Assessing complex problem-solving skills with multiple complex systems

In this paper we propose the multiple complex systems (MCS) approach for assessing domain-general complex problem-solving (CPS) skills and its processes knowledge acquisition and knowledge application. After defining the construct and the formal frameworks for describing complex problems, we emphasise some of the measurement issues inherent in assessing CPS skills with single tasks (i.e., fixed item difficulty, low or unknown reliability, and a large impact of random errors). With examples of the MicroDYN test and the MicroFIN test (two instances of the MCS approach), we show how to adequately score problem-solving skills by using multiple tasks. We discuss implications for problem-solving research and the assessment of CPS skills in general.     

MOURNING,DREAMING, AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX

The author argues that the structure of mourning and the structure of the Oedipus complex are triadic, the latter being obvious and easy to conceptualize, while the former is quite subtle. When it is the father who is mourned, the son must repeatedly invoke the dead object so that libidinal cathexis can be reinvested in living objects. Such was the situation in which Freud found himself in 1896 when his father died—the triadic nature of the Oedipus complex ironically not yet discovered by him. In the author's belief, Freud's mourning and his attendant rich dream life occurring between 1896 and 1897 gave him access to the unconscious raw material that would eventually help him conceptualize the triadic structure at the instinctual core of the Oedipus complex.     

Succession and survival in psychotherapy organizations

Abstract: This paper examines the world of psychotherapy by applying a systemic and psychodynamic understanding of the family business as a way of understanding the dilemmas and challenges of leadership succession. Oedipal factors are explored as an important theme within the succession process. This exploration is set within the context of what function psychotherapy has performed in society over the last thirty years. The hypothesis is that the first generation of leaders aimed to provide containment for the individual citizen at a time of failed dependency in society. The suggestion is that this gave way to the primary task for the second generation, which has been to focus on the therapist in training. The challenge for the third generation is to develop a meaningful role for psychotherapy today and to ensure survival at a time when other shorter therapies such as CBT are gaining ascendancy over longer term psychoanalytic psychotherapy.     

Persisting problems for a quantificational theory of complex demonstratives

I criticized Jeffrey King’s theory of complex demonstratives in “Problems for a Quantificational Theory of Complex Demonstratives.” King replied in “Complex Demonstratives as Quantifiers: Objections and Replies.” I here comment on some of King’s replies.

Complex demonstratives as quantifiers: objections and replies

In “Complex Demonstratives: A Quantificational Account” (MIT Press 2001) (henceforth CD), I argued that complex demonstratives are quantifiers. Many philosophers had held that demonstratives, both simple and complex, are referring terms. Since the publication of CD various objections to the account of complex demonstratives I defended in it have been raised. In the present work, I lay out these objections and respond to them.

The effects of torture‐related stressors on long‐term complex post‐traumatic symptoms in South Korean torture survivors

This study explored whether perceived distress from specific stressors during and after torture explain long‐term complex post‐traumatic symptoms of South Korean torture survivors. We conducted a cross‐sectional survey of survivors who had been tortured by the homeland regime from the 1970s to the 2000s. Data from 206 survivors were gathered by key informants using target sampling and snowballing techniques. Project staff designed scales to encompass the specific types of stressors related to torture techniques used in Korea. Frequencies and distress ratings of exposure to torture, post‐torture psychosocial stressors and physical damage related to torture were gathered. Psychological symptoms were assessed by the Impact of Event Scale‐Revised‐Korean version and subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90‐Revised‐Korean version. Perceived distress from torture stressors was mainly divided into factors representing physical, psychological and deprivation torture by adapting a principal axis factor analysis. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that distress from psychological torture explained post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that distress from deprivation explained PTSD and anxiety after controlling for demographic variables, psychological preparedness, time span since torture and distress from trauma other than torture. Among post‐torture stressors, distress from physical damage related to torture and social exclusion were strong indicators of complex symptoms.     

Phase-based Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy for Adults With Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD) presents unique challenges to treatment beyond that of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The expert consensus best practice for treatment of complex PTSD is a phase-based or sequenced approach that has typically been offered in individual or group therapy modalities. Emotionally focused couple therapy (EFCT) shows promise as a couple-based treatment for PTSD, but the standard protocol may inadequately incorporate best practice guidelines of phase-based treatment for complex PTSD. Integration of phase-based treatment of complex PTSD within an EFCT format is proposed, giving direction to EFCT providers on incorporating best practice guidelines into their work with survivors.     

Emotional working memory capacity in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Participants with a lifetime history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma-exposed controls with no PTSD history completed an emotional working memory capacity (eWMC) task. The task required them to remember lists of neutral words over short intervals while simultaneously processing sentences describing dysfunctional trauma-related thoughts (relative to neutral control sentences). The task was designed to operationalise an everyday cognitive challenge for those with mental health problems such as PTSD; namely, the ability to carry out simple, routine tasks with emotionally benign material, while at the same time tackling emotional laden intrusive thoughts and feelings. eWMC performance, indexed as the ability to remember the word lists in the context of trauma sentences, relative to neutral sentences, was poorer overall in the PTSD group compared with controls, suggestive of a particular difficulty employing working memory in emotion-related contexts in those with a history of PTSD. The possible implications for developing affective working memory training as an adjunctive treatment for PTSD are explored.     

经颅直流电刺激技术在增强健康个体认知功能中的应用及其影响因素

经颅直流电刺激作为一种无创脑刺激技术,已在临床治疗及康复领域有广泛应用。随着研究的深入和人类对于自身认知需求的提高,近年来也有研究者开始尝试使用该技术增强健康个体的认知功能。本文从感知觉、注意、记忆、学习和复杂任务五个方面对目前经颅直流电刺激技术在健康个体认知增强领域的研究现状进行梳理和总结,讨论了机制和影响因素,以及未来面临的问题和挑战。     

Frank in mind: a journey to self

Abstract

This paper describes two years’ intensive psychotherapy with an 11 year old boy I shall call Lou, who as a result of traumatic experiences in his early life, struggled to integrate a robust sense of self and in particular to find accord with a sense of himself as male. The impact of maternal depression, paternal gender dysphoria and domestic violence are discussed in relation to this young boy’s capacity to resolve the ordinary Oedipal challenge and find narcissistic value in a male body image to consolidate his gender identity. Concomitant difficulties with separation from his mother and aggression towards himself and others significantly impacted his ability to manage in a mainstream school environment and he was excluded at the time the therapy began. A clinical narrative is presented which illustrates Lou’s journey in psychotherapy, where he began to engage and allow links to be made. He sought to understand his position in a world that did not make sense to him, to face a hitherto ‘unthinkable’ past and to integrate disparate aspects of himself including a male gender identity. Notably Lou’s creation of ‘Frank’ constructed from dead, lost and reanimated objects is described and the actual and symbolic functions of this therapy object are discussed in relation to his internal development and the progress of the work. Parallels are drawn with Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, where the creature strives for psychological birth and understanding. Lou and I struggled in the paradox of the themes of his narrative; a male/female father; potency and castration; corruption and repair and how to be a boy, held and helped in part through the paternal function of a female therapist.