for clinical practice. Provided is a case study for applying the development and use of a clinical algorithm and care pathway for a dual diagnosed patient receiving health-focused psychotherapy.     

The Meaning vs. The Medical Model in the Empirically Supported Treatment Program: A Consideration of The Empirical Evidence

A review of the debate on the Empirically Supported Treatment Program is presented. It is argued that underlying the specifics of the debate are fundamentally incompatible paradigms: a meaning vs. a medical model. The findings from two gold standard multi-site studies are reviewed to conclude that the control condition meets requirements for an empirically supported treatment. The empirical finding of the failure of clinical training to improve treatment outcomes is explained by the focus on rational factors in training. It is recommended that training of therapists focus on enhancing experiential capacity rather than mastery of manualized treatment approaches.     

Treating Hypochondriasis with Interpersonal Psychotherapy

The treatment of hypochondriacal patients can be conceptualized as taking one of three approaches. These typically address one of the following questions: 1) “Should the patient be preoccupied?” 2) “Why is the patient preoccupied?” 3) “What are the interpersonal consequences of being preoccupied?” Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is specifically designed to address the last of these questions. IPT focuses on understanding the patient’s real distress, exploring the patient’s maladaptive communications, and modifying those communications so that others are more able to meet the patient’s attachment needs. With a focus on communication in a time-limited frame, fostered by a strong collaborative relationship, IPT appears to be an effective method of reducing hypochondriacal behavior.     

Logotherapy-Enhanced REBT: An Integration of Discovery and Reason

Viktor Frankls Logotherapy and Albert Elliss Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) are at seemingly opposite ends of the psychotherapeutic spectrum. However, a close review of the assumptions and philosophy of each school of therapy reveals that these two systems are compatible. We propose that a Logotherapy-enhanced REBT can increase human achievement and happiness by balancing the individual discovery of meaning with the pursuit of reason. This integrated and enhanced therapy will help human beings participate in positive life experiences and take greater responsibility for change. Fruitful and beneficial aspects of a Logotherapy enhanced-REBT are explored with respect to cognitions, emotions, and the reduction of rumination. Conclusions are drawn, limitations are discussed, and future recommendations are outlined.     

Contemporary Psychotherapy: Promoting Personal Responsibility for Therapeutic Change

An assortment of factors in modern society can be involved in the etiology and treatment of mental illness. Theories about etiology usually underlie, and therefore guide, most strategies for treatment. Although a comprehensive bio-psycho-social approach to mental illness can help to foster the collaboration of an interdisciplinary treatment team, a heavy emphasis on biological factors or cultural deprivation may reduce the client's feelings of personal responsibility for change. Contemporary psychotherapy can help clients reduce their tendency to attribute blame to biological predispositions or external societal factors. Instead, it is more helpful to cultivate attributions for personal responsibility for change, growth, and maturation.     

Evidence-Based Psychotherapy and Counselling in the UK: Critique and Alternatives

Developments in empirically supported therapy or evidence-based practice in the UK are outlined and critically examined. Perceived advantages and disadvantages are set out, with a commentary. It is asserted that the evidence-based ethos is seriously flawed and that psychotherapy is essentially a faith-based craft, not a thoroughly researchable scientific enterprise. Some alternatives to evidence-based practice are briefly outlined, before turning to an exploration of the wider context of anthropathology in which therapy takes place and against which it must acknowledge its limitations. Broad-brush conclusions are drawn.     

Adjusting To a New Racial Climate: Maintenance of Personal Integrity

This paper will focus on the writer’s experience as a native New Yorker relocating to Montgomery, Alabama. The writer will share how he adjusted and coped with overt discrimination and racism in the context of the high school in which he attended there-a majority white high school on the “other” side of town. The writer will share how he employed the following coping mechanisms as methods of adjusting to his new environment: translating emotional experiences into words (relaxation and talk therapy), involvement with other black positive peers, careful assessment before acting, withdrawal and avoidance, and consuming African-American literature.     

The Impact of Personality and Religion on Attitudes toward Alcohol among 16–18 Year Olds in Northern Ireland

Background: Previous research demonstrates a negative relationship between attitude toward alcohol and religiosity. However, what is less apparent is if this relationship may, at least in part, be a function of individual differences in personality, as previous research has demonstrated a relationship between certain measures of personality and both attitude toward alcohol and attitude toward religiosity. The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of personality and the relative efficacy of different markers of religiosity in predicting attitude toward alcohol among a sample of 16–18 year olds in Northern Ireland. Method: The Francis Scale of Attitude toward Alcohol (Francis, 1992c. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 31, 45–50) was administered alongside the Abbreviated Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Francis, Brown, & Philipchalk, 1992. Personality and Individual Differences, 13(4), 443–449), the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity (Francis & Stubbs, 1987. Personality and Individual Differences, 8, 741–743) and measures of frequency of personal prayer and church attendance among a sample of 243 16- to 18-year-old sixth-form students in Northern Ireland. Results and conclusion: The data demonstrate that a more prohibitive attitude toward alcohol was correlated with lower psychoticism scores (tendermindedness) and a more positive attitude toward Christianity. Multiple-regression analyses confirm the importance of attitude toward religion in predicting individual differences in attitude toward alcohol.     

Surgeons and the Spirit: A Study on the Relationship of Religiosity to Clinical Practice

This study aimed to identify the religious practices and beliefs of surgeons and the relationship between surgeons locus of control and religiosity. Thirty-five surgeons completed a survey that included items from the Duke University Religion Index, the Salesian Center Intrinsic Religiosity Scale for Clinicians, and Rotters Locus of Control Scale. Over 68% of sampled surgeons affirmed that their religious beliefs play a part in their practice, 47% attend religious services at least weekly, and 44% pray daily. There was no correlation between locus of control and religiosity. These results challenge the myth of the egocentric, agnostic surgeon.     

A Lesson from My Father

Simple acts can heal. And God is present in those simple and humble acts. The following is a true story that illustrates these truths, told from the perspective of eyewitness, son, and physician.