Killing the dead: evolution of melancholic identifications underlying suicide attempts in adolescence

Psychic processes underlying suicidal behaviours during adolescence and their evolution are explored. A longitudinal study was conducted of thirty adolescent patients hospitalised following a suicide attempt. Clinical interviews were used combined with the Rorschach Test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) a few days after the suicide attempt and one year later. Results initially showed common forms of psychic adjustment: melancholic identifications were linked to an excessive dependence on objects. One year later, these forms of psychic adjustment changed: for many adolescents, the melancholic identifications shifted and self-image improved. The emergence of representations of murder fantasies immediately after the suicidal behaviour allowed a possible transformation of violence into symbolisation. A case study illustrates these psychic changes.     

Some considerations on the capacity to be alone

This paper considers the lack of coherence of the psychoanalytic theories of the primary and secondary process. As a consequence, the interplay of primary and secondary process modes of thought cannot be conceptualised properly. Firstly, we summarize the results of an elsewhere-made metapsychological re-examination of both principles of mental functioning, and argue that Rapaport's distinction between a drive and a conceptual organization of memory, elaborated on by Siegfried Zepf is an extremely useful means of understanding primary and secondary process activity. As a central thesis, we state that primary process operates by affects, whilst secondary process utilizes concepts. The second part of the paper makes an attempt to show the dialectical relationship of affective and conceptual thought in the functioning of the living psyche. Temporarily dominating mental functioning, primary and secondary process thinking each utilize the other as a means, but never work purely within the psychic apparatus. It is shown that it is the specific interplay of primary and secondary process activity, which produces new adaptive substitutive formations. Some basic assumptions about the concepts of regression and progression are made to elucidate the shift from secondary to primary process dominance and vice versa.     

Eating Disorder Recovery

Abstract

Qualitative studies addressing the eating disorder recovery process from the client's point of view are notably absent in the literature. For this case study, we conducted a retrospective examination of the recovery process, as recounted by a 37-year-old female who was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, binge eating/purging subtype at the age of 30. Two in-person interview sessions provided insight into coping skills, multidisciplinary intervention strategies, and long-term treatment challenges. In sum, the client's perspective can add new information to the understanding of eating disorder recovery from feminist and other theoretical frameworks.     

The interplay of received social support and self-regulatory factors in smoking cessation

Objective: In smoking cessation, individual self-regulation and social support have both proven to be useful. However, the roles of self-regulatory processes and social support are mostly examined separately. The present study aims at examining the unique and joint interactive effects of self-regulation as specified in the health action process approach (HAPA) and social support on smoking cessation. The study tested whether social support can compensate for low levels of self-regulation or whether synergistic effects emerge.

Design & Measures: Around a self-set quit date, 99 smokers completed baseline questionnaires on HAPA-variables, smoking-specific received social support and smoking cessation (continuous abstinence and point prevalence), with a follow-up Cpproximately 29?days after the quitdate.

Results: Social support moderated the association between volitional self-efficacy and smoking, as well as coping planning and smoking but not between action planning and smoking. No compensatory effect of social support for lower levels of individual regulation emerged but the combination of high levels of the individual variables and social support was related to successful smoking cessation, indicating a synergistic effect.

Conclusions: The results confirm the importance of examining both self-regulation and social factors in smoking cessation. This should be considered when developing future interventions for smoking cessation.     

The Nature of the Automatization Deficit in Chinese Children with Dyslexia

Clarifying whether automatization deficits constitute the primary causes or symptoms of developmental dyslexia, we focused on three critical issues of the dyslexic automatization deficit, namely universality, domain specificity, and severity. Thirty Chinese dyslexic children (mean age 10 years and 5 months), 30 chronological-age-, and 30 reading-level-matched children were tested in 4 areas of automaticity: motor, visual search, Stroop facilitation effects, and automatic word recognition. The results showed that the dyslexic children performed significantly worse than the CA-controls but not the RL-controls in all the tasks except for Stroop congruent-color words, on which they performed worse than children in both control groups. The deficits reflect a lag in reading experiences rather than a persistent cognitive deficit.     

Charting the Developmental Trajectories of Attention and Executive Function in Chinese School-Aged Children

Attention is a complex domain that has reawakened research interest in recent years. There are relatively few studies that have examined age-related changes across different attention subcomponents, such as selection, maintenance, and control, using large samples covering a wide age range. The present study assessed performance in 466 participants in order to identify the ages at which mature performance was reached across differing attention subcomponents. Furthermore, we investigated whether the nature of the attentional demands or task difficulty predicted the age at which stable levels of performance were reached. The results supported the former rather than the latter alternative.     

Development and Validation of the Xhosa Translations of the Beck Inventories: 1. Challenges of the Translation Process

This article describes the translation of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Beck Hopeless Scale, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory, into Xhosa the language spoken in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The processes of translation, back-translation and committee discussion failed to yield trustworthy translations because of practical difficulties in working with translators. Critical words and phrases were identified which gave rise to lack of agreement. For each, a range of options was generated and the advantages and disadvantages evaluated in terms of criteria such as conceptual and idiomatic equivalence, and extensiveness of usage. Examples are given of the problems encountered and the way in which final decisions were made. A pilot clinical trial demonstrated the acceptability of the translated instruments. Two further articles report the psychometric evaluation of the translated scales.     

Extended problem solving treatment for depression

Introduction: Effective brief psychological approaches for depression that can be delivered by a variety of health professionals with minimal training increase access to treatment by patients. Problem Solving Treatment (PST) was developed for primary care and was modified for this study (EPST) to better meet the needs of mental health patients. Method: A total of 92 therapists from different professional backgrounds completed EPST workshops and treated 92 patients with major depression with interval clinical and treatment process assessments. Results: EPST achieved a significant reduction in depressive symptom scores, life problem scores, and there were few treatment non‐completers. Treatment outcome was predicted by process and therapist variables. Discussion: EPST is an effective and easy to teach treatment that can be delivered by a variety of practitioners and suitable for busy primary mental health care settings.     

Working in the Midst of Unfolding Trauma and Traumatic Loss

Abstract

Training developed for New York City social workers in the evolving aftermath of September 11, 2001 is introduced, offering a conceptual framework for clinical practice in the midst of unfolding trauma and traumatic loss. A focus is placed on the shared, collective process of learning and discussion among colleagues, as an effort parallel to work with clients, progressing together to establish meaning and hope through relationships. Professional training framing this catastrophe within trauma and traumatic loss perspectives, and addressing its impact on clinician, client, work, and treatment relationship, is needed. Also providing on-going support, a process of continuity, and a context of community, this training becomes a collective response to the profound impact and complex, evolving needs of this time.     

Rethinking ‘Don't Blame the Victim’

SUMMARY

The psychology of victims and the dynamics of victimhood have been largely ignored by scholars and clinicians. While in past years the tendency has been to blame victims, more recently the tide has turned. It is now politically incorrect to explore the role of victims in violent systems, as exploring the psychology of victims has become synonymous with blaming the victim. While shying away from blame, this article will explore the familial and cultural origins of victimhood, victims' characteristics, their relationships with the perpetrators, and it will offer a victim typology. As we move from btame to a more complex understanding of violent systems, the perpetuation of these systems in our culture, and the role victims play in these systems, we provide ourselves with better tools to predict and prevent further victimization.