ON BECOMING ABLE TO PLAY: INDIVIDUAL CHILD PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHODRAMA AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYMBOLIZATION

In this paper, the authors analyze the relevance and transformative potential of individual psychoanalytic psychodrama in the treatment of children with severe impairments in symbolization. Central features of this modality, including promoting the representation of early traumatic experiences, are presented and discussed. Specific features include double‐envelope containment of the co‐therapists’ group and play leader, consequent diffraction of the transference‐determining portrayal, gradual integration, and initial figuration of coexisting split‐off fragments. Drawing on in‐depth clinical material, the authors show how psychodrama tempers the potentially traumatic effects of the encounter with the object, allowing these patients to access the transitional area of play.     

Why did adolescents have sleep problems after earthquakes? Understanding the role of traumatic exposure,fear, and PTSD

To examine the relationships between trauma exposure, fear, post‐traumatic stress disorder, and sleep problems in adolescents, 746 adolescent survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China were assessed at 1 year (T1) and 1.5 years (T2) after the earthquake using a trauma exposure questionnaire, a fear questionnaire, a child posttraumatic stress disorder symptom scale, and a subscale on child sleep problems. The results showed that T1 trauma exposure were not directly associated with sleep problems at T1 and T2, but played a positive role in sleep problems at both T1 and T2 indirectly through T1 posttraumatic stress disorder and T1 fear. T1 trauma exposure was also positively and indirectly associated with T2 sleep problems through T1 posttraumatic stress disorder via T1 sleep problems, or through T1 fear via the path from T1 posttraumatic stress disorder to T1 sleep problems. These findings indicated that fear and posttraumatic stress disorder 1 year after the earthquake played a mediating role in the relationship between trauma exposure at 1 year after the earthquake, and sleep problems at both 1 year and 1.5 years after the earthquake, respectively. In particular, posttraumatic stress disorder also had a multiple mediating effect in the path from trauma exposure to sleep problems via fear. Furthermore, the findings indicated that sleep problems were relatively stable between 1 and 1.5 years after an earthquake.     

Iraqi refugee men’s experiences of psychotherapy: clinical implications and the proposal of a pluralistic model

The psychotherapy experiences of a sample of Iraqi refugee men, in later stages of exile, were explored with the aim of shedding some light on how this client group can experience therapy. Ten adult male Iraqi refugees – who had lived in Sweden for at least five years and had been psychotherapy clients at some point during that time – were recruited for this study. Using individual semi-structured interviews (in Arabic), three main areas were explored with each participant: (1) reasons for seeking psychotherapy; (2) perceptions of the psychotherapy professional; and (3) experiences of the psychotherapy process and outcome. The interviews were then translated into English, transcribed, and then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Most participants/clients described exile-related stressors as their main reason for seeking psychotherapy, but some described distress due to a combination of pre-migration trauma and post-migration stress. They also found some aspects of therapy to be positive (mainly verbalising ones thoughts and feelings, and feeling less marginalised) and some negative (mainly experiencing racist or culturally insensitive treatment by therapists, and experiencing a lack of competence and transparency in therapists). The findings were explored in terms of clinical implications and a pluralistic model was proposed to address the identified needs.     

Los Degradados: Out,down, dead: Transmitted and inflicted trauma as encountered in the analysis of a 6‐year‐old girl1

The author presents the analysis of a precocious traumatized little girl, which reveals the ways in which historical trauma is transmitted and intrafamilial trauma is both disguised and represented. The play as it evolves is seen to simultaneously communicate what the child struggles with and to resolutely try to hide what has actually happened. Analyst and child together participate in play which utilizes displacement, enactment and interactive enactment, the latter play mode being the very hallmark of profound traumatic experience. Carlotta, the child, helps the analyst to follow her quest for meaning making even as the interaction between them adheres to and departs from the deepening pentimenti of traumatic experience, which needs to be unraveled and reconstructed in order that her own developmental progression can be rejoined. The analysis facilitates Carlotta's capacity to play in a more unfettered fashion and to assist her family's recovery as well.     

A Short Index of Mystical Orientation (SIMO): A Study Among Roman Catholic Priests

The internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity of the 9-item Short Index of Mystical Orientation (SIMO) are established in relation with the parent 21-item Mystical Orientation Scale (MOS) among a sample of 1,468 Roman Catholic priests.     

Moral development, executive functioning, peak experiences and brain patterns in professional and amateur classical musicians: interpreted in light of a Unified Theory of Performance

This study compared professional and amateur classical musicians matched for age, gender, and education on reaction times during the Stroop color-word test, brainwaves during an auditory ERP task and during paired reaction-time tasks, responses on the Gibbs Sociomoral Reflection questionnaire, and self-reported frequencies of peak experiences. Professional musicians were characterized by: (1) lower color-word interference effects (Stroop task), (2) faster categorization of rare expected stimuli (P3b), and a trend for faster processing of rare unexpected stimuli (P3a), (3) higher scores on the Sociomoral Reflection questionnaire, and (4) more frequent peak experiences during rest, tasks, and sleep. Both groups had high values on the Brain Integration Scale. These findings are interpreted in light of a Unified Theory of Performance, which posits that effectiveness in any area is influenced by one’s level of mind-brain development—emotional, cognitive, moral, ego and cortical development—with higher mind-brain development supporting greater effectiveness in any domain.     

青少年创伤后心理反应的影响机制及其干预研究

汶川地震后青少年的心理反应受到社会的普遍关注。本文作者及其团队对汶川地震后青少年的心理反应进行了为期6年的研究,以期为震后青少年的心理恢复和发展提供帮助。本文主要介绍了6年来本团队在创伤后心理反应的理论分析、青少年创伤后心理反应的状况及其相互关系、影响因素及其机制、干预策略等方面所进行的探索,较为全面地阐述了创伤后青少年主要的心理反应及其研究的理论基础,概括了青少年创伤后应激障碍、抑郁和创伤后成长的状况及其发展趋势,深入分析了影响青少年创伤后应激障碍和创伤后成长的影响机制,提出了针对创伤后青少年的心理干预策略,并探究了未来研究需要关注的内容。     

创业警觉性、既有知识、创业经历对大学生创业机会识别的影响

采用“新手—创业经验丰富者” 对比范式,分别以114名在校无创业经历大学生和94名创业大学生作为被试,通过不同被试对自编复杂机会情景的反应搜集其对机会识别的表现,同时探讨了大学生创业警觉性、既有知识对创业机会识别的影响。结果表明：两类大学生创业警觉性、既有知识差异显著,创业大学生明显好于一般大学生。两类大学生在创业警觉性的三个维度以及既有知识的两个维度上均存在显著性差异,创业大学生均显著优于于一般大学生。创业大学生既有知识对机会识别具有显著影响;一般大学生创业警觉性对机会识别具有显著影响。此外,大学生既有知识可能通过警觉性影响机会识别。