Experience-dependent neuropsychological recovery and the treatment of chronic alcoholism

This paper reviews the relationship between cognitive status and treatment outcome in chronic alcoholics, the natural history of recovery, and the role of cognitively oriented remediation programs in facilitating recovery. Seven studies of experience-dependent recovery are described in which behavioral improvement was noted. Various recommendations for treatment over the course of recovery are made, guided by anticipated changes in capacity to process complex information over time.     

Internet Addiction: A Logotherapeutic Approach

Internet addiction (IA) is both the most rapidly growing addiction and the least understood addiction ( Watson, 2005 ). For counselors, treatment issues surrounding the disease are also growing. At the forefront is the lack of understanding concerning treatment protocol to manage the challenging recovery and maintenance stages after IA behavior has been controlled. The authors discuss Viktor Frankl's logotherapy as an effective approach to treating IA.     

A discourse analysis of power in relation to PSYCHLOPS (Psychological outcome profiles) in the context of CBT for psychosis

Aims: Outcome measures (OMs) and routine change measurement have developed dramatically in psychological therapies over the last two decades and some therapists have expressed concerns that this, depending on how it is handled by the parties involved, can markedly affect the therapy. However, little research has investigated this. It therefore seemed timely to explore discourses of OMs drawn upon by both parties in the therapy room. Method: PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles) is a client‐centred measure which offered an opportunity to explore how therapists and clients receiving CBT for psychosis talked about OMs. A useful contrast was provided by the CORE‐OM (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation‐Outcome Measure). The discourses drawn upon by clients (n=4) and therapists (n=4) were analysed, informed by a Foucaultian framework. Results: OMs were constructed as empowering or disempowering of clients, as being able to do therapeutic work of engagement and containment, and as part of the apparatus of service power, positioning therapists as relatively powerless to question their use. Discussion: It is suggested that client‐centred measures like PSYCHLOPS, although partly aligned with a recovery framework, may become part of top‐down state and service power, and there is a need for more research into the different ways in which OMs are used in therapy and the impacts on therapists, clients and their relationships.     

右美托咪定与丙泊酚在胸科手术中的麻醉效果对比

观察右美托咪定（Dex）联合瑞芬太尼在胸科手术麻醉过程中的应用。选取择期全麻下行开胸手术患者78倒,按随机分为两组（每组39例）：试验组采用Dex、瑞芬太尼和七氟烷静吸复合麻醉（I组）,对照组采用瑞芬太尼、丙泊酚和七氟烷静吸复合麻醉（Ⅱ组）。试验组患者苏醒期躁动明显少于对照组（P〈0．05）,两组苏醒时间差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。因此,Dex联合瑞芬太尼在胸科手术麻醉中能够安全有效地抑制双腔气管插管反应,保持血流动力学的稳定,同时明显减少患者在苏醒期躁动。     

The Bottoming‐Out Experience and the Turning Point: A Phenomenology of the Cognitive Shift From Drinker to Nondrinker

The bottoming‐out experience (BOE) is commonly considered the catalyst to sobriety. A phenomenological study was conducted to gain an understanding about this occurrence for alcoholics. Results indicated two distinct experiences: the BOE and the turning point.     

Interdependent self‐construal moderates coping with (but not the initial pain of) ostracism

Ostracism – being excluded and ignored – can cause psychological distress. There has been little research examining how a person's concept of self might influence the effects of ostracism. In the current study, we sought to examine the effect of self‐construal on the distress created by ostracism. Specifically, we assessed the potential moderating effects of self‐construal on both the initial distress of ostracism and the coping process. Participants, recruited in China, completed a self‐construal measure and were either included or ostracized in an online ball‐tossing game. They then reported need‐satisfaction both immediately following the game and after a filler task. Interdependent self‐construal facilitated participants' recovery from some of the negative effects of ostracism, but did not have an impact on the initial pain.     

Exploring the processes involved in long‐term recovery from chronic alcohol addiction within an abstinence‐based model: Implications for practice

Background: There is little consensus at policy or treatment level as to what defines ‘recovery’ in the alcohol addiction field. Aim: From interviewing a cohort of eight severely alcohol‐dependent people who fulfilled all categories of DSM‐IV and ICD 10 diagnostic criteria and had achieved long‐term recovery (LTR) of between 8 and 48 years, and who are long‐term AA members, a definition of recovery that is inclusive, and achievable, was sought from their lived experiences. Methodology: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used. Findings: This research uncovers the processes involved in long‐term recovery, and identifies them as: sober; maintaining sobriety; and recovery. It suggests a move away from the acute model of cure by brief, time‐limited therapy, towards a model of sustained, on‐going and life‐long recovery management, combined with pro‐social aid resources. Individuals need to observe, and hear, the success narratives of others, and the therapeutic conditions of empathy, unconditional positive regard and congruence need to be strongly experienced by the individual.     

Sexuality,Intimacy, and Recovery

Human sexuality is an inseparable part of the yearning for intimacy, merging, and touch, both for people in general and for those with severe mental disorders. The exploration and acceptance of sexuality and the yearning for intimacy are vital to the recovery process of people with severe mental disorders. Despite this importance, therapists appear to disregard sexual issues in therapy with people with severe mental disorders. This article discusses the sexuality difficulties of these patients resulting from their personal history and examines the difficulties of therapists and therapeutic institutions in dealing with these patients’ sexuality-related issues.     

Reciprocal relationships between State gratitude and high- and low-arousal positive affects in daily life: A time-lagged ecological assessment study

ABSTRACT

This study assessed whether state gratitude and high and low-arousal positive affect show reciprocal relationships in daily life, and whether these relationships are dependent of inter-individual differences in positive mental health or psychopathology. 106 participants reported on momentary gratitude and positive affects throughout 7 consecutive days, using the Experience Sampling Method. Multilevel time-lagged regression analyses showed that state gratitude, cheerfulness and satisfaction reciprocally predict one another from one moment to the next. The strength of the prospective relationships between state gratitude(t-1) and both cheerfulness(t) and satisfaction(t) did not vary as a function of inter-individual differences in positive mental health or psychopathology. However, the prospective effects of both cheerfulness(t-1) and satisfaction(t-1) on state gratitude(t) were significantly stronger for individuals with low vs. high levels of psychopathology. In addition, the prospective effect of cheerfulness(t-1) on state gratitude(t) was significantly stronger for those with high vs. low positive mental health.